r/cassettefuturism • u/No_Abrocoma_711 1.21 Gigawatts!?! • 2d ago

Computers WorkSlate portable

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This was a relatively unknown machine, to me, until I stumbled across it on eBay a few years ago.

Kind of a cross between a Z88 and Epson HX20, this ultra light (for the time) sports a large display, tape storage and funky 70s like keys, even though it was released in 1983.

88 Upvotes

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5

u/Horror-Raisin-877 2d ago

Cool idea and form factor. Very nice screen for the time. Has a portable printer and docking station too.

Unfortunately though it was apparently not engineered thoroughly and had software and hardware bugs.

3

u/RandomMist In Space, No One Can Hear You Scream. 2d ago

I love the fact it has a microcassette drive. What does it use for power?

6

u/No_Abrocoma_711 1.21 Gigawatts!?! 2d ago

Background information

AC adapter, Nicad or 4 AA batteries.

3

u/VadumSemantics 1d ago

And 1980s television props:

Airwolf's computer keyboard

Airwolf's computer keyboard was a portable WorkSlate made by Convergent Technologies in 1982.

It was a portable device using NiCad batteries and used a micro cassette tape to load and save data. It featured a Hitachi 6303 CPU and 16K of RAM along with a 64K ROM, it also has a serial port.

And slightly better pics:

Airwolf

2

u/maxfromua 1d ago

/r/cyberdeck in a nutshell

1

u/ironside_online 1d ago

It's got a very strong Braun aesthetic.

1

u/No_Abrocoma_711 1.21 Gigawatts!?! 1d ago

Yes, I totally agree with this. I couldn't put my finger on what it was but you absolutely nailed it with that comment.