JD> The Model 100/200 machines use 4 AA batteries and will run for 
 JD> about 15 hours on them. 
The PX-8 uses four "Cs" (sub-C) cells for the main set,  and will also run 
around that amount of time,  depending on how much you do stuff like run the 
tape drive.
 JD> I've powered mine with 4 'D' cells and/or a rechargeable 
 JD> gellcell. They'll go darn near forever on those. 
Yeah,  I can see where it would.  I can't try the same experiment as the PX-8 
doesn't have an external DC input connector,  only one for the charger.  I 
suppose that I could take out the battery and go into the connector where 
that plugs in,  but that's a bit of a pain to get at,  currently,  because 
I've gotta remove the expansion "wedge" first.
 JD> Don't bother with NiCads, the voltage is marginal when you 
 JD> first take them off the charger, and the low battery light 
 JD> comes on after only a couple of hours of operation.
I guess it's strictly sensing voltage,  then.  I can see where the different 
cell voltage could be a problem in a lot of applications.
 > I believe that this is still very much a viable market,  though the 
 > mass-production orientation of places like radio shack aren't going 
 > to let them continue to market a machine like that when they can get 
 > so much more for a "laptop" which has to have a "big" hard drive in 
 > it running windoze or w95...
 JD> Radio Shack would still be selling them if the market still 
 JD> demanded them. They were in production for about 10 years, and 
 JD> that has to be a record. Remember that it must COST nearly as 
 JD> much to produce a Model 100 as a modern laptop, but customers 
 JD> would expect it to sell for much less. So there'd be no profit 
 JD> in the machine.
How could it cost nearly as much when you're talking about a machine on the 
one hand that's typically got a hard drive,  color display,  floppy drive,  
possibly PC-MIA slots,  and *megs* of ram by contrast with a machine that's 
got a text display,  no drives,  no slots,  and maybe as much as 64k of ram?
There's no comparison there,  unless manufacturing,  distribution,  and 
retail overhead are a far bigger chunk of the retail price than I'd expect...
That may very well be,  as you sure don't see much earlier technology 
sticking around once it's been superseded.  In some cases there are technical 
justifications for this,  but in many instances I don't know if there is or 
not,  something like what we're talking about here being a prime example.
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