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ntware Page Icon Posted 2021-12-17 5:28 PM
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Christmas is right around the corner, so I decided to write a little letter to Santa. I said that I haven't been naughty this year which means I deserve an HP 200lx for Christmas. I've always wanted a DOS HPC, and it seems that the 200lx is the best DOS HPC one can get. Assuming that dear Santa will be benevolent to my request, I'm starting to think about accessories for my upcoming new/old device. I know it has a PCMCIA slot, but will it take flash cards? I have a 4GB compact flash card that I use with my Jornada 720. If I just put it in a PCMCIA/CF adapter will it work with the 200lx? Should I try to get a smaller card instead?

What about mice? I read that it has a db-9 serial port. Is this the standard size or do I need an adapter? Any other cool accessories?
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H2OGuru Page Icon Posted 2021-12-17 5:49 PM
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I use a 200LX. My experience is if you get a 4GB card to work, it will be laggy. I use 256mb cards in mine and have a couple of 64mb cards that work well to. Back a few years ago, IIRC, I tried a 1GB and a 512mb and both seemed laggy. I settled in on the 256 for every day carry. I keep a little 4mb card with me that has all my startup files (autoexec config etc in case I have power loss etc. That card can get me going again if I am on the road. Has happened once or twice. Once on a long plane ride. Saved the day. That's the place I love the 200LX the most - planes and trains.

Jake has done a lot too with 200LX. He may chime in. I have never tried a mouse but people do it. Any serial mouse I had was as big as the HP200LX so it defeated the purpose of the easy to carry aspect (for me).

H2OGuru


Edited by H2OGuru 2021-12-17 5:55 PM
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mikeschn Page Icon Posted 2021-12-17 6:52 PM
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NTWare,

Wow, you really want to go way back... Hmmm, let me dig out my 200LX.

Okay, so I am using a 96mb card with a PCMCIA adapter. It reads it just fine, with good speeds. Sounds like you'll have to go shopping on ebay.

I also suspect you will be using your 200LX more like a terminal than a real computer. Think txt files! But sometimes you just have to go back in time to see how far along we've come!

Anyways, I've got a bunch of pics on that 96mb card, but I don't have a viewer installed. Now if that were a bunch of text files... no problem! Fast forward to today... If I were to drop that 96mb card into a Raspberry PI, not only would it view the pics, it would even make thumbnails... Oh wait, the Raspberry Pi doesn't have a PCMCIA slot.

Opps! But I get it. Go get your 200LX! Have fun!

Mike...



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mikeschn Page Icon Posted 2021-12-17 7:08 PM
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My favorite part of the 200LX... The NoteTaker!

besides Lotus123

Mike...



Edited by mikeschn 2021-12-17 7:26 PM




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Jake Page Icon Posted 2021-12-17 7:45 PM
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Nice write-ups, folks. ntware will be in good shape, should he buy.

I run a 128mb cf and given that DOS apps are so small, it's more than enough space. I don't bother with a mouse.

https://www-petrpilny-cz.translate.goog/oldsite/?palmtop-hp-200lx,15...

At the bottom of the above link is a Windows 3.0 download--just unzip onto the cf card and away you go. It has to be run in real mode, which precludes most software, but the download has Word 1.1a and Excel 1 pre-installed. Win/Word loads relatively fast and it's become my exclusive word processor, since I'm a fan of WYSIWYG. Before anything, get DOSMax up and running.

I run Word 1.1a on Win10 via http://www.columbia.edu/~em36/otvdm.html so back-and-forth conversion, though not without caveats, is very doable.

As for HP database conversion, this works well in Linux: http://www.huge-man-linux.net/man1/gdbdump.html

I can do batch converts from HanDBase to ascii to HP.

Jake
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mikeschn Page Icon Posted 2021-12-17 8:07 PM
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BTW, I can read the PCMCIA card just fine on my iMac using an Iogear Multi Card reader

Any of these should work if it says CF.



This one appears to be the most similar to mine...



Mike...



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ntware Page Icon Posted 2021-12-17 8:22 PM
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Guys, this is awesome. You know.. as most of us here, I was born in the 80s, so I grew up with MS-DOS machines. That's why I wanted a MS-DOS palmtop

I'm familiar with DOS limitations, real mode, and all the fuzz. However, what the heck is DOSMax??

About mice, I found this adapter on e-bay https://www.ebay.com/itm/273753299350 but it seems quite pricey! Maybe another letter to Santa?

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mikeschn Page Icon Posted 2021-12-17 8:55 PM
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I was thinking about printing a miniature version of something from the 70's or 80's. This is what came to mind...

A VT100

An 8086 PC.

Ha!

Mike...





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Jake Page Icon Posted 2021-12-17 9:28 PM
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ntware--this is your best HP friend: http://www.mizj.com/

DOSMax is there and to make a long story short, what DM does is free all possible memory when going to the C: prompt from the HP Application Manager (which the default DOS shortcut does not free). It also manuevers the same freedom when you start a non-HP program from the Application Manager.

W/ big programs such as Win 3.0 or NewDeal, you need every kb.

Jake
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Rich Hawley Page Icon Posted 2021-12-17 10:36 PM
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Wonder how a benchmark speed test would compare between the native 200lx and a hpc2000 hpc running pocketdos...

I loved DOS back when it came out...much better than the Zenith Z89 and CP/M machines I grew up on.
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Jake Page Icon Posted 2021-12-17 10:44 PM
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Good point. I seem to remember someone running HP's CPack on PDOS. And while the 200LX's keyboard has much to admire, it doesn't hold a candle to the majority of HPC kbs.

Jake
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stingraze Page Icon Posted 2021-12-18 6:02 AM
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I'm surprised to find this video on YouTube:

Running Minix on the HP 200LX, a UNIX-like Operating System.
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mikeschn Page Icon Posted 2021-12-18 5:25 PM
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Just for fun I modeled up an RPI100. What do you think? Should I print it? Ha!

Mike...



(rpi100a.jpg)



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ntware Page Icon Posted 2021-12-27 11:41 PM
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They say an image is worth 1000 words, so...





(hp200lx.gif)



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ntware Page Icon Posted 2021-12-28 12:09 AM
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As you can see, I now believe in Santa!

The 200lx came with a 256 card which I already loaded with Windows 3.0 and a bunch of real mode windows apps from here: https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=946197

I must say I'm loving this little machine. Win3.0 is unbelievably fast in it, quite impressive. Now my next endeavor will be to add a mouse to this thing. Given the cost of serial adapters on ebay I think I will try to build my own. Any advice?
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