Got a retro pocket size ultraportable

[Vidar]

I came across this thing, a Toshiba Libretto, and it gave me the puppy eyes and shouted "bring me home". It is from about 1998-1999, and still works fine although the battery is dead and the hard drive is suspiciously noisy. Both should be fixable if needed. It came with a floppy drive, some design accident looking docking station (not pictured for your protection/ my laziness),  and a ISDN modem in case I regress to needing modems. Since no files had been made or changed in over 20 years I assume it has been in a drawer somewhere.

I put on a 91mm and Mini-Champ Victorinox on the keyboard for scale. It will fit a big pocket, although I doubt it will be my daily driver in any sense of the concept.  It sure is a cutie though. I should put on some software from the same time period.

[Grant Lamontagne]

I can't tell you how much I coveted one of those in the late 90's! I had visions in my head of being able to write stuff on the go, although I had no idea whatsoever what I would write.....

I never got one and so my great works have never been transcribed.  The world will never know what it has lost.

Def

[Vidar]

Yes, it would be pretty handy for that especially back then with few real alternatives at that size. The keyboard is a bit cramped due to size, so typing is certainly slower than usual - though I guess only important if typing speed is the actual limitation for your great work implementation. Sometimes I play with the idea of designing a ultraportable, which will likely never actually happen, but if it does having this is a actually a nice reference for just too small a keyboard. 

I wrote a lot back in the 90s. I feel I can say with confidence that the world didn't really gain much. I think my mushy brain droppings around this forum proves my point! 

[MadPlumbarian]

I didn’t even get my “own” computer till after 2k,
JR

[aicolainen]

I was really into the small computers back in the late 90's and early 00's.
My paycheck couldn't really keep up with my interest, but I worked in the communications business in those days so some opportunities opened up from time to time.

I don't remember that machine specifically, but I'm sure I must have drooled over it at some point.
My best memory was owning and using the Psion Series 5, a subnotebook PDA according to wikipedia. I got it in 1998, and the same year I got the Ericsson SH888, one of, if not the first dual band phone to be released in Norway. Both the Psion and the Ericsson had infrared serial port, so I had internet on the go. What a time to be alive!
I carried that thing religiously, which was also its downfall. One day I dropped it in the asphalt as I got out of the car trying to juggle too many objects in my hands. I kept it in a very nice leather sleeve, but it was not enough to save it.

I did also periodically use the Nokia Communicators. I believe I must have tried most of them as part of my job was to support customers who used them. Usually I just had demo units that I used for a while to be able to support them, but I've owned a few as well. Might still have one laying around here somewhere.

I vaguely remember using and supporting at least one pocket computer running Windows CE, but the model(s) escape me.

The small IBM x86 compatible mini/micro laptops were just too expensive for me to buy personally, and wasn't required to do my job, so I never got to own one of the really tiny ones.
I did own a monster of a laptop, that was actually quite compact for what it was. A Canon brand laptop with built in printer. I was actually given two of them from a company that phased them out, so probably some years old by the time I got them. Never used them for anything useful, but fun to play around with.

Small funfact, Psions EPOC operating system is the foundation for what would later be named Symbian. Best known for being used as Nokias smartphone OS.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Yes, it would be pretty handy for that especially back then with few real alternatives at that size. The keyboard is a bit cramped due to size, so typing is certainly slower than usual - though I guess only important if typing speed is the actual limitation for your great work implementation. Sometimes I play with the idea of designing a ultraportable, which will likely never actually happen, but if it does having this is a actually a nice reference for just too small a keyboard. 

I wrote a lot back in the 90s. I feel I can say with confidence that the world didn't really gain much. I think my mushy brain droppings around this forum proves my point! 

For someone who spends as much time writing stuff as I do, to this day I still cannot "type" as most people define it.  I hunt and peck with at least three fingers on each hand almost fast enough to pass as a professional typist, although I doubt many companies are looking to hire a fifty year old fat man that barely makes the minimum WPM.

The up shot is that I can almost instantly adapt to any keyboard size without issue because my eyes are on the keyboard so I see when my fingers go wrong.   

Def

[Vidar]

My best memory was owning and using the Psion Series 5, a subnotebook PDA according to wikipedia. I got it in 1998, and the same year I got the Ericsson SH888, one of, if not the first dual band phone to be released in Norway.

Yes, that is a classic for sure. But it uses its own OS with limited available software if I remember correctly? I used to drool for a Poqet PC, but the prices was at least twice the value of my car at the time. There is/ was a UK company named Planet Computers that has made a modern version, but I think they made the mistake of trying to sell them as cell phones instead. They might great palmtop computers, but as cell phones they are probably on the clumsy big uncompetitive side.  I might have bought on anyway, and dropped pretending it was a cell phone, but they never had right keyboard in stock.

I did also periodically use the Nokia Communicators.

I had something similar with a full keyboard from HTC. Somewhat smaller and more pocket friendly, but less typeable. It got stolen so I guess someone else liked it too. 

The small IBM x86 compatible mini/micro laptops were just too expensive for me to buy personally, and wasn't required to do my job, so I never got to own one of the really tiny ones.

I have a Fujitsu P7120 from about 2005 or so, and that was very nice handy computer. I used it on travels for many years. Still the best computer I've had for airplane use as the seat in front could lean back all they wanted and it was still space for it. And with the extra batteries you could watch movies for 10-12 hours without issue on long flights. Still works perfectly, but the screen resolution and single core processor just doesn't cut it anymore.

I did own a monster of a laptop, that was actually quite compact for what it was. A Canon brand laptop with built in printer.

Sounds like a weird contraption. Portable printers doesn't seem to be a thing anymore either. Or maybe I just stopped paying attention.

[Vidar]

For someone who spends as much time writing stuff as I do, to this day I still cannot "type" as most people define it.  I hunt and peck with at least three fingers on each hand almost fast enough to pass as a professional typist, although I doubt many companies are looking to hire a fifty year old fat man that barely makes the minimum WPM.

Sadly I've concluded that the factor limiting my typing is more about thinking what to type than the actual typing speed. I don't really need to see the keyboard unless I need some really rare character.

Talking about adapting to keyboard I decided to make my life much more difficult by using two different keyboard setups - Norwegian and English. The Norwegian setup for typing Norwegian stuff, and the English setup for many programs speed keys and programming. Many programs and programming languages use characters on very accessible keys on English keyboards, but the same characters are often yoga inspired hand twisting key combinations on the Norwegian setup. Thus I decided to try and rewire the brain to hard switch between two different keyboard setups while the keyboard only shows one of them. It works for the most common characters. However when I  need a rare one I'm pecking like a crazy blind hen as what the key says is not what it does and the right character might be hiding in some weird shift alt something combination!

[MadPlumbarian]

For someone who spends as much time writing stuff as I do, to this day I still cannot "type" as most people define it.  I hunt and peck with at least three fingers on each hand almost fast enough to pass as a professional typist, although I doubt many companies are looking to hire a fifty year old fat man that barely makes the minimum WPM.

The up shot is that I can almost instantly adapt to any keyboard size without issue because my eyes are on the keyboard so I see when my fingers go wrong.   

Def

Same here, by the time I’ve already mistyped a word and the pad has suggested what it should be I’ve already hit the delete button, or how about the space bar, still hit it with one of the three fingers, or do you actually use a thumb?
JR

[aicolainen]

Sounds like a weird contraption. Portable printers doesn't seem to be a thing anymore either. Or maybe I just stopped paying attention.

It sure was an odd duck
Out of  curiosity I looked it up. According to the wikipedia page it was a combined printer/scanner. I didn't even remember it could work as a scanner. Quite clever for a portable computer product dating back to 1993.
The page also says the printer module was 70% smaller than anything Canon had made before, so they must have put some effort into this.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_NoteJet

Now I almost wish I still had them around

[Vidar]

Yes, that was an one for sure, but also seemed pretty clever! Fun one and pretty unique. I had thought it would be much bigger than that.

Back in those day I would typically build big desktop towers as that was the most bang for the buck. So sadly not much that is interesting today. Well, maybe that first 60/66Mhz Pentium model that calculates wrong is a curiosity? I decided to keep it rather than take the offer to get it replaced. But for the most part the 80s and 90s were just beige square plastic boredom. With the exception of a few that got sold, and a few that got stolen from the workshop, I still got them all around here somewhere.  Just in case I need to spin those hard drives up again to find earlier work...

[Farmer X]

Pretty cool to see that little computer humming (however noisily) along!

[Vidar]

I'll replace that HDD with an adapter and an industrial CF card. Should remove the noise and give it a proper speed boost as a bonus.

And since it has two pcmcia expansion slots I figured I might add two usb ports and maybe ethernet or wifi if I stumble upon those for cheap. The built-in mouse at the side of the screen is working, but I am rather slow and clumsy with that one so usb would be nice.

Now I just need something semi useful I could actually use it for. Too bad it lacks an external video port, and modern screen resolutions, or it might have been hot smurf for presentations!