CompuServe Messages

The reason is power consumption – the chips in a 500, for instance, consume too much power for a portable with a battery. And right or wrong, people won't accept a portable without battery power – the PC portables have defined what a portable is. I think there's even a term for a portable that can't battery – it's luggable – I think, anyway. It would be the work of a week or two to design a replacement motherboard for a 500 that would fit in a portable form factor. The keyboard wouldn't be too much harder, maybe 2-3 weeks (more mechanical stuff involved). An LCD display can be had from just about any OEM LCD vendor (of many many many!), and the case is the least of the problems. Cost – to the consumer – would be steep. You'd need a 500, and the portable "shell"; that's $400-$500 plus the cost of all the rest… damage to chips as they were transferred would bring the costs up sharply… It's not a technical problem to do a luggable. It's a $$$ problem. And anyone who thinks the AMiga market is a goldmine in a recession needs a cold shower. Personally – though I would be happy to be proven 100% wrong – I think only CBM has the power to make such a product. But I have confidence that they would overprice it, underpower it, and fail utterly to market it. CBM is a company you can count on – to screw up. Ben