Want a Fast Computer 1342
CP-M's BIOS was radically different than what had been done for OS-8 and RT-11. At the...
Except, for some reason, they are not quite solid at all. There are a couple of weak links in most designs I have seen. First of all, there is a removable cap to cover the USB connector, which typically is not attached via tether or some other method and becomes lost. Now, the relatively thin USB connector is sticking out, along with keys, and whatever garbage is in your pocket. At some point, it gets snapped off or bent. The other problem is many of them are two piece clamshell designs, glued together with the small board and connector laying between them. The glue breaks down, and the thing cracks in half and the guts fall out.
It happens. Especially in labs where people are constantly copying things back and forth between systems. Heavy use and these toys don't mix well.
Our '89 was a 2.2l turbo, which had to kick in just about any time you needed a decent amount of power. Repairing the turbocharger when it broke down was a nasty...
The main thing about the design that is good is that it is only one piece, the USB connector actually slides in an out of the case, and snaps into place with your thumb. Similar ergonomically to a lock blade knife (without the rotation). They claim something like a 2000 lb crush capability, which must be orders of magnitude better than the plastic ones. I have literally placed one on the floor and jumped up and down on it trying to damage it. Of course, I don't come even close to 2000 lbs myself, but I figured it was a claim that nobody would try. I haven't tried using an arbor press to see how much it can really take, but it is obviously far more durable than the plastic ones.
-- Randy Howard (2reply remove FOOBAR) "Making it hard to do stupid things often makes it hard to do smart ones too." -- Andrew Koenig
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