portable terminal preferences
I've found myself continually searching for a portable (preferably backlit) dedicated terminal/telnet device for various projects. It looks like historically, the portable terminals like the TI Silent 700 series were basically superseded by portable computers (please correct me if I'm wrong). I only see a few examples of the in-between devices such as a Travelmate LT220 or a screen add-on for the Silent 700. My current go-to is to repurpose netbooks with linux and an FTDI cable or over wifi to some hardware connection. This still seems like overkill, but seems like the most usable solution. Clearly, I can just strike up a console on my main laptop, but I like to use something other than the laptop I use for work, paying bills and other dull affairs. This should be fun, right? I'm curious what everyone else uses to connect to their various machines. Straw poll? Thoughts?
I keep one of these in my bag: https://www.gpd.hk/gpdmicropc Bought it for $310 when they were crowdfunding it, now it's $415 on aliexpress. Lots of connectivity options (including 9-pin serial and wired ethernet!) and fits in a pocket. On Sat, Jan 2, 2021 at 7:01 PM ☼ wil lindsay ☼ via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
I've found myself continually searching for a portable (preferably backlit) dedicated terminal/telnet device for various projects. It looks like historically, the portable terminals like the TI Silent 700 series were basically superseded by portable computers (please correct me if I'm wrong). I only see a few examples of the in-between devices such as a Travelmate LT220 or a screen add-on for the Silent 700.
My current go-to is to repurpose netbooks with linux and an FTDI cable or over wifi to some hardware connection. This still seems like overkill, but seems like the most usable solution. Clearly, I can just strike up a console on my main laptop, but I like to use something other than the laptop I use for work, paying bills and other dull affairs. This should be fun, right?
I'm curious what everyone else uses to connect to their various machines. Straw poll? Thoughts?
Kind of reminds me of the original Dell Mini 9. http://www.classiccmp.org/cini Long Island S100 User’s Group Get Outlook<https://aka.ms/qtex0l> for iOS ________________________________ From: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic-bounces@lists.vcfed.org> on behalf of Mark Whittington via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> Sent: Saturday, January 2, 2021 8:16:14 PM To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> Cc: Mark Whittington <markwhi@gmail.com> Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] portable terminal preferences I keep one of these in my bag: https://www.gpd.hk/gpdmicropc Bought it for $310 when they were crowdfunding it, now it's $415 on aliexpress. Lots of connectivity options (including 9-pin serial and wired ethernet!) and fits in a pocket. On Sat, Jan 2, 2021 at 7:01 PM ☼ wil lindsay ☼ via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
I've found myself continually searching for a portable (preferably backlit) dedicated terminal/telnet device for various projects. It looks like historically, the portable terminals like the TI Silent 700 series were basically superseded by portable computers (please correct me if I'm wrong). I only see a few examples of the in-between devices such as a Travelmate LT220 or a screen add-on for the Silent 700.
My current go-to is to repurpose netbooks with linux and an FTDI cable or over wifi to some hardware connection. This still seems like overkill, but seems like the most usable solution. Clearly, I can just strike up a console on my main laptop, but I like to use something other than the laptop I use for work, paying bills and other dull affairs. This should be fun, right?
I'm curious what everyone else uses to connect to their various machines. Straw poll? Thoughts?
Once upon a time, Vince Briel made a device that looked like a RPi in a lucite case with PS/2 keyboard mouse ports plus a serial port. It emulates a VT100. I believe this is exactly what you want. Unfortunately, it is no longer made. Jim -----Original Message----- From: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic-bounces@lists.vcfed.org> On Behalf Of Richard Cini via vcf-midatlantic Sent: Saturday, January 2, 2021 8:19 PM To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> Cc: Richard Cini <rich.cini@gmail.com> Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] portable terminal preferences Kind of reminds me of the original Dell Mini 9. http://www.classiccmp.org/cini Long Island S100 User’s Group Get Outlook<https://aka.ms/qtex0l> for iOS ________________________________ From: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic-bounces@lists.vcfed.org> on behalf of Mark Whittington via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> Sent: Saturday, January 2, 2021 8:16:14 PM To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> Cc: Mark Whittington <markwhi@gmail.com> Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] portable terminal preferences I keep one of these in my bag: https://www.gpd.hk/gpdmicropc Bought it for $310 when they were crowdfunding it, now it's $415 on aliexpress. Lots of connectivity options (including 9-pin serial and wired ethernet!) and fits in a pocket. On Sat, Jan 2, 2021 at 7:01 PM ☼ wil lindsay ☼ via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
I've found myself continually searching for a portable (preferably backlit) dedicated terminal/telnet device for various projects. It looks like historically, the portable terminals like the TI Silent 700 series were basically superseded by portable computers (please correct me if I'm wrong). I only see a few examples of the in-between devices such as a Travelmate LT220 or a screen add-on for the Silent 700.
My current go-to is to repurpose netbooks with linux and an FTDI cable or over wifi to some hardware connection. This still seems like overkill, but seems like the most usable solution. Clearly, I can just strike up a console on my main laptop, but I like to use something other than the laptop I use for work, paying bills and other dull affairs. This should be fun, right?
I'm curious what everyone else uses to connect to their various machines. Straw poll? Thoughts?
On Sat, Jan 2, 2021 at 7:01 PM ☼ wil lindsay ☼ via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
I've found myself continually searching for a portable (preferably backlit) dedicated terminal/telnet device for various projects.
Do you need a full-sized keyboard? Do you need 80x25? If not... one hack I've done is to run a terminal emulation program on a Palm Pilot V with its powered dock (or a Palm III on battery with a sync cable for short-term use). I've used that in the field to connect to a Cisco router and fix a configuration problem. It's definitely not a general purpose portable terminal solution, but it does work for some applications, especially if you aren't going to be typing a lot (since you have to graffiti everything). If you want something the size of a small laptop, yeah... get a small laptop - Chromebook or something like that.
participants (5)
-
Ethan Dicks -
Jim Scheef -
Mark Whittington -
Richard Cini -
☼ wil lindsay ☼