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Re: Libretto as wearable

From: "Felix S. Gallo" <>
Date: Fri, 26 Jun 1998 16:37:02 -0700

Russell writes:

>Idea for wearable core:
>
>Toshiba Libretto C50

Not to nitpick, but the part # is '50CT'.

>75 Mhz Pentium, 32 MB RAM,

It comes with 16M of RAM, upgradable to 32.

> 810 MB HD, type II PC card slot,

With the port replicator, it has 2 total PC card slots.

>Mouse & KB input and VGA out (with port replicator).

This is the 'advanced' port replicator, which costs
a few hundred bucks.  The manual strongly recommends
that the unit not be transported while attached to this
replicator (but seems to think that the other replicator
is okay), so there may be mechanical design issues.

>All in an 8.3 X 4.5 X 1.5 inch package. 

The unit also weighs 1.87 lbs 'bare', with 'regular' battery.

>Price under $500.00 (mail order house).

Price at $599 for a refurb, $640-699 for a new model.

>Battery life may be a problem.

The basic battery that comes with the unit lasts a little
under 2 hours.  You can get a slightly larger Lithium Ion
battery that lasts about 4 hours.  The unit does not
recharge the battery while it is running off AC power.

>And don't know if it will run Linux.

There are many successful installs of Linux on the
Libretto.  It's tricky because the Libretto has no built-
in removable media, and the floppy drive (comes with
the unit in the US, pcmcia-based) is non-standard
enough that it's mildly difficult to get working.  The
easiest route seems to be to remove the HD, put it
in a desktop, install Linux, and put the HD back in 
the Libretto.

The Libretto 50CT also uses an older, more power
hungry Pentium, which gives off a lot of heat.  The
unit has heat sensors which slow the CPU if there's
a buildup, or slam the unit off if the unit is getting
too hot too quickly.  Apparently, using 'hot' pcmcia
cards will trigger that second case occasionally.

The Libretto 70 is a 50CT with a low power
Pentium 120 and a bigger disk.

The Libretto 100 is a _sweet_ little mininote 
(800 x 400 display, drool), but costs too much for
human beings.

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