From: Keith.Bucher@p0.f89.n129.z1.fidonet.org (Keith Bucher)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Re: Speaking Eureka
Date: 1 Sep 92 21:06:55 GMT
Reply-To: Keith.Bucher@p0.f89.n129.z1.fidonet.org
Organization: FidoNet node 1:129/89.0 - BlinkLink, Pittsburgh PA
X-Fidonet: Blink Talk Conference

Index Number: 24206

[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

 Quoting Steve Richards to Keith Bucher 11 Aug 92 06:07:00

SR>  The Eureka does  have its good points.  Its word processing
SR> package is actually quite professional, although its starting
page number is limited to what can be stored in a byte register.

Hello Steve, and its memory is limited to fairly small files as well.
Maybe the worst thing about the word processor is that you're stuck
with what they want you to have, such as:  "Print this document, yes or
no?" And the upgrade model went even further and said something like
"Print the whole document, yes or no?"  And wonder if you still get
that noise out of the speaker when formatting a disk?  Now this is
one problem which was actually created by the upgrade.  Did they ever
fix the bug in the synthesizer or buffer, or whatever it was so that one
could read large text files? Of course with the limited memory, the file
couldn't actually be very big anyway.

SR> Its diary, clock and calendar functions
SR> work well, with a few minor glitches.

Seems as though I remember that the calendar didn't always recognize
leap years correctly, or something like that.

SR> and it's sound chip is superior to anything in a standard
computer.

Too bad the same thing can't be said about the synthesizer.  Boy
I'd love to have the opportunity of running "cannot.say,"
through that honey!  Remember the pitch control? It wouldn't really
speed up. When you raised the pitch it sounded sort of like playing a 45
record at 78. George Bell of Technovision Systems in England told me
that Americans were belly aching about the slow speed of the voice.  Of
course they fixed that to a fashon, but it sounds more excited like than
really fast. Nothing like other synthesizers I've heard.

 SR> On the negative side, the Eureka uses an obsolescent operating system,
 SR> and a hybridized version of it at that.  It isn't only incompatible
 SR> with MSDOS, it's not really compatible with true CP/M machines, either.

And to think we were told it would run dBase II, until we learned
otherwise.  And speaking of databases, why the one with the Eureka was
so limited is beond me.  What did it have?  5 or 6 fields?  And you
 could index only on two of them.  Certainly the word processor was
 much more sophisticated than the database.  Sure, they couldn't have
 incorporated dBase IV, but they could have done much better with it
 than they did.  I once had a database of 1200 records and something
 or other got messed up, and wow, it took forever to reindex it.
 Maybe you were here when that happened.  And although Adphone was
 small then, a little bit over 150 records or there abouts, you
 should have seen the problem I had when I sold the Eureka. Couldn't
 convert it to ASCII, or anything else for that matter. so I had to
 record the information on a tape recorder then type it back in to Q&A.
 What if I'd have still had the Eureka and by now I'd have to record
 several databases with literally hundreds of records.  Wow, that'd sure
 take a lot of cassettes!

SR> It costs a bundle, yet corners were cut in designing and
SR> manufacturing it.

Makes one wonder just how it merited the prestigious Winston-Gordon
award, doesn't it?  I sure wish I'd have kept that technical manual.
You know, the one it took nearly a year for us to finally receive?

SR> Its keyboard is one example, its glued-in battery that
SR> often comes loose is another.

How about the glued in speaker and adapter jack?  I use to correspond
with a gentleman from Canada who had a friend who took his Eureka to a
computer store and had his speaker glued back in place.

SR> The scientific calculator has many features, but it's tied to
the BASIC interpreter, with the inaccuracies common to BASIC.

You know Steve, seriously, I learned something from that little
bugger, I meant to say bug. Remember those magic numbers we used?  I
always think of trying them every time I hear about an MS-DOS based
calculator. It's ashame though, that they never corrected it.  Did they
even as much as acknowledge it?  You know Steve, this is the whole
problem with Robotron and the Eureka A4.  Even though it had more bugs
than a sunny evening in Florida, even though it had serious flaws and
design shortcuts, even though it is definitely overpriced, it is a good
 concept.  Try this one on for size.  Think of it.  A small 3 pound
 MS-DOS battery powered portable computer.  And sealed lead-acid battery
 at that.  No memory like nicads have.  No screen to get in the way or
 weigh it down.  Built in modem, floppy drive and hard drive.  And
 several megs of memory.  Why it would sell like Strohs in the desert!
 Ever see that tV commercial?  Sure, they probably couldn't have done it
 in 1986 or 87 when the Eureka was invented.  But look what it could
 have evolved into!  Just think what it could be today.  They never
 seemed to take the ball and run with it.  They stayed stagnant in many
 areas, just like a small stream in the dog days of summer.  Sure,
 nothing is, or probably will ever be perfect, but they seemed to think
 that the Eureka was the answer for blind people.  Look, Virginia, an
 adaptive computer, woopse, Electronic Secretary made just for you!
They never seemed willing to fix anything. They acted as if it was
 perfect, and any suggestions for improvement seemed to be taken as a
 personal attack on Milan.

SR> From what I hear it still is  occasionally prone to inexplicable
SR> crashes, losing or corrupting what's in memory despite the battery
SR> backup.

Hey, remember the virtual screen?  Sort of reminds me of the good old
days back at the Z&X ranch in the 1920's when I was breaking wild
horses.  It could throw you any time without any warning whatsoever!

SR> In my opinion the Eureka is more than a notetaker, but it is too
SR> limited to be an acceptable substitute for a computer, unless one's
SR> needs are simple.

Very, very, very simple.

SR> It costs more than many advanced computers,
SR> however, which makes it a poor choice for a portable companion
for taking notes and such.

Don't forget the modem.  If I'm not mistaken, you and Mort weren't even
able to get your Eurekas to communicate with each other via Mall Bell.
Did they ever get that turtle up to 1200 baud?  What!  You say they've
incorporated a USR dual standard, wow, well I'll be darn, ha ha.

SR> I'd buy one if it was, say, the price of the Braille and Speak.

Or did you mean the carrying case for the Braille 'N Speak?  (grins)
We can only hope that they've improved things in their OCR, which,
for those who may not know is called the TR320, I hope I have it
correct.  I believe you'd agree with me in being just a bit hesitant
about buying it.  I'd like to hear all about it, if anyone does
though.  Keith Bucher.

... If ignorance is bliss, why aren't there more happy folks?

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