Thanks, Brian; interesting to have it confirmed that they were indeed still in
use in the 90's.
No, I didn't quote the entire exchange with Evan; regarding the "urban legend"
I wasn't as closely involved as you, but I did say
"Perhaps not many in the 90s but they were certainly popular with journalists
in the 80s; a few years ago I chatted for a while with a British professional
full-time motorsport journalist who did indeed use an M100 for composing and
uploading, as did quite a few of his fellow journalists at the time."
And quoted Wikipedia:
"Tandy stated that the Model 100's sales "have only been moderate", and an
InfoWorld columnist later claimed that "it was only journalists" who had been
buying it. The system's popularity with journalists, however, probably helped
Radio Shack improve the company's poor reputation with the press and in the
industry."
Not much point in trying to convince Evan though... ;-)
As I said, I think the folks on this list are better qualified in this regard
than he is.
m
----- Original Message -----
From: Brian Brindle
To: m...@bitchin100.com
Sent: Sunday, November 05, 2017 11:20 AM
Subject: Re: [M100] Any writers still using an M100?
Mike,
Maybe it's my e-mail client but I didn't see your response to what Evan said.
I worked for Radio Shack in the 90s and I can say positively that reporters
using the M100 was not an urban legend. I supported dozens for many years and
was often offered more than retail for the equipment I had after Radio Shack
discontinued selling it. The reporters I supported were more frustrated with
the decline in phone booths than they were the aging or capabilities of their
equipment. I never did run into any sports reporters though so maybe that's the
urban legend.
I still use my M100 regularly today. I often get asked why I use such an
ancient device and usually the person who asks me is still using pen and paper
to take notes in a meeting so I just point out they like that ancient
technology for taking notes - I can type like a maniac so this works for me.
(And is technically newer.) I recently brought my TRS80 to one of our
"diversity" meetings at work. Just so happens this one was titled "Who Moved My
Cheese" and was all about dealing with change. I thought it was quite
appropriate I brought my 30 year old computer to that to take notes. While I
was in there a former reporter from the Roanoke TImes and World News, who is
now our Development Director, took one look at it and started to tell us
stories of him using a M100 to cover a news story in Washington DC late 90's
early 2000s. He mentioned how easy it was to type and submit the articles for
the copy editors. He was quite impressed with my REX capabilities and tiny
storage options available today indicating if he were a reporter and had stuff
like that he might consider still using it.
Granted, those usage stories are still over 17 years ago but I still use my
M100s as often as possible and it's mostly for writing. Computers have, in my
opinion, only gotten to the same level of convenience as the M100 in the last
few years. I do love my surface, it is instant on, has a decent keyboard,
decent battery life and actually makes my M100 feel bulky. But still it's
expensive and over complicated for most things. Still sometimes sits with a
software update screen when I power it on. So just like 90% of the folks will
grab a pen and paper instead of firing up their laptop to their favorite
text/note program when inspiration strikes I prefer to grab my M100 as that
tool.
Brian
On Thu, Nov 2, 2017 at 5:53 PM, Mike Stein <mhs.st...@gmail.com> wrote:
I thought some of you might be amused by this reply to a post I made in a
CCtalk mailing list thread discussing the best device for undistracted writing
with a good keyboard, display and battery life:
FWIW, Evan is a well-known figure in the vintage computer community.
m
----- Original Message -----
From: "Evan Koblentz via cctalk" <cct...@classiccmp.org>
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cct...@classiccmp.org>
Sent: Monday, October 30, 2017 3:47 PM
Subject: Re: looking at buying a pocket PC / PDA
>> Radio Shack M100 ... still used by some writers for the very reason you
mention.
>
> That is not true.
>
> It was an urban legend in the 1990s that a handful of old farts in the
> entirely sportswriting industry (thousands of writers overall) may
> "still" be using their Model 100s. I'm sure if you looked hard enough
> some of them still used typewriters too.
>
> In 2017? It's ridiculous to even speculate.
