Technically I never used it with Linux, but IRIX and Solaris, connected via the serial port, but I con’t recall if either of these systems used getty. (This was back in the early ‘00s.) I don’t have the termcap file any more, but it only took me a few hours to put it together, so it wasn’t a Herculean effort. It wasn’t 100% perfect, but it was good enough.
When used as a terminal, the WP-2 keyboard still had the “ghost character” effect, but I tend to type more carefully when entering unix commands than when creating free text, so I was less likely to encounter it. For what it’s worth, if you're looking for a battery-powered electronic device for the purpose of generating text, I highly recommend considering at the Alphasmart Neo. I have a small stable of these for writing, and I can’t imagine returning to the M100/WP-2 for this kind of work. The AS Neo doesn’t have the retro cache that the M100/WP-2 have, and it has no programming abilities (it just has a text editor with some other basic tools (e.g., spell-checker and some other “applets” that were designed for the education market)), but it has a great keyboard, a good screen (better contrast and faster than the M100, and if you use a small font size slightly larger), a sufficient amount of memory (~512k for text storage across eight separate files), and heaps of battery life (something like 500+ hours on 3 AA batteries). CAM > On Mar 31, 2019, at 20:34, Abraham Moller <[email protected]> wrote: > > Thanks for the feedback. Did the WP-2 still have issues as a dumb terminal? > Did you connect it to a Linux machine and pass a getty instance over serial? > That seems like a promising application. I'm curious to hear more about your > experiences. > > Jon > > On Sun, Mar 31, 2019 at 11:12 PM C. Magaret <[email protected]> wrote: > 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 >
