Toshiba Libretto

[Debee Norling]

Responding to lots of individual questions about this computer:

1: Yes, it can run many distros. Many, many reports on the net exist that
detail how to get your distro working.  The only reason I'm having trouble
is because I'm too new to understand some of that information.

2: The computer was widely popular and had a sort of cult following.  The
earliest American model is the 50CT (75MHZ Pentium running Win95) and the
latest was the 110CT (250MHZ Pentium, running Win98.)

3: They are easily available on Ebay.  Last weekend I found prices from $100
to $895.

4: All models have essentialy the same footprint and weigh about a pound and
a half. They're roughly the size of a videotape.  Keyboards are very tiny
but fully QWERTY.

5: Docking stations are also easy to get on ebay providing a PS/2 keyboard
port. Or you can get a smaller port replicator, which is what I use to have
a serial port. The larger docking station also has a second PCMCIA slot
which is type III.

6: Memory ranges from 16MB to 192MB. My 50CT can only be expanded to 32MB.
Toshiba still has online specs and drivers for all models. If you find one
on Ebay, research the Toshiba site to check the specs.

7: A larger laptop hard drive can be easily added.  The net is filled with
step-by-step guides including pictures.  My fiance, a sighted engineer,
installed a new drive in my Libretto in under a half hour. The machine can
also be overclocked, and guides are available to do this as well.

8: The machine runs JAWS and Window-Eyes fine -- no video driver or other
compatibility snaffus or surprises. Also runs all DOS screen readers fine.
Boots with a PCMCIA floppy supported by its BIOS. Mine has no internal NIC
or modem -- later models might. the BIOS does have support for suspend to
disk, and a special partition exists for that which you have to avoid
clobbering with Linux if you need it for Windows.

9: Best Linux information is on linux-on-laptops.com, just pick the Libretto
link. There's also Libretto Linux information on tuxmobil.com. The most
comprehensive Libretto portal is The Adorable Toshiba Libretto page. I've
also found another huge list of links which is in a URL at the bottom of
this message.

10: With Linux, my small battery seems to last about 4.5 hours with the
screen turned down but not off. (Haven't figured out how to turn it all the
way off outside of Windows.) In Windows, the same battery and using software
speech it lasts about two hours. There is also a double-capacity battery
which I haven't tested yet.

11: Unlike many laptops, the Libretto has a touchpad that's integrated in to
the right side of the screen. The left and right buttons are on the back of
the screen and auto-disable when the lid is closed. For a blind user this
means that you don't have a touchpad in the way while typing. It also means
that if you get a mouse pointer positioned where you want, you can click
without disturbing its position as there is no actual moving mouse.

12: All the BIOS setup is accessible via a DOS utility. You need a screen
reader that can handle lightbar tracking. There's also a Windows utility to
manage all BIOS settings.

13. On a bus, I can velcro the Libretto to one knee; there's plenty of room
left in my lap for my guide dog's head.


Links:

Adorable Toshiba Libretto: www.silverace.com/libretto/
Other Links: http://www.amherst.co.uk/liblinks.htm

	       --   Debee
(Deborah Norling)
Alternate Media Specialist
DeAnza College
Phone: 408-864-5815
       <MailTo: norlingdeborah at fhda.edu>