From: hyatt@cis.uab.edu (Robert Hyatt)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.laptops
Subject: Re: Help:  Need Compaq vs. Zenith Advice
Keywords: Compaq, Zenith, LTE, MasterSport, 386SL
Date: 8 Apr 92 15:45:31 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: University of Alabama at Birmingham

In article <ku61ioINNfi5@ai.cs.utexas.edu> tyen@cs.utexas.edu (Anthony Yen) writes:
>
>NetFolx:
>
>I'm trying to decide between purchasing the Compaq LTE/Lite 25 and the
>Zenith MasterSport SL.  Money is no object, I want the machine that
>best fits my purposes; this will be my sole MS-DOS platform, on the
>desk as well as on the road.  My background is primarily Unix and
>Macintosh; it's been about four years since I last worked regularly on
>a DOS machine, but I still know my way around after a fashion (just
>don't know the latest, greatest stuff).
>
>I am developing event-driven, cross-platform (MS-DOS and Unix System
>V) software in C++.  I've already decided that I want to run DR DOS
>6.0 with MKS Toolkit, and use Borland C++ v3.0 with an as-yet
>unspecified GUI library (probably Green Leaf).  In the future, I will
>be using ParcPlace Smalltalk.  Incompatibilities with any of these
>automatically disqualifies anything under consideration.
>
>My requirements for the machine are something that can stay on for
>long periods of time for text-editing (hence an SL machine that I can
>crank down the clock on, since I can't type fast enough to keep a
>25MHz machine busy :-), but also something fast enough to juggle the
>development of 300,000 lines of code when I need the speed.  It must
>be comfortable enough to use on the desktop day-to-day, and I don't
>mind toting around about 12 pounds (I do this every day with my books,
>anyways).
>
>I want to know how much time I have left on a battery (Zenith doesn't
>supply this information, anyone know for certain if any of the
>third-party utilities will work with the MasterSport?).  While Zenith
>claims up to eight hours on the batteries, and Compaq claims up to
>4.5, anyone have real-world numbers?  I'm looking for a minimum of
>four hours, with at most an hour recharge time.  If I run the notebook
>on batteries, it will be in its most frugal power setting, so I don't
>think I'm asking for too much, but I could be just farting in the
>wind, too.  I want to be able to deep discharge the batteries;
>third-party solutions are acceptable, so long as they demonstrably
>work.
>
>My minimum hardware requirements are 4Mb RAM, 60Mb hard disk, VGA
>display.  I also want an internal FAX/modem, send-receive 9600 baud
>FAX, 2400 baud MNP 5 modem, but I can live with an external.
>
>If Stacker interferes with any of the hibernation features, I would
>like to know.  I know that DR DOS' disk compression program doesn't
>get along with MS-Windows' swap file, but that doesn't bother me too
>much---if Stacker works with that file, I'll just go out and get a
>copy of Stacker.  But, I also want to be able to undelete files, and
>I'm afraid that Stacker might make that impossible.
>
>Hmm...that's more than enough for this post, so I'll leave the field
>open, now...
> ____
>  /ony Yen - tyen@mundo.eco.utexas.edu ... Sail tough

Forget the 8 hours Zenith claims.  you have to be doing nothing almost all
the time, let the machine shut everything down, then you get the 8 hours.

My rec.  Buy the Compaq.  I have an older LTE/386 s20.  The newer one is thinner,
faster, better screen, better keyboard, and from a reputable company.  While the
Zenith might (and I repeat might) be as good, it is certainly no better.

Bob


-- 
!Robert Hyatt                    Computer and Information Sciences   !
!hyatt@cis.uab.edu               University of Alabama at Birmingham !
Newsgroups: comp.sys.laptops,comp.sys.tandy