Which Machine To Buy?


Introduction
This page is to give you a few thoughts about choosing a palmtop to link to an Acorn RISC OS machine. Many people have no need to do that, but others would like to be able to work on documents while away from home, consult spreadsheets, modify Web pages, and use a database of contacts. Depending on how you chose to do it, these files can often be shared with the relevant RISC OS application, but there are others (e.g. project planning, dedicated bank account tracking software, electronic diaries) that would be hard to link to the desktop machine. They are perhaps better kept on the palmtop and only used there. Even if you don't need to have a computer you can put in your pocket, you might want to reconcile your bank statement while the kids are playing games or doing their homework on the desktop machine.
In all those circumstances, a palmtop machine will be a boon, and if it can easily exchange files with the desktop one, you can start a job on one and finish it on the other. That's certainly one reason why I first bought such a machine, and that use has increased considerably with my work for Archive and the setting up of this Web site.
So what are the options? Well the situation has changed a little over the last few months, and one development in particular may be especially relevant.

Recent Changes
The eMate is an interesting machine, taken up by Xemplar last year as an education portable. It is more of a laptop in size, but is based on the Newton technology developed by Apple, and powered by an ARM CPU. Xemplar have been advertising it as a school machine, and have commissioned RISC OS connectivity software to make it more Acorn-friendly. That software has now been released by Avie Electronics.
However on February 27th, Apple announced that they will discontinue further development of the Newton OS and all products based on it. That includes the eMate as well as the Newton itself. They will be replaced with products based on the Mac OS, which are expected to be available next year. Apple say they will supply large orders for both ranges until the end of March, and support existing users.
Xemplar have said that they will continue to supply machines "for the foreseeable future", and will support them and the development of the RISC OS file transfer software.

What Does It All Mean?
The significance of all this is that there are now very few palmtop machines with easy connectivity to RISC OS (I'm ignoring machines where the only route is via a comms application). The only ones I'm aware of that are in current production are:

It is possible to connect some other machines to RISC OS (e.g. the Sinclair Z88), but the ones listed above are, in my opinion, the only ones a private buyer should consider.

Of course, the anticipated appearance of a RISC OS portable (as opposed to a palmtop) machine may have a bearing on all this, but we'll have to wait and see.


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