The NADSbox uses SD-cards, cheap and in abundance available, and
quite modern. Flashdrives are not really cheaper, and
technically more complex (eg, they need 5v, 500mA to operate) to
implement. ZIP-drives - operating over the parallel port - are
really a thing from the past, because they are no longer
supported, if they haven't died from the 'click-of-death'
already. Your suggestion, serial-to-usb-to-flashdrive might be
possible on a hardware level, but again, where does the 5V come
from? From the Model T? Its batteries will be depleted in no
time. And the formatting? FAT, FAT-32 or exFAT? All that
management has to be crammed into a machine with only 32
kilobyte of RAM (this message might be bigger tan 32 K!) So,
it's better that when you design a storage system for the Model
100, management is taken care of outside the machine, and the
M100 only communicates, using the simple and tiny TPDD-protocol.
And that's what NADS does. (kinda)
Of course there are cheaper ways: since the TPDD-protocol is the
common denominator for all M100 storage, you can use any device
that emulates a TPDD, connected with a serial cable. So, there
are: PALM, PC - DOS, Windows, Linux - MAC, Raspberry Pi, ...
This list is not complete, but you get it. Programming is mostly
free so code can be adapted to virtually any device. From that
device, you can store on any medium you wish, or you can use
that device as your storage space. Oh, I think it will be very
hard to fill your 2 GB with M100 programs...
Those webpages, I have seen them too. And some are very
impressive. But most of the time, they use the M100 as a
terminal, as a shell to build something in to, or as a simple
keyboard. In none of those cases, you are using the M100 as the
computer it is. In most cases, it is used as a slave or a
donator of parts. That's not what I want. I do want to use the
M100 as a computer in its own right - be it so small - and with
modern tech to help me connect to the modern world, and/or to
help with storage. But my model 100 is never going to be a
carcass or a puppet. But I realise, that - and all the rest - is
my opinion.
A lot of people prefer even to use the M100 itself as storage.
That's no problem if you use a limited amount of programs,
and/or don't produce a lot of files that need secure storage or
transfer quick. And then we come to ROM/RAM expansions like REX,
REX+ or QUAD. They are valid alternatives, if you adapt your
way of working around it.
Bottom line: I think that there are plenty of storage
alternatives. Bitchin.100 website documents most of them.
Good luck, and ask any question on this list, as long as it is
about the computers we love. ;-)
Greetings from the TyRannoSaurus
Jan-80
On Sat, 21 Nov 2015 15:05:24 -0700, John Martin wrote:
I was thinking if someone can use a NADSBOX or Iomega zip drive
with a Model 100 for storing files. Is it possible to use a USB
2 GB flash drive with a USB to SERIAL adapter to plug into any
M100 compatible port?
I am not a technical person, engineer or computer programmer.
But I am sure there are more and cheaper options to save files
using other kinds of hardware media.
I have website pages that show the Model 100 being used for
many things. For example: M100 using Raspberri Pi, M100 using
blue tooth to control a robot on YouTube.
