Cambridge Z88
Garet Nenninger
quite popular in rather esoteric circles some time ago; Steve Jobs and others
high up at Apple Computer bought them on sight and then used them as portables
to enter text for their desktop computers. Douglas Adams discusses the
problems of getting his Z88 (and all the "AA" batteries) through customs in
various remote parts of the globe in his book "Last Chance to See".
I was curious to know if any of the Z88 enthusiasts are still out there on the
net; I have been absent for some two-and-a-half years. I have a few ideas for
making new EPROM cartridges, but it would be more interesting if others were
also interested in this.
Is Mark Eichen (sorry about the spelling) at MIT still around, and what about
that enthousiastic group of Nederlanders who wrote me once? I suppose there
might even be some of you from the UK, since that was the birthplace of the
Z88 in the first place.
Please e-mail if you can, since from watching this discussion group for the
last week, I don't know how much general interested there would be in our
rantings.
Thank you,
--Garet Nenninger
Mark Eichin
Garet Nenninger <garet.n...@his.com> wrote:
>Some of you may remember Sir Clive Sinclair's Cambridge Z88 laptop. It was
>I was curious to know if any of the Z88 enthusiasts are still out there on the
>Is Mark Eichen (sorry about the spelling) at MIT still around, and what about
Still around. The <z88-h...@sipb.mit.edu> mailing list is pretty
much dead, I don't think it's seen a posting in two years or more...
I've still got my Z88, and still prefer its keyboard over many of
those I use everyday (ie. Sun workstation, 486sl SubNotebook, hp100 :-)
If there's interest, I can see about starting the list up again.
I'm planning on setting up some timing software and maybe a recipe
sequencer (ie. "hit space when you've finished this step") and using
it in my kitchen -- the all-rubber keyboard is perfect for that
environment, I've "hosed off" the keyboard before... :-)
I never did see the mythical development environment for it, that was
supposed to run under DOS... I'd hoped to modify one of the Z80
emulators to run the Z88 roms, and do devlopment under that, but never
got around to it. (I'm resurrecting some of the emulators now for
other reasons, so maybe I'll look at the project again...)
If anyone still sells hardware for it, I'd like to know (my 512K ram
cartridge died a few years back, though the 128K one is still
alright.)
It would be interesting to see the Z88 done with 1994 hardware...
you'd basically have an HP100LX with a real keyboard and display :-)
_Mark_ <eic...@athena.mit.edu>
MIT Student Information Processing Board
Cygnus Support <eic...@cygnus.com>
Fabio Fontana
Anybody using these nowadays who can give me some impressions? I thought the
NC200
might make a very good portable word processor.
Fabio
Graeme Lyall
I've still got *my* z88 too. I mostly use a 386 notebook which
when I bought it was the best performer in terms in battery
life and low weight that I could find. But the z88 is still
far superior in those respects. It is a genuinely portable
machine with a useable keyboard and excellent battery life.
When I go away on trips where I may not have access to mains
power, there is no competition. The only possible contender
now as a replacement might be one of the Psion machines - eg
the MC400? If the z88 list was revived, I'd be interested.
Graeme Lyall
uad...@dircon.co.uk
Paul Rubin
replacement for the z88 in just about every respect. They're
way more expensive though.
Marvin Minsky
They are way heavier -- perhaps three times the weight. I think three
times about taking a powerbook, twice about taking the HP300, and when
I don't want luggage I always take the PC3100. The z88 has better
battery life, but one does get tired of the tiny screen and the
hard-to-push space bar.
WHat I can't comprehend, though, is why no one copied the Z88
with a larger screen size. When you take it apart, you can see no
problem about doing that.
Paul Rubin
>In article <phrCKH...@netcom.com> p...@netcom.com (Paul Rubin) writes:
>>I think the HP Omnibook (flash disk versions) are a superior
>>replacement for the z88 in just about every respect. They're
>>way more expensive though.
>
>They are way heavier -- perhaps three times the weight. I think three
>times about taking a powerbook, twice about taking the HP300, and when
>I don't want luggage I always take the PC3100. The z88 has better
>battery life, but one does get tired of the tiny screen and the
>hard-to-push space bar.
I believe the z88 weighs about 2 lbs, and the Omnibook about 2.9 lbs.
I agree this is a noticable difference, but not a factor of 3.
Is the z88 lighter than I remember?
Nigel Burke
(min...@media.mit.edu) justly praise the Cambridge Z88.
I sold mine when I bought a 4lb. notebook PC, and a month
later, I bought another Z88. They aren't just light, they
are tough too, and silent in operation. Last time I
was in the Cambridge (England) University Library, the Z88
was the only computer admitted, for the sake of quiet.
I don't think any later portable has been designed to be
quiet and discreet. In fact it was probably serendipitous
in the case of the Z88.
One thing: I tried a while ago to connect a PC
pocket modem to the Z88's kindof standard RS232, and I
couldn't do it. I could log on to my USENET host, but
uploadling or downloading seized it all up horribly.
Anyone know how it's done?
Don't you think Hewlett Packard kit, especially
the calculators, has a sinister, vaguely messianic look?
In any case, I shalln't be evaluating new notebook PC's
until
A: They have proper cellphones in them, with strong encryption.
B: They have colour with a 20hr battery life.
John M. Bozeman
OK, I have been reading articles about how great the Z88 is/was;
I have also seen a couple at a distance. Why doesn't somebody
provide a more in-depth description . . . memory, battery
life, weight, etc. Also, is it possible to transfer files
to a DOS machine? And how do they stack up next to, say, the
Poquet?
John Bozeman
Derek Chan
Derek V. Chan | Harvard University | ch...@husc.harvard.edu
Biochemistry & Molecular Bio. | Senior - Class of '94 | ========================
====================== Yale WHO? Don't they make locks? =======================
"You wouldn't be here if you already knew everything. . ." - Organic Chem. TF