Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site sdcsvax.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!vaxine!wjh12!genrad!decvax!ittvax!dcdwest!sdcsvax!alex From: alex@sdcsvax.UUCP Newsgroups: net.micro.cpm Subject: Re: Wnat is a good CP/M computer to buy? Message-ID: <848@sdcsvax.UUCP> Date: Thu, 31-May-84 18:55:01 EDT Article-I.D.: sdcsvax.848 Posted: Thu May 31 18:55:01 1984 Date-Received: Wed, 6-Jun-84 02:27:01 EDT References: <1512@sdccs6.UUCP> Organization: U.C. San Diego; freelance writer Lines: 44 The KayPro X is a good buy, with plenty of software. It runs pretty fast, both processing and I/O. It'll never be an IBM PC--the add-on boards for it only make it a "sorta" MS-DOS machine. It ain't as expandable as (say) an S-100/IEE-696 type machine. It is available at many locations. KayPro only acts in its own enlightened self-interest, so its machines aren't always as reliable as they might be. Their hard-disk problems seem to be a thing of the past. The Morrow MD11 (11 meg storage) has a good reputation. It's not as available as the KP10. Its software offerings aren't as popular. It's not designed to be a true portable, though its size lends itself to that. Does anyone know if they use plated-media drives? The MD11's portability is limited upon the terminal you choose. Don't know the 4000, so I won't say anything. The QX-10 still suffers from severe speed problems, enow. This is partially due to the 1/2-high Epson drives, which have a 15 msec track-to-track step rate. This is three times slower than good drives. Valdocs doesn't help this; their CP/M keyboard (there are two) is an "ASCII" layout, like the APPLE II or ASR-33's. Valdocs is infuriatingly slow, despite the Rising Star efforts to speed it up. The QX-10 doesn't come with much software besides this. It's not too bad in the portability department, so long as you have a safe place for the screen--but it takes two carries to move it. I like the Zenith Z-100 (though it's more expensive than the above three in its assembled (and comparable configuration) state). If you can solder at all, the Heath H-100 is a great deal and takes only about 10 hours to build. H/Z offer some good software deals for it. It can take 8" and 5-1/4" drives. (someone offers an 8" disk adapter for the KayPros.) It's not really portable; it's a little heavier than the QX-10. Hard disk option ain't too cheap. It has a 5-slot S-100/IEEE-696 bus in its back for expandability. It'll run CP/M-80, -86, and MS-DOS 1.1 and 2.0. Its user group is very active. Mind you, *my* computer is a CCS Z80 S100 system with dual 8" drives, so I know how hard it can be to move a computer (groan). Alex