Atari portfolio
The Atari Portfolio is a portable 16-bit - personal computers , which in 1989 by the company Atari was presented. At about the size of a VHS - video cassette and weighing about 500 grams, it can be used as a precursor of later PDAs are called. The portfolio is essentially compatible with the IBM PC , which makes it a universally applicable computer. With built-in programs that can be started via function keys , a. Address and appointment management, text entry and spreadsheets can be operated. With the right software, it is also suitable for programming, playing and controlling.
The basic equipment of the device cost around 400 US dollars in the USA, in Germany the “intelligent pencil” (Atari advertising slogan for the Pofo) was initially offered for 999 DM.
Furnishing
hardware
The portfolio has a typewriter-like keyboard that is quite easy to use despite its small keys. The monochrome liquid crystal screen has a resolution of 240 × 64 pixels and is CGA- compatible, whereby the display is converted to pure monochrome. As CPU a clocked with 4.92 MHz, low-power version of is Intel 8088 used the name 80C88, on a 128 kB large RAM and 256 kB only memory can draw.
Three AA batteries serve as an energy source for on the go . Stationary operation via a power pack is also possible.
Hardware extensions
Atari offered special memory cards (Bee cards) as removable media , which were available with capacities from 32 kB to 128 kB. With external adapters, the portfolio can be equipped with serial and parallel interfaces , but also with a further 512 kB of working memory. All expansions are plugged into an interface on the right side of the device, which affects the flexibility of the device somewhat for mobile applications.
software
The built-in DIP-DOS ( MS-DOS 2.11) compatible operating system makes the device compatible with a number of popular MS-DOS applications. The DIP-DOS also contains some internal applications which could be started by the command app or by pressing the key combination ATARI + A. The selection menu offers simple word processing , ultimately nothing more than a simple text editor , a spreadsheet that is compatible with Lotus 1-2-3 , simple address management, an appointment calendar with an alarm function and a calculator . The address management has a special feature, it can play registered phone numbers as tones. If you hold the microphone of a telephone to the loudspeaker, this can be used for convenient tone dialing . The selection menu also includes a function for data transfer to the PC and a system menu that can be used to adjust the internal settings of the system.
Data transfer
The data transfer to the “Pofo”, as it is affectionately known by its followers, took place to the PC and Atari ST either via a terminal program via the serial interface available as an accessory, via a special parallel port cable and special software that was supplied for PCs and is already built into the portfolio, or via memory cards that the portfolio could address as drives A: and B :. Drive B: was another card slot in the 512 KB expansion. There was a suitable external card drive for the PC, which was controlled via a special ISA card. Resourceful programmers also created a driver for the portfolio with which a ZIP drive (100 MB) could be operated on the parallel port extension. All of the free software that was specially made for the computer could easily fit onto a ZIP disk. There is now even an adapter to operate CompactFlash cards on it; however, this is quite rare and accordingly expensive.
rating
The working memory was already very tight for the late 1980s and the unusual resolution of the display caused problems for many applications. Nevertheless, the portfolio found many followers, some of whom have remained loyal to it to this day.
Oddities
In the film Terminator 2 - Day of Reckoning , John Connor uses an Atari portfolio to manipulate ATMs or security accesses. All product features and nameplates can be seen in the film ( product placement ).
