CompuServe Thread

It is true that the Chipmunk would probably be more active with 19.5K of RAM than with 8K more; however, that is not a problem. In the Model 100 'munk, many disk accesses are about 20% faster than RAM! So the disk certainly would not slow anything down. And, a virtual memory disk scheme would make more sense than trying to sneak in more linear RAM, which is very difficult to do given the architecture and speed (or lack of speed) of the M-100/200. Of course, for those who use the laptop as an extension of their main system, things are different. All you ned is enough RAM to hold maybe a day's worth of work til you can dump to your main system. I have tried that but I find it too slow and time consuming for my needs. There are many chipmunk owners who also have desktop systems; they used them as you and I do/did, thinking that was fine. But, once they saw a disk-based portable system, they moved up to the disk. It simply saved a lot of time and trouble. For those who don't have the time to work around the portable's limitations, a disk system is the only way to go. Those of use who can deal with limited storage and the use of serial links to move data probably don't feel as acute a need for a disk, though I of course like to think that a disk is best anyway. For anyone whose time is worth money to them or others, the disk is it. I would love to see a spelling checker; the chipmunk would make one feasible. It would of necessity be slow, though, as the computer itself is slow compared to desktops (even the relatively slow IBM is faster). However, I would use it. It does not supplant the "full blown" desktop system, and I would never try to use a Model 200 even with a disk to do big complex projects. It is important to remember that the portable computer is not all things to all people; it cannot yet replace the desktop, and anyone who tries to take present technology to that point will not succeed commerically. Larry