Hmm, I can't access the link either. I'm in the uk and the UK alphasmart site says 'ring this number' for Dana, 2000 and 3000 support and refers to them as legacy devices. This site claims you can get at the dana manuals via them - you have to provide an email address and jump through captcha hoops - no idea if they charge for their services. The AlphaSmart 2000 is very light weight, user friendly and just plain fun to use. Where I might allow myself to play when I should be working on a computer laptop (games, internet, email, that sort of thing)the AlphaSmart keeps me focused on writing, which is what I'm supposed to be doing.
AlphaSmart 2000 portable word processor, made in USA, used, in great condition, 3 AA batteries last hundred hours, no power adapter/cord required.No cables included.In October 1997, AlphaSmart Inc. Introduced the third generation of the AlphaSmart family, the AlphaSmart 2000. Along with a more ergonomic design, the AlphaSmart 2000 was smooth, curvy, and of all things. New features added were spell-checking, direct printing, auto-off and a keyboarding timer. The company also released infrared capability into the 2000 model exactly one year later, enabling users to transfer text to a computer or another AlphaSmart without a cable. This model needed 3 AA batteries, but could still use the original rechargeable NiCad battery pack if purchased from AlphaSmart Inc.
Seperately.Key Features:AlphaSmart measures 12.4' wide, 9.3' deep, and is only 1.9' thick. Weights approximately the two pounds.Stores up to 64 pages of text in up to 8 documents.Easy navigation with arrow, home, end, and find keys.Built in spell checker.Extended character set with accents, copyright symbols, and more.Built in 4 x 40 LCD (4 lines, 40 characters per line).Long running time on only 3 AA batteries. (120-300 hours).Password protect files.Keyboard Timer.Review by lowendmac.com 1999:Imagine something smaller, lighter, and far less expensive than an iBook.Imagine writing on a keyboard with no Mac attached.That's one way of looking at the AlphaSmart 2000, the device I'm writing this review on.The AlphaSmart has a full-sized keyboard, eight memory partitions to store your writing (so you can have up to 8 different projects handy at all times), and runs for weeks (120-300 hours of writing) on three AA batteries.Unlike PowerBooks and most portable computers, there's no hinged screen. If you remember the Tandy 100, you have some idea what the AlphaSmart looks like.But it's a lot lighter and far less costly than that old journalist's workhorse.
It's a friendly blue, shaped to fit the lap comfortably, and has a four line, 40 character display.The key action is quite comfortable, and using the AlphaSmart is a breeze. When you're done writing, you can connect it to your Mac's ADB port (or a PC's keyboard port), open your file, press the send button, and watch it type your text into your favorite word processor or page design program.If you have an infrared port on your computer (e.g., Bondi iMacs), the AlphaSmart 2000IR lets you beam files without wires.It's a very clever design.The Hardware:Not much wider then the standard typing keys on your keyboard, the AlphaSmart measures 12.4' wide, 9.3' deep, and is only 1.9' thick. The two pound keyboard is rugged, so you won't feel uncomfortable toting it around.The function keys across the top of the keyboard save files 1-8, print, and even spell check. The arrow keys aid navigation, as do home and end keys.In fact, you can connect the AlphaSmart to a Mac and use it like a regular keyboard, although you'd probably miss the numeric keypad and other special keys.The supertwist LCD display is not backlit, displaying dark blue text on a green-gray background. It's quite legible in even modest lighting.The text is composed of monospaced characters 7 pixels tall. If you're an old timer, you'll know that means some compromises in text display - characters with descenders (y, g, j, p, q) appear higher than they should.It's not as attractive as the Mac's nicely formed characters, but for basic text entry, it suffices.The Firmware:There really isn't much in the way of software. It handles up to 8 text files, can search for a work or phrase, has basic spell checking, and can send files to your computer.The eight text files come in different sizes.
File 1 can be up to 16 pages long, the next 4 up to 8 pages, the next two up to 6 pages, and the last file 4 pages. Total storage capacity is 128 KB/64 pages.The AlphaSmart has an extended character set with accents, copyright symbols, and more.The spell checker does show one drawback of a firmware-based device: you can't add words to the dictionary.Other than that, it provides all the power you need in a portable text processor.Little Room for Improvement:Friendly as the AlphaSmart 2000 is with its curved edges, there are a few things that could make it more attractive - starting with USB. Of course, now that USB is standard on all Macs and most PCs, it's a safe bet the next version of the AlphaSmart will have a USB port.USB would also make it fully plug-and-play; with ADB, you really should power down your Mac before connecting the AlphaSmart.One improvement I would like to see is a nicer display font, maybe a proportional font as crisp as Geneva.
It would take a bit more system overhead to display a proportional typeface, but that and true descenders would make reading a bit easier.A slightly larger display would be nice, but adding more than one row would probably increase the size of the AlphaSmart - which would not be a good thing.Conclusion:These are minor issues. For what it does, the AlphaSmart 2000 is a well though out, well executed writing machine. It's often used in schools to teach keyboarding and writing. In the two weeks I've had one, I've found it is an excellent writing tool.If you're intrigued, visit the AlphaSmart web site to learn more about this $229 (retail price) writing machine.
The major attractions to the hobby of admiring and using retrotech is the low cost of entry and the ease of seeing what technologies of the past have stood the test of time to survive and prove their worth and durability for particular tasks.have (or at least the end of manufacturing) of the Alphasmart Neo recently. Like the typewriter before it, another excellent distraction-free, single purpose writer’s tool bites the dust.
The fact that this happens just before NanoWriMo is doubly sad, I’m certain, for those who haunt the Alphasmarties group. For me, however, the passing of the Dana was a greater loss.The main differences between the two are:1) The Dana has a much larger screen.2) The Neo has a much longer battery life.3) The Dana runs a much richer PalmOS operating system than the Neo, and includes a touchscreen interface.4) The Dana has 2 SD card slots.Of these differences, the first two and the fourth are really the only ones that matter to me.
My Dana’s screen space is better suited to my writing style, although I do envy the weeks and weeks of battery life enjoyed by Neo users. I’m happy to get a few days worth of work out of a set of batteries, which is, in the long run OK by me. The touchscreen PalmOS is nice, but I don’t often find myself using a stylus when my main use of the machine is as a simple word processor. Often, I just use my finger to position the cursor in the text or select screen icons, and that works as well as the stylus.The fourth point is also a big reason I prefer the Dana over the Neo.
I have several older SD cards ranging in size from 16mb to 64mb that all work well in the Dana. Newer cards in the GB sizes do not work. These cards are non-volatile and are unaffected by the state of the battery, unlike the Alphasmart’s internal memory. This does not happen on a Dana, if you’re careful to start new documents on the SD card instead of the machine’s internal storage. The SD card is also a handy way to transfer files if you don’t happen to have a USB cable handy.Because these Alphasmart machines were used extensively in schools for many years, used ones have been surplused in huge lots by schools systems over the years, and you can easily find these on eBay, which is where I obtained mine a few years ago. We have two of these surplused Danas and I have to say that they are well worth the cost (about $35 each with shipping).A quick check of eBay suggests that they can still be had for about that price. A used Neo will set you back about $50 with shipping.
These deals are unlikely to go away very soon, so if you’re interested in trying one out, they aren’t very hard to get ahold of for about the same price you’d pay for a decent typewriter.Both the Dana and the Neo have full-sized laptop-style keyboards that are nice to type on, compact, light and durable. I like to compare my Dana to my much older Tandy laptops (Model 100, 200 and WP-2) in terms of probable longevity.
As long as USB stays standard and AA batteries are still manufactured, the Alphasmart will likely still be a useful tool twenty or thirty years from now. The machines themselves will probably still be kicking then, as long as they are treated decently.
I expect mine will still be around long after the more modern Windows machines I have now are sitting in landfills.That’s the advantage of simplicity in design of a machine that does one thing well. A large backlit monochome, low power consumption LCD, a good full-size keyboard and multiple well-supported methods to transfer files coupled with a power source that’s not going to be obsoleted are the reasons that the Alphasmart Danas that now exist will still be with us decades from now.I’ve been skimming through some Google searches for Alphasmart Dana software that might be handy for Nanowrimo, and it turns out that there are a few Wrimos out there who have like compiling wordcount totals for writing sessions and file management on the SD cards. I’ll be loading these up and reviewing them over Nanowrimo to evaluate their usefulness.Addendum: Blogging via Alphasmart is an easier process than with a typewriter. It eliminates the scanner step, which with my ancient scanner, has lately been somewhat troublesome. The dang thing only works at all with an old WinXP laptop, and it’s not even working well with that in the past few months. Like a balky typewriter, it works just enough of the time that I haven’t yet given up on it, but it’s a break in the chain, a squeaky violin in the chamber quartet of my workflow.
(Camera, Writing machine, Scanner, WordPress). I love my Neo, but I need to say that I don’t use it has much for writing as I should. I got it because I write, but I found it useful more for work purposes.I have to say that I loved my Amstrad NC200 more, but that was because it had a better screen angle and a backlight. But I used my Amstrad so much that I killed it and no computer repair service has been able to revive it (sigh).Oh well. Sad to hear that the Neo’s being discontinued, although with the advent of iPads as a learning and research tool, it was hardly surprising. I am simply smitten by this product.
It would be so handy during the field trips I have to make from time to time. I work as a geologist, hydrogeologist to be more specific; searching for ground water in underdeveloped areas.I love to write fiction as well.The alphasmart, however, isn’t available in my country, India. And now, as it seems, it never will be, for its production has been discontinued.So, l, still have to slog on my laptop and bear the power problem, heat, cumbersome, clumsy typing, not to speak of the plethora of distractions loaded into it.Sanjaya. I love my Alphasmart Dana. I often think of things in the middle of the night (I write philosophical academic journal articles). Press the ON button, whizzo! Ready to compose a paragraph instantly.
Love the keyboard too. I set the text size to Garamond 14pt bold, and can see it easily without my glasses, saving the file from the start to an SD card. I get two weeks out of one charge, but that’s light use only. (I did the power hack to be found on the internet, so just use three separate NiMH batteries in the slot).
Absolutely perfect for my circumstances. And totally silent too.
To transfer the text into an MS Word doc, I simply use a USB SD card reader, go to MS Word Insert on the main page, insert an Object, Text only and I have it. I get a bit of extraneous material at the start of the text, easily deleted. I use $$ for line breaks.
Then in MS Word, change all the $$ to paragraph commands. I have both the Dana and Neo2. The biggest difference between them is the battery life. The Dana burns through batteries every few days. The NEO2 seems to never need new batteries.
That difference makes all the difference for me. Plus, even after many months of use, I am discovering more features in the Neo2 software. It is a great machine. Finally, transferring data when I have a lot of files is easier with the neo2 – no need to convert through palm format or anything. No need for a card reader.
They are equally good at sending single files at relatively slow speeds via the USB cable into a wordprocessing document, however. And the Dana does have a bigger screen, backlighting, etc.
If only the battery life of the Dana was better. Nothing compares to the battery life of the Neo2, making it an easy favorite for initial drafting of documents compared to anything else out there, old or new. I throw it in my suitcase whenever I travel, not worrying about adapters. Yes it is brighter in college darkness, but then the keys disappear, lol. I’ve found a small USB light to be incredibly useful for screen visibility. It’s one of those gooseneck things which were intended for use with a laptop.
I mounted a portable, rechargeable phone charger to a small surface and use that to power the light so as to save the Dana battery. The USB light doesn’t really draw much on the charger but seriously impacts the Dana, so I had to rethink my original idea of just plugging it into the back. AnywayNice to see you!