It really is an intriguing system that's mired in a weird mix of 8-, 16- and 32-bit technologies (and as we've seen countless times over the years, lack of purity in technological vision is almost always death for a system). For every powerful option matched only by the much-more-expensive Lisa/Macintosh systems at the time, there were odd compromises that harkened back to the days of 8-bit computing. Besides the mediocre keyboard, probably the worst feature of the QL are the unreliable microdrives. Low speed cassettes were unreliable enough in their own ways, but as was proven with the Coleco Adam, any time you move tape technology at high speeds, you're just asking for trouble. Still, the QL looks cool even today and it has a certain charm, including the aforementioned Psion applications and overall interface. I really need to spend more time with mine...

===================================
Bill Loguidice, Managing Director
Armchair Arcade, Inc.
===================================