I’ve had a number of WP-2s, originally for writing, but in my experience the keyboard is very unreliable. The “jumping cursor” effect has already been mentioned, so I’ll add to that the “ghost character” effect, where certain key combinations (as in typing out a certain work fairly quickly) can occasionally result in the generation of unwanted characters. I’ve seen maybe four WP-2s (and still own one) and haven’t found one without this problem, which killed my interest in using it for word processing.
For me, the killer app of the WP-2 was being used as a terminal for headless servers. This was facilitated by a termcap file that I created which was mostly 100% compatible with the WP-2. CAM > On Mar 31, 2019, at 12:53, David Szasz <[email protected]> wrote: > > I have two WP-2's, but one is dead and I plan to transplant it's screen to a > Amstrad MC100 (it's a pin compatible change and a contrast improvement for > the NC100) > > The WP-2 is a good writing machine. I wish the flash memory cards for the > slot on the side weren't scarcer than hen's teeth. But the cheap 128K upgrade > chip (from Jameco) helps to alleviate that problem > Other than the keyboard it is superior to a m100 for just plain writing. > > Regards all > Dave Szasz > > On Sun, Mar 31, 2019 at 10:29 AM Abraham Moller <[email protected]> wrote: > Thanks for the tips. It sounds like I should stick with my x86 palmtops for > now. Maybe when the price is right I should consider an M100/M200/T102 with > the REX option (and flash MFORTH onto that). > > Jon > > On Sun, Mar 31, 2019 at 8:57 AM Anthony Coghlan <[email protected]> wrote: > I recently got one and like it as a dedicated word processor / note taker > because of the nice screen and cool form factor, as you note. It’s also easy > to transfer files to my Windows 10 machine (I think I use LaddieCon). But as > Willard mentioned, the screen is slow. Sometimes the word processor does odd > things, such as jumping to another nearby part of the text. Maybe I > accidentally typed a command or arrow to jump, but it’s still silly to > suddenly and somewhat frequently find myself typing in the middle of another > place in the text. Nonetheless, as a dedicated word processor, it’s a nice > idea. > > I was intrigued by the Zork idea also. A purely text based application like > that, which also doesn’t require super fast screen refreshing, may work well. > I share Willard’s concern that it may be a challenge to do much more from a > programming perspective on the WP-2, though. > > Best wishes, > Anthony > > > > > On Sunday, March 31, 2019, Abraham Moller <[email protected]> wrote: > Oops - I meant the VCF SE 7.0. But Zork on a WP-2 was evidently demonstrated > at the VCF MW 9.0 in 2014 (by Christopher at randomvariations.com). > > Jon > > On Sun, 31 Mar 2019, 02:07 Abraham Moller, <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi all, > > I had a few questions about the Tandy WP-2. How many here have used the > machine? It seems like a nice upgrade from the Model 100, although the lack > of BASIC is a disappointment. The 80x8 display, XMODEM capability, and 128K > drop-in RAM upgrade seem like the main advantages. It also looks like Forth > and an Infocom interpreter have been ported to the machine. > > Has anyone here used or upgraded WP-2 CamelForth (besides John Hogerhuis, of > course)? It looks promising, and disk I/O plus inline assembler would make it > really strong. Also, does anyone on the list have the source for the WP-2 > zxzvm Infocom interpreter (Christopher from randomvariations.com ported it, > but I can't find his email address anywhere)? > > I have a QuickPad Pro (80186-powered) in a similar form factor that does much > more (DOS), but it is hampered by a weird serial port (no way to receive data > without frequent software interruption, at least through testing with DSZ). > Is the WP-2 worth it for tinkering? Has anyone developed other apps for the > WP-2? A Z80 laptop running Forth and zcode interpreter would be really nice > and a great addition to my planned portable computing exhibit at VCF SE 9.0. > > Let me know if you have any suggestions or if I should just steer clear. > > Thanks, > Jon
