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Technology

Simple Terminals w/ Small Footprints? 30

Posted by Cliff from the does-this-exist? dept.
ylem asks: "I have a Linux box running in my computer room. At times I would like to just have a terminal session running to my box from my living room for programming. I am looking for a laptop type terminal. Very dumb. I am talking VT220 or VT420 type. I checked Wyse but all they have are keyboard and full monitor types. I am looking for small (laptop-sized) and cheap (no CPU, no harddrive, etc). I did a search for on-sale places online but nothing matching my need." Hmmm... this is a description of an odd beast, that I don't think exists (please correct me if I'm wrong). However, a laptop should work just as well. It doesn't have to be a hefty one and something from the used-bin should work just fine. A 486 laptop should be able to handle text mode quite well. What do you folks think?
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Simple Terminals w/ Small Footprints? More

Simple Terminals w/ Small Footprints?

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  • I used an Apple //e for a terminal once but, due to the size of the old monitor, it was too clunky. I used a 25ft null serial cable, an apple Super Serial Card (max speed 9600bps) and Ascii Express.

    The novelty wore off too. But oh, how I loved playing Robotron again!

  • You can check on ebay for a card or see if there is a used mac dealer in your area. There are also SCSI to ethernet adapters for Macs w/o any expansion slots.

  • Older notebooks make excellent terminals for a home LAN. I use two 486 notebooks, one running a lightweight install of Red Hat 6.0 w/ SSH and an X server. The other one has only a 486SLC (no math coprocessor) and an 80 meg HD and won't run Linux comfortably, so I use DOS-based Kermit and a TCP/IP packet driver for a Telnet session. Prior to Kermit, I used a serial link w/ Procomm Plus.
    This is what I love about Linux, and Unix in general, you don't need to maintain and synchronize 5+ computers, just have access to one computer from everywhere.
    ---------------------
    the SlashDot spellchecker:

  • 286 (Score:1)

    by woggo ( 11781 )
    If you can find a 286 laptop, that's really all you need. You can run MINIX or SCO/286 (if you can find it) on such a beast and connect over the serial port. (If it's not a concern for you, you can also use MS-DOG based terminal emulation sw.)

    I had such a setup in my dorm my junior year in college. You can probably get a [23]86 for free if you know where to look, but you'll probably have to leave them plugged in all the time because the battery is liable to be dead and irreplacible.




    woggo
  • ... an 80 meg HD and won't run Linux comfortably ...

    Not entirely true. If all you need to do is boot up with networking and telnet to another machine, 80mb is plenty of room. I've run a stripped down version of Debian that has networking support (with telnetd and ftpd) in a 50mb partition.


    Derek Lewis
  • Just buy a crappy laptop (486). If you get one that has easily replacable parts, like a thinkpad or a toshiba, then you don't have to worry about warranty etc. I'm very happy with the one I bought on ebay (~$150). One word of warning, however: you won't get a good battery. That's just the way it is. If you are looking for portability farther than an extension cord away from a wall socket, then you might need to pay.
  • If all you need is shell access, do what others have suggested and find an old terminal. Laptops are too much cash for too much hardware. I routinely find Dec VT320 and 420 terminals at swap meets (SF bay area) but they are really easy to find via ebay or other such avenues. Terminals are easy (no moving parts) to maintain and even easier to set up under most of the free un*x flavors and linux. I use Freebsd, but before that I had 2 vt320 running off a slackware box. A cheap laptop is nice, but for simplicity, a dumb serial terminal is the way to go.
  • If there are laptop size terminals out there, I'd bet you'll pay through the nose for one.

    So a cheap laptop should do. I bought a refurbished Toshiba (Don't buy a used one from private sale. Warranties are extremely important for laptops, where you can't simply replace a flaky component.). Refurb is the way to go. I'm happy with mine (though I desperately need a RAM upgrade).

    Check out this link:

    http:// www.csd.toshiba.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Toshiba.woa /wa/goto?page=encore [toshiba.com]
  • I have a Mac SE that I use for a dumb terminal at work. Self contained, small footprint, CHEAP ($30 on ebay) and it does the job.
  • Does anyone knows if there is any standard for laptops? I mean, the keyboard, display and HD connections? I've noticed that some notebooks from NEC and Toshiba have the same keyboard connector. I've also been able to get the HD's pinouts(they're just IDE discs with different connectors, they'll require some soldering). If there's any(even if unnoficial), we could easily pick old parts in a trash can and assemble a terminal(but not so dumb, eh?). I have a 386/16Mhz beast whose power suppy circuits failed. As these are embedded in the motherboard I'm unable to use it anymore. However, it has a good(albeit monocrome) display, a good(for a laptop, and small) keyboard and a small HD. Since I also have some standard 486's and 386's motherboards, I wonder if I can be able to connect those things to create a new pc, if they follow the same standards.
  • I'd definately have to agree.
    Z-Term is the only way to go.

    (In college, I had a Centris650 in my dorm, connected via ISN (a 9600/19200 bps ATT network). The machine was up through the full semester, 'till they made us clear out for christmas break.)

    Which brings me to a little known fact:

    When first connecting, in the corner, ZTerm displays min:sec, then, after you get to hours, it displays hrs:min....after 60hrs, it displays:
    (hrs/60):(remainder)

    I think I had that first number up to 30 or so....(ie, 2.5 months)
  • There's a BSD distribution that runs off a floppy:
    picoBSD.

    it definately has network support, as I'm using it for a router. (on a borrowed 486, with a 9" b&w monitor I picked up for $10 at a computer show)
  • As an aside to this thread, can anyone recommend a terminal emulator that will emulate the linux console (i.e. F1-10, etc) so when I telnet into my linux boxen from win95/98 I can better enjoy the experience (and X is out of the question as is VNC).

    thx,
    bobm
  • There are around there some Linux distributions that run on a floppy, I use LOAF (http://loaf.ecks.org/) and you could use it really easy on a laptop, the problem here may be network adapter support. Or there are still arounf very ligth distros, not on a floppy but something you can use on a laptop.
  • I'd suggest the ultimate small footprint terminal, a Mac Plus. They have a tiny footprint, built in monitor and you can get nice freeware terminal emulation programs on the net. The price: 20$-30$ US. The drawback is these machines have no hardrive... that's why I like to snack on the Mac SE, which usually runs 30$-40$.
    If you want a 486 box w/no keyboard or monitor I will send you one if you are willing to pay S&H.

    Pinche Gonzales
    pinche@prontomail.com
  • I have an Ethernet card for SE (with the
    backpanel, internal cable and all). Make a
    reasonable offer.
  • How small and lightweight do you need?


    My Psion 3A pocket organizer has a real keyboard and a screen that's legible at 25x80 (though it's pretty small print), and there's free vt100 terminal software available. It's particularly nice for those times that you need to connect to a router console or server computer that you'd normally access with telnet. The Psion is a wonderful beast, with an interesting operating system, good physical design, and a small but fanatical bunch of supporters putting out free and commercial software.
    Psion Web Ring [geocities.com]

    The 3A has a weird I/O requiring a somewhat expensive adapter cable, but the 3C uses a standard RS-232 cable (and also infrared!) and has a backlit screen. The 5 is a major redesign and can do lots of Internet things on its own. You can pick up a used 3-series model for about $150-200.


    Of course, you could get a Palm Pilot and one of the keyboards that goes with it; just because I'm a Psion fan doesn't mean I don't know where the market leader is :-) and the Pilot does seem to be well-designed.

  • Various people have suggested getting a cheap laptop as a remote terminal, and running a terminal emulator on top of DOS/Windows/MacOS. Most current laptops have infrared capability, so depending on your physical configuration you may be able to use this instead of wire.

    Another option is radio - WebGear [webgear.com] Aviator is a ~2Mbps short-distance radio system that plugs into a parallel port, and they have other models for USB and PCMCIA. I don't know if there are Linux drivers yet or not. Their older models tend to be on sale at Fry's for about $100-150/pair. This means you can have the real PC in your computer room, but sit somewhere comfortable around the house with your laptop.

    There are also phone-line and power-line systems for short-distance communications. Most of them are ~19200 instead of megabit speeds, but that's fine for terminal emulation and many programming activities.

    Last time I saw a dumb terminal at a computer fair or the physical stores for Halted Specialties [halted.com] or Weird Stuff [weirdstuff.com], it was about $10-20 for a wyse or equivalent.

    Old Macintoshes are about $25. They're not as portable as a laptop, but they're a bit smaller than most dumb terminals, and they're cute.

    There are all sorts of small portable computers, laptop-like things, industrial portables, penpads, etc. which can be cheap because they're obsolete but are still good enough to use as a remote terminal while sitting on your back porch; some of the industrial models can even be used in your hot tub :-)

    Unfortunately, most older portables used specialized batteries, typically NiCad, and the batteries are often dead or near-dead and new replacements can't be found, so you either have to do battery hacking or run them off A/C, and eithe r way you tend to void the watertightness that lets you use them in the tub, as well as being less convenient.

  • Couldn't you just buy a really crappy old 486 for like 150$ and use NFS to get almost the same effect? Or you could even run a serial cable down and connect that way. (first!)
  • For the terminal software, I definately recommend z-term.
  • I got a refurbished Toshiba via CompUSA direct. Normal price was $1399, I got it for $999. Works great with Linux, and I haven't had any problems with it.

  • I just bought a Wyse terminal the other day (new in the box) for precisely this purpose. Got a couple of RJ45-DB25 adapters and ran some cabling from my machine room to my living room.

    The thing works great (though it's text only, and this one monochrome at that). It's basically a self-contained monitor unit with a keyboard. What was your objection to this type of setup?

    You can get a cheapie serial terminal such as this for anywhere from $10 to $50 (check eBay).

    Now if I can just get used to the keyboard...

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