Re: more on TP vs T****

["John E Goodman" <jgood@mbox.kyoto-inet.or.jp>]

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

Having used a 755CD [486/100 24Mb/810] for a year, but now being a
720CDT owner, my observations:

If the most important factor is screen resolution, then the Tecra
720CDT wins hands down. The screen is fantastic; there simply is no
substitute for pixels, when it comes to today's programs. However,
I do miss the sliding brightness adjuster of the TP -- the Tecra
only has two screen brightness levels, and these are adjustable
only in software. Perhaps I expect the impossible, but the Tecra
and brightly sunlit spaces don't work well together; the screen is
best in dimly lit surroundings. In lieu of a brightness slider,
adjusting the screen viewing angle changes the saturation and
apparent brightness of the image to one's preference.

I think I prefer the TP method of suspend & resume: my TP paged
memory to disk and then seemed to go completely dead, leaving the
battery with no current drain at all. The Tecra shuts down a lot
quicker, but I've had 'resume failure' messages after leaving the
machine suspended for a time. Mains power brings back the system
to normal, if not exactly to the privious state; no problem.

The Tecra telephony app works just fine 'out of the box' easy as
pie, unlike my TP's software. While enjoying other aspects of the

755CD, I downloaded the then latest version of Faxworks and did my
best, but didn't wind up with a faultless combination.

For folk who need the NTSC connection, the TP's built-in hardware
is great. However, a Snappy video capture tool is probably as good
or better than the MWave DSP, since it will interpolate and yield a
higher resolution image. And there are scan converters that will
translate the Tecra's external monitor output to NTSC well enough,
for a few hundred dollars, if this is needed. 

The first generation of ZV video capture cards for the Tecra seems
to have sold out, while the second is around the corner. This new
card should offer simultaneous audio *and* video recording
capabilities. Although the verdict may be out on the ZV branch of
PC cards, the Tecra had no trouble hot swapping a scsi PC card &
Zip drive, under Windows 95.

I also prefer the TP's volume dial, a radial wheel with numbers, to
the Tecra's twist knob which, until I'd put a black zero mark on
it, couldn't tell me how far off null the volume was set. Albeit
this is a control that I don't often change, IBM's design seems
better. I'm of two minds about the plastic: the TP's black is very
fine, while the T's gray is more retiring, less assertive.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining either way. Both companies
make great machines. And the pace quickens: two months after I got
the 720CDT, its going price is a thousand dollars less, falling
fast, and the 730s are due out any moment now.