HP "lunchbox" UNIX portable
Douglas W. Jones,201H MLH,3193350740,3193382879
> I remember, reading in BYTE a few years ago about a portable computer
> from HP, "lunchbox" style, with keyboard and mouse, that had a gas plasma
> screen and ran HP-UX.. anybody know what I'm talking about? If so, what
> was the model #, CPU, etc?
I believe it had a 68000 for a CPU, and that it was compatable with the
HP 9836 U (later renumbered the Series 9000 model 236 U). The U suffix
on the 9836 meant that it had an HP-designed MMU; without this suffix, it
was a plain 68000 machine, real memory only. I forget the number of the
portable, but I remember that we had one on loan for a while, back in the
mid 1980's.
I'd hesitate to call it lunchbox format, though. It weighed about as
much as a portable sewing machine, and was about the same size. Built
like a tank.
Doug Jones
jo...@cs.uiowa.edu
Doug Siebert
>I remember, reading in BYTE a few years ago about a portable computer
>from HP, "lunchbox" style, with keyboard and mouse, that had a gas plasma
>screen and ran HP-UX.. anybody know what I'm talking about? If so, what
>was the model #, CPU, etc?
It wasn't from HP, it was from a third party (maybe two different ones
made them) They took an HP model 712 motherboard and fit it into something
that looked like an old style PC laptop from the late 80s (i.e., not
nearly so nice as current Mac & PC laptops) One of those companies now
makes a portable based on a B class model that's more up to date. You
would want to ask in comp.sys.hp.hpux for the details, I'm sure someone
knows how to contact that company.
It struck me as someone silly with the 712 based model, since the 712
itself wasn't all that much bigger or heavier, and would have just needed
an external flat panel display (which I believe HP offered for the 712)
But nowadays with the B class, the lunchbox sized machine is a big
improvement if you want something portable (or rather, luggable :) )
Just don't expect it to weigh in at 4 pounds and less than 1" thick
like HPs PC laptops!
--
Douglas Siebert Director of Computing Facilities
douglas...@uiowa.edu Division of Mathematical Sciences, U of Iowa
If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried.
Frank McConnell
> > I remember, reading in BYTE a few years ago about a portable computer
> > from HP, "lunchbox" style, with keyboard and mouse, that had a gas plasma
> > screen and ran HP-UX.. anybody know what I'm talking about? If so, what
> > was the model #, CPU, etc?
I think you're talking about the HP Integral PC, a 68000-based
single-user system that ran a really stripped-down HP-UX out of ROM.
The base system is a luggable as you describe, a bit bigger than a
lunchbox though, and it has a stiffy drive to the right of the screen
and an HP Thinkjet printer integrated into the top. Also known as the
9000/207 I think (though it doesn't say that anywhere on it).
When you boot it, it establishes the root filesystem in RAM and hooks
the ROM filesystem into that, then runs PAM (Personal Application
Manager, a sort of point-and-shoot launcher) as the shell. No login
needed, you are uid 100 but it's trivial to get root if you have a
traditional shell.
There is a development toolset, distributed on stiffies: it's a subset
of traditional Unix tools including the C development environment.
You can copy the floppies onto a hard disc (91xx flavor, attached via
the HP-IB port on the back) if you want to make it a bit more usable.
I've also been told by several sources that there was a ROM card (that
goes in one of the A/B slots, not the ROM cartridge in the back) that
contained the development toolset.
jo...@pyrite.cs.uiowa.edu (Douglas W. Jones) wrote:
> I believe it had a 68000 for a CPU, and that it was compatable with the
> HP 9836 U (later renumbered the Series 9000 model 236 U). The U suffix
> on the 9836 meant that it had an HP-designed MMU; without this suffix, it
> was a plain 68000 machine, real memory only. I forget the number of the
> portable, but I remember that we had one on loan for a while, back in the
> mid 1980's.
I don't think it is very compatible with the 9836, beyond
C source-level and to some degree screen I/O compatibility (the
windows could emulate HP and ANSI terminals or an HP-GL plotter). For
one thing, the version of HP-UX really is stripped down quite a bit --
the HP-UX version 5 manuals have many pages with the notation "Not
supported on the HP Integral personal computer" (and there are other,
different notations for things not supported on series 200, 300, and
500 computers). For another, as the machine has no MMU I believe the
compiler generates code to do stack probes to help the kernel grow the
process stack (or fail to do so) as needed.
-Frank McConnell
John Cavallino
>I remember, reading in BYTE a few years ago about a portable computer
>from HP, "lunchbox" style, with keyboard and mouse, that had a gas plasma
>screen and ran HP-UX.. anybody know what I'm talking about? If so, what
>was the model #, CPU, etc?
>
It was called the Integral. UNIX in ROM in 1985!!
--
JohnC | queer person | jo...@chicagonet.net | ICQ 8543232
Pete Fenelon
> portable, but I remember that we had one on loan for a while, back in the
> mid 1980's.
I recall seeing one a couple of times at trade shows and liking it very
much indeed -- I think it was called the Integra... and if anyone has
one they'd like to get rid of in the UK.... ;)
pete
--
Pete Fenelon, 3 Beckside Gardens, York, YO10 3TX, UK (pete.f...@zetnet.co.uk)
``there's no room for enigmas in built-up areas''
Rodger Donaldson
>I remember, reading in BYTE a few years ago about a portable computer
>from HP, "lunchbox" style, with keyboard and mouse, that had a gas plasma
>screen and ran HP-UX.. anybody know what I'm talking about? If so, what
>was the model #, CPU, etc?
Integral Personal Computer.
I have one; Amber screen, built in deskjet, HP-UX 5.
--
Rodger Donaldson rod...@ihug.co.nz
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