N A U T I L U S E X E C U T I V E B R I E F C A S E Traditionally, or so we're told, good things have come in small packages. The unfortunate truth in the computer world is that small packages often mean compromises of one type or the other. Until now, briefcase computing meant having to live with small unreadable displays and incompatible disk drive formats; which meant waiting on your favorite software to be re-published to feed these 'almost but not quite PC compatible' machines. Enter the Nautilus Executive Briefcase (TM) from Nautilus Software of Iola, Kansas. This twelve pound system offers features only found in desktop units many times it's size, and weight. The machine, custom manufactured by Morrow Designs in California for Nautilus, sports a black high-impact-resistant case with a nifty removable carrying strap incorporated into the top. Set the unit down, fold out the full- function keyboard, and you have a large 80 x 25 line backlit contrast- controllable LCD screen. I found the screen to be the most readable of any thusfar on the market. The Executive has twin IBM compatible, 5 1/4" disk drives on the right side, with drive A: being the closest to the front. Now, any programs that are being used on the office PC can be taken out in the field, without having to wait until they become available on mini-disk, and without the hassle of having to carry a freestanding 15 pound 5 1/4" drive. On the back of the system is a standardized parallel printer port, RS- 232 serial port, RGB color out, and a 300-1200 baud internal modem for full telecommunications. The left side of the unit carries the on/off switch, and screen contrast control and internal battery pack housing. The Executive Briefcase uses the Zenith ROM image for superior IBM PC compatibility, and will operate on the internal battery for around 3 hours (while on battery power the internal RGB color board is turned off to conserve the battery power). The unit comes with MSDOS 2.1 and will operate on PC DOS 2.0, 2.1, and 3.1. Nautilus is so confident of it's systems' compatibility factor with your IBM-PC based software that they put a money-back guarantee on their machine. If it won't run your program, return the system to your authorized Nautilus dealer within 10 days for a complete refund! What makes this package even more attractive is the software packaged with the machine. Nautilus has included a mouse operated icon based operating shell which behaves suspiciously like the Macintosh, with one exception... Nautilus claims over 10,000 PC programs are ready to run on it. This operating shell contains a desktop organizer, telecommunications package, and a HOT word processing package with a spelling dictionary. The mouse attaches to the computer's serial port, and comes standard with the system.(For hard-core PC users, the icon-based shell can be ignored.) (2) Use of the system is delightfuly simple. When the machine initially boots, a world map and current time and date appear on the screen. The user can keep track of all the different time zones by simply shifting the position of the cursor, which moves the time zone indicator across the projection of the world map. The time automatically changes as the indicator moves. I found this a useful feature for those who travel and, like myself, can't keep track of the time back home....... let me see do you subtract five or six hours? From this display, you move to the icon based operating system, and can access which ever part of the package you need. Standard configuration will be 640k (expandable to 1.2 meg of ram, in a non-PC compatible configuration) with two 40 track IBM compatible 5 1/4" disk drives, the 80 x 25 backlit LCD screen, RGB color out, Serial and Parallel ports, an internal 300-1200 baud modem (on com port 2) an international switching power supply for you globe trotters, and the software packages mentioned above. Offered as options with the Nautilus Executive (TM) is an absolutely super crisp, 9" RGB monitor with swivel base and a .28 dot pitch picture tube, a free-standing, 5 1/4" 10 meg. removable hard disk cartridge disk drive, which will plug directly into the back of the unit, and a matching thermal printer which will also run for about two hours on internal rechargable batteries. This system will meet all the requirements of those salesmen, engineers, CPA's and auditors who are using IBM PC based software in the office and want to carry a light, portable IBM compatible system into the field. We're finally freed from our desktops! Suggested retail price for the Nautilus Executive Briefcase (TM) at this time is $3,495.00 with software, or $2,495.00 less mouse, software, modem, and carrying case. For further information contact Robin C. Boyer at Nautilus Software, 103 West St., Iola, KS. 66749. 316-365-5794 for voice and 316-365-7631 for a 300/1200/2400 baud data line. David W. Schaefer, Commerce Bank of Mexico, Mo. 09/15/85