In article ,
Charlie Self wrote:
Larry Blanchard asks:

Charlie, do you remember the "lunchbox" computers? Nobody sells them
anymore, but at least a couple of years ago you could buy a case with
the (small) CRT and build your own. I don't know about battery-powered,
but with a converter you could plug it in to your car/truck lighter.

Sounds familiar. My first computer was a 'portable' Kaypro 1, but that little
thing weighed something like 22 pounds. I did cart it along a couple times,
which may be why I wear a 36" sleeve these days.

One 36" sleeve, and one 33" one, right? (like lugging a Speed Graphic

As for what's going on with lap-top pricing, The _biggest_ expense factor
is the low-power-consumption component selection. And it's pretty much a
fixed _amount_ increment over the 'regular power' components. So, the
price hit on the higher capacity stuff is _relatively_ smaller. Add in
the 'quantity buying' power of the big boys, and it's not surprising that
they can market much more impressive specs for 'very little' more money than
the little guys.

Many people _still_ prefer the little guys, because they have a better idea
of what they're getting (component suppliers don't change from week-to-week,
depending on who has the better price _today_), and can, many times, specify
the precise make/model, etc. of the components they want.