more on TP vs T****

[dewar@gnat.com (Robert Dewar)]

Those who are allergic to the mention of products made by T***iba should
read no further :-)

Here are some more observations based on using the two machines (760CD and
Tecra 720CDT) side by side.

The trackpoint on the Tecra is much more sensitive, and in fact even at
the most insensitive setting (in both Win95 and OS/2) is too sensitive
for me, but I assume that this is software fixable if you know how!

The keyboard on the Tecra (whose feel I like better than the 760CD buyt
that is personal stuff) is more crowded. It lacks the extra row above
the function keys. A notable result is that there is no Ctrl and Alt
keys to the right of the space bar, only to the left. This is a 
disadvantage for EPM use at any rate.

The Tecra definitely runs cooler, but here is an interesting observation.
The Tecra has feet, and if you put it up on its feet, it runs much hotter!
The fan turns on (I never heard it turn on if the machine rests on the desk)
and the top of the machine gets noticably (and slight uncomfortably) warm,
although the bottom still does not get as hot as the TP. 

This is interesting in light of our discussion on heat transfer here a
while ago, since it suggests that at least for the Tecra, and at least on
my desk (which has a formica top) acts as a better heat sink than air alone!

Finally, there are still no 1024 x 768 OS/2 drivers for the Tecra, C&T just
announced a 550 driver, but it does not work on the Tecra yet.

P.S. I really like the screen, it is uncomfortable to go back to the TP
screen at this stage, I use a 10 x 6 font for command windows, and it is
easy to read, while resulting in nice small windows and lots of room on
the screen. Basically what you have on a machine like this is a display
that is about the same size as a 14" or even some 15" displays, but with
a much higher clarity. Really nice to work with.

P.P.S. The Tecra is about twice as fast as the 90MHz 760CD, which is very
nice, but I assume that the 760ED should be as fast or faster than the
Tecra. Note that the Tecra 730CDT (with 150MHz and 2.1 gig disk, is 
supposed to appear September 1), that's not enough of an advantage for
me to move :-) but it does mean that it might be worth a bit of a wait if
you want a Tecra, or alternatively that the price of the 720CDT's still
around will drop.