MinisPort Emphasizes ‘Portable’

I’ve long lost count of how many different designs of portable computers I’ve seen. In a world where one desktop computer using the MS-DOS operating system tends to look pretty much like another, manufacturers keep introducing new MS-DOS portables without copying each other.

It’s not so much a matter that they haven’t got it right yet, but that one firm’s definition of what is right is usually quite different from another’s.

Take Zenith Data Systems, one of the more innovative players for several years. Its latest offering, the MinisPort, uses a tiny 2-inch floppy disk--far smaller than the standard 3 1/2-inch versions used on portables--to conserve battery power and weight.

Priced at $1,999, the MinisPort (they capitalize the P to emphasize portability) is Zenith’s smallest and lightest computer. Just an inch thick and about the size of a three-ring binder, it weighs 5.9 pounds with its rechargeable, replaceable battery.

To achieve such small size and light weight, Zenith made some significant changes in the way its new portable works compared to desktop personal computers and even its other portables.

For one thing, there is a lot of special-purpose memory built in, part of it to permanently store the MS-DOS operating system programs and other computer operation software, and part of it to store your own application programs and data files in what Zenith calls a “silicon drive.”

For another, there is a power-saving semi-backlit screen. In daylight or in a well-lit office, it relies on external light sources to illuminate the screen enough to see the characters. But in dim light, a pale blue electroluminescent backlight will make the screen legible.

I liked looking at the screen at night better than by day. It should be great on an airliner seat tray. If I were to use it much during the day at home or in the office, I would use a gooseneck lamp or something similar to light up the screen.

The most unusual feature of the MinisPort, however, is its diminutive 2-inch floppy disk drive. The plastic-encased diskette resembles a 3 1/2-inch diskette and is formatted to hold the same 720 kilobytes of data. For the introduction of the portable, Zenith mailed out pink 2-inch disks. But the real ones, manufactured by Panasonic, turned out to be a rather drab beige in color.

I may wonder if the computer world really needs yet another size of diskette to grapple with when we still haven’t done a very good job of integrating 3 1/2-inch and 5 1/4-inch disks. But it’s hard to argue with the lower power consumption and smaller size of the MinisPort that the new drive made possible. The little drive uses only 40% as much power as a typical 3 1/2-inch drive in a portable computer.

Zenith realized that nobody would have program files or data files on 2-inch floppies. Therefore, it included a software transfer program so that files can be moved back and forth from a desktop computer by connecting the two with a cable. The cable itself is available as an option.

The software transfer program is Fast Lynx LX, which is stored permanently in the 768 kilobytes of read-only memory (ROM) included in the computer, along with the DOS and utility files. Fast Lynx LX has the ability to clone itself onto the hard disk of any computer to which the MinisPort is connected. Then, from the portable, you can transfer program and data files back and forth between the two machines.

Obviously anticipating criticism for introducing a non-standard floppy disk, Zenith states in its product literature that it intends that the small disks be used mainly to back up data.

“We consider the 2-inch MiniDiskettes more as a backup device than as a new media format,” Zenith Data Systems President John P. Frank says.

It will be an expensive backup, however, with a 10-pack of the minidisks priced at $99 at Zenith dealers. That’s four to five times more expensive than 3 1/2-inch disks. Don’t expect to find the 2-inch disks anywhere else, either, unless and until the drive is used in a lot of other portables.

For $299 you can buy an external 3 1/2-inch drive that plugs into the MinisPort and runs off its power supply. I would consider that to be required equipment and the best way to store and transfer files. Considering the difference in disk prices, the external drive can pay for itself.

The “silicon drive” is identified as the D drive on the Zenith and works just like a real drive, but a lot faster. (The ROM drive containing the DOS and other programs is drive C and the little floppy is drive A. If you get the external 3 1/2-inch drive, it becomes drive B, but can be reassigned as drive A if you want.)

The basic MinisPort comes with 1 megabyte of random access memory (RAM), of which 360K can be allocated to the silicon drive. There is a 2-megabyte model available for $2,799. With it, 1.36 megabyte can be dedicated to the silicon drive, which is enough for most application programs along with a modest amount of data.

The silicon drive is permanent storage, more or less. As long as the battery has a charge, it will keep the silicon drive data files intact while the computer is turned off. It will draw down the battery, however, so you need to charge it frequently.

If the battery dies, a pair of lithium cells will keep the silicon drive alive for three days. They also maintain its data integrity while you change the rechargeable battery, if you carry a spare with you.

Using the 2-inch drive to store data, I got 2 1/2 hours out of the battery. But using only the silicon drive, battery life increased by a third to 3 1/3 hours.

What all this means is that the MinisPort needs to be kept charged and used frequently to keep it operational. If you only want a portable for occasional use, this probably isn’t the best computer to buy.

All features considered, the MinisPort is an attractive unit. It is small enough and light enough to be easily carried. The screen, while small and dim in office light, is legible enough. The 80-key keyboard can mimic all 101 keys of a standard personal computer keyboard, although some contortions are required. But that is true of nearly every portable keyboard.

It is also quite speedy, given the combination of 8 megahertz operating speed and file access of the silicon drive, which is faster than a typical hard disk.

ZENITH MINISPORT

A light, notebook-sized portable with a tiny 2-inch disk drive and a fast “silicon drive.”

Features: Weighs 5.9 pounds with battery, keyboard has 80 full-size keys, screen is backlit in dim ambient light, runs at 8 megahertz, has 720K, 2-inch floppy drive and up to 1.36 megabyte battery-maintained “silicon drive” in RAM. MS-DOS and Fast Lynx LX file transfer software are permanently installed in system ROM. Battery life is 2.5-3.3 hours and recharges in 4 hours. Includes parallel and serial ports, external disk connector, external RGB color CGA monitor connector.

Options: 2-megabyte model, $2,799; extra battery pack, $79; 10-pack of 2-inch disks, $99; start-up kit with transfer cable, 10 disks and vinyl case, $139; external drives, 2-inch, 3.5-inch or 5.25-inch, $299-$399; internal 1200-baud modem, $299.

Manufacturer: Zenith Data Systems, 1000 Milwaukee Ave., Glenview, Ill. 60025. Phone: (800) 553-0331.

Price: $1,999