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27 years later and the Psion 3a is still wonderful (2020)

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Re: 27 years later and the Psion 3a is still wonderful (2020)

#91

Post by triggercut »

This brings back happy memories. I was lucky enough to have the precursor, an Acorn Pocket Book, as part of my school curriculum. I lost it a few years ago in a move but I can still remember the the distinctive "device" smell (probably the case material). I yearned for the additional memory of the Psion 2. I would write lengthy stories that would fill up the memory. No off-device storage. I'd have to delete entries of birds i'd spotted and researched from cards app, tough decisions needed to be made.

Long before pokemon swept the west, our teacher would take us bird watching. We'd create entries in the cards app for each one we spotted, then research the birds in the library to fill out the entry. Then, as a class we'd trade (share) our research with each other.

Re: 27 years later and the Psion 3a is still wonderful (2020)

#92

Post by numpad0 »

msh wrote: post #18
tobiasbischoff wrote: post #5

I will never understand why we do not have this kind of device anymore. A small computer, running linux, proper keyboard, integrated LTE - it would be a messaging and writing dream. Back in the days i developed custom software for the Revo, the SDK was a dream to work with as well.

You can still have it. You can order one at https://store.planetcom.co.uk Comes preinstalled with android, but you can load linux on them instead if you so wish.

I think I saw one of Planet Computers models or one close to it, and the keyboard keys felt like rubber keys with laptop caps glued on, not like real pantograph or scissors keys. I felt I dodged a bullet at that moment.

Re: 27 years later and the Psion 3a is still wonderful (2020)

#93

Post by zokier »

unwind wrote: post #19

I realized I had no idea what actual platform these were (I'm old enough to remember longing for one of these but never had one back in the day). It's powered by the NEV V20 [1] processor, which is a 16-bit chip that is code and pin compatible with the more famous Intel 8088. The NEC chip was launched in March of 1984 which is interesting given that the Psion 3a came in 1991. It feels like today launching a product b…

NEC V20 was also in one of my favorite palmtops, HP 95LX also from 1991. Later models switched to custom chip afaik.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP_95LX

Re: 27 years later and the Psion 3a is still wonderful (2020)

#94

Post by mysterydip »

qubex wrote: post #42
jw1224 wrote: post #37

Psion 3c was what got me into programming! My grandfather gave me his old one when I was a kid. To an 11-year-old, a spreadsheet, world clock, and address book gets old pretty fast :) But the in-built OPL [1] language provided unlimited possibilities. You can see the icon for it in one of the screenshots. I remember printing off a copy of the 300-page language manual I found online (breaking dad’s printer in the proc…

I started with OPL on a Pison Series 3 (“no bloody A, B, C, or D!”) with 128 kbytes of storage — unlimited potential but limited resources… my first project was to code up something that looked like John Connor’s ATM-cracking program from Terminator 2.

For those that don't get the reference: https://youtu.be/qTOP1BezOB8

Re: 27 years later and the Psion 3a is still wonderful (2020)

#95

Post by mysterydip »

oliwarner wrote: post #53
stavros wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that looking at it from a MHz standpoint is a red herring. How many things can you do per watt now, than you could per watt then?

And power consumption is a —among other things— a function of transistor size and process. A lot has changed in 30 years, but our methods of programming these things has veered towards incredible wastefulness.

To put it another way, how much longer battery life would that same psion get if the CPU/board was made with modern transistor sizes.

Re: 27 years later and the Psion 3a is still wonderful (2020)

#97

Post by 4fips »

jw1224 wrote: post #37

Psion 3c was what got me into programming! My grandfather gave me his old one when I was a kid. To an 11-year-old, a spreadsheet, world clock, and address book gets old pretty fast :) But the in-built OPL [1] language provided unlimited possibilities. You can see the icon for it in one of the screenshots. I remember printing off a copy of the 300-page language manual I found online (breaking dad’s printer in the proc…

No so long ago, around 2012 :), I was still using my Psion 3c + a short OPL program, to trigger my hacked time lapse camera over serial line. It worked quite reliably for years. https://forums.4fips.com/viewtopic.php?t=717

Re: 27 years later and the Psion 3a is still wonderful (2020)

#98

Post by jorvi »

regularfry wrote: post #61
dspillett wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are very similar things available. https://store.planetcom.co.uk/collections/popular-items/prod... is basically mimicking the Psion 5 in its physical design, and there are a number of other very small laptops around like https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09FQ7QNFB/ or GPD's various models if you want higher specs and have the cash to flash, and so on. But for longer messaging on the move (and occasionally other thin…

I find as I get older and my eyesight isn't quite as good that what I want for that sort of use case is an external keyboard and a monocle, or some other head-mounted display. Any portable device with a stand that's any smaller than a laptop means leaning over and squinting.

A foldable might help in that departement, but you definitely sacrifice pocketability.

Re: 27 years later and the Psion 3a is still wonderful (2020)

#99

Post by quickthrower2 »

coldtea wrote: post #55
stavros wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that looking at it from a MHz standpoint is a red herring. How many things can you do per watt now, than you could per watt then?

Better ask, how many things you could do per watt now , if software had that era's leanness?

Most computers are inefficient per watt due to waiting on IO from the human.

Re: 27 years later and the Psion 3a is still wonderful (2020)

#100

Post by jorvi »

coldtea wrote: post #57
bayindirh wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks! Oh, looks like I'm old now. :c

Reddit is for old geezers, so I doubt any of the above answers is in any way in touch with 2023. And I'm not sure who calls Macbooks "$2000 Facebook machines". That sounds like the ancient DOS era bs that "Macs are toys" (funny, the PC ended getting all the gamers and meat-and-potatoes OS needs, i.e. email+web, older people). In the west, where they can afford it, a huge chunk of programmers, graphic designers, data…

Change “the West” into “mostly America”.

There is still a decent chunk of Apple users in Europe, but it is a far cry from the extreme obsession America seems to have with Apple devices.

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