I found some of the specs off of the vtech URL for the companion model. It says the processor is a NSC1028, that it has 448k of storage space and 32k of RAM. It runs off of 2 C batteries, and has an expansion storage card slot (it doesn't really say what the cards are like tho, other then refering to them as 'cartridges'). It has a parallel printer port and weighs 2.4lbs. The dimensions are 12.4 x 8.2 x 3.8 inches. The PostBox model has the same processor and slightly more memory (512k) and the same amound of ram as the companion. It runs on AA batteries though and is a smaller, lighter design, with a slightly larger screen (5 lines of display where the companion had only 4). It weighs in at only 7.2oz and has 6.3 x 3.5 x .86 inches as it's dimensions. I don't think it has the expansion storage option or the printer port. ~~~ Jim Beard counterclaim Chief Engineer 1551 Oak St. Suite D Eugene, OR 97401 Voice # 541.484.9235 Fax # 541.484.9193 -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Ralph Zeller Sent: Friday, July 27, 2001 10:40 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [EUG-LUG:1877] Re: portable terminals, long battery life, ideal hackish remote. Larry, I've seen these at Radio Shack and even at Target. They used to sell for $99, and you had to sign up for a year with their ISP, and use yahoo for mail. On the original models, I was told, you could enter the dial-up phone number yourself; now the software must be hacked (and the license violated?) in order to dial into another computer. Neither of the two models look very durable to me, but at least there's no hard-drive to crash. The keyboard on the larger model looks a lot nicer to type on than anything else in the price-range, though. I think the larger model has a printer port on it. The keys on the smaller model look too small to be useful for much typing. I found a link at http://www.vtechconnectusa.com/index.php3 There's another similar device that's used in elementary schools called an "alpha-smart" or something like that. There are several models but basically it's a keyboard with memory and a small display built-in. Since it's used in schools, it must be rugged? I haven't seen one, but it might be similar to the vtech. Doesn't it take some processor power to do ssh? Can a 286 handle it? Ralph At 01:39 AM 7/27/2001 -0700, larry a price <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >I've been looking into portable text terminals lately, and I think i've >found a real deal. The other day I foundthis thing called the >{ } >{ } $29.95 <<<<< USD >{ email PostBox(tm)Express } That may mean $49.00 >{ } -$30 rebate >{ } if you sign up > ------------------------------- for a years service >manufacture by VTECH @$9.99/month > >featuring YaHoo!(also tm) Mail. > >I'm pretty sure it's a 286 system on chip (2400baud modem, 512k memory) >but it can connect to the network and the speed is highly doable for an >aftermarket radio link ;-) > >The ad and the box were surprisingly unforthcoming about technical specs, >yet i suspect a somewhat chopped and folded version of our favorite >operating system might lie underneath it' s little 40*80 grey screen. It's >about the size and thickness of a paperback thriller and it has a little >little keyboard with a little bit of button cruft, and a Phone Jack! > >It would acceptable for thumb typing or deliberate touch typing. And the >blurb says it stores up to 500 messages (1_buffer * 500) where 1_buffer is >the size in bytes of what they call a message. It looks like it would make >a half decent reote terminal and it has a store and forward type of model >where it squirts messages up and down and is read and edited offline. > >Who wants to have a go at hacking it? I bet we can do this thing up to to >at least run short scripts or at minimum cross-compile with gcc and get a >decent portable editor and ssh-terminal. I see it as meeting our own needs >for portable longlife rugged terminals. And you dould probably get decent >comms in the field if you hooked it up to a spread spectrum radio box >;-) > >Dependencies are the following libraries gcrypt,OpenSSH,glibc, and >jabber on the servers to handle presence etc. > >Make no bones about it this a challenging hack, at present we don't know >exactly what hardware lies underneath that tiny little keyboard but if it >can run linux we can do it!! Grab 'em now before they get yanked off the >market :P They're way too cheap to last. And they're marketing 'em to >bored and jaded who want to get their email on the go, recase with a >decent keyboard and they're ideal remote controls. (think couch and >multimedia and editing global config files for your house) > >Yum, if you have one and are at mikes next week, we can get started on the >reverse engineering... > >Larry Price | "We have seen the truth. >[EMAIL PROTECTED] | And the truth makes no sense." -chesterton >_______________________________________________________________ >
