On Sun, Nov 1, 2026 at 10:36 AM B9 <[email protected]> wrote: > > > On November 1, 2026 6:32:46 AM PST, Alan Cox <[email protected]> > wrote: > > Thanks for the historical perspective. I don't know about Dan, but for > someone like me who didn't use a Model T in its heyday, it can be hard to > fathom how limited these devices were considered even back then. If I > understand correctly, the M100's killer app was EDIT -- it could store text > offline and upload it later to a "real" computer. So, yeah, what we're > contemplating is as ridiculous as running UN*X on a VT100 terminal. > > > I don't know about Model T as a terminal. At 40x8 it's not particularly good at that :-) . It's the whole instant-on and portablility package... TEXT, BASIC, no moving parts/RAM file system, battery life, connectivity (built-in modem and RS232port), printer port etc.
I think the spiritual successor to the Model T is not laptops, per se. It's more PDAs like Palm Pilot and eventually the smart phone. I think many people probably did choose laptops and luggables over the Model T. But users lost important things to get other gains. They had to accept being tethered or limited battery life, booting up, heat, etc. -- John.
