Re: [NTLK] mp2000 internal keyboard port?

on 11/17/08 3:49 PM, Charles Mangin at option8@option8.com wrote:

> i vaguely remember reading something about a planned accessory/upgrade
> to the messagepad 2000/2100 - a screen lid with built-in keyboard.
> it's been a while, so all i can remember is that it explains the small
> plugged gap on the hinge side of the mp2000. presumably, the keyboard
> upgrade would thread a ribbon cable through this gap to a waiting port
> on the logic board.
>
> my question is this: is there actually an unused keyboard port on the
> logic board? if so, has anybody fiddled with plugging in, say, the
> keyboard from an emate?

Hi Charles;

    What you probably remember is a small blurb in Pen Computing magazine
(Vol. 4, No. 16, page 16), complete with photo, where the editors
speculated on uses for the two slots.

    The original text read:

Secret Expansion Slots?
Tucked deep inside the MessagePad 2000, Apple designed a pair of intriguing
access slots that hint at a more integrated and powerful near-future
machine. On the right is a slide-out cover for what appears to be a
PowerBook-style internal modem card complete with a plug-in connector. The
slot is big enough for a phone-style RJ-11 jack or even a 10Base-T
Ethernet-Style RJ-45 jack for direct Internet connection via LAN. Below is
another slide-out plug near the screen cover hinge. We believe this slot
near the screen could facilitate a ribbon cable for a replacement screen
cover with an integrated, ultra-thin membrane keyboard.

---
    To my knowledge the keyboard, modem and LAN adapter were never produced.
    Hope this helps.
Rick
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