Everywhere you turned at Info 84 somebody was demonstrating how to hook up something to something else. Micros to mainframes, typewriters to networks, typesetters to telephones and telephones to disk stores.

Thrusting aside these blandishments, most visitors made a beeline for the GRiD stand. There was the most amazing piece of technology just arrived on these shores after a successful trip aboard the space shuttle.

The GRiD Compass is a light (10lbs) portable micro sporting MSDOS, 256K RAM, 384K bubble memory and a truly amazing 80-column by 25-line flat screen. It also comes with a bewildering array of plug-ins, add-ons and communication capability.

Of course one of the amazing features is the price. The basic machine will cost you a hefty £5,195.

The innovative screen is one of the reasons why this technology will set you back an arm and a leg. Unlike the LCD screens used in other lap-held portables, GRiD has opted for the so far rarely tried electroluminescent technology.

The result is a 6in screen that can display a whole screen of information at a time and generate displayes with a 320 by 240 graphic resolution.

The MSDOS connection comes from the 8086 processor (the Compass also features an 8087 maths co-processor as standard) and optional 360K portable disc drive.

As with other products GRiD is advertising a built-in modem. Further inquiries revealed that it has yet to get the appropriate approvals (so you will have to wait at least six months).

Despite the horrendous prices the Compass is still a very impressive looking machine.

Unfortunately, British companies fail to score in the good looks stakes even though they can deliver in terms of price and specification.

One such company is Plessey. It was quietly showing its new business computer.

Uninspiringly called the Plessey Business Computer (to be shortened to the Plessey BC perhaps) it features the true go-faster 16-bit 80816 chip from Intel. Add in 256K Ram and twin 400K Sony microfloppies and you have an interesting machine. Equally interesting is the price of £1,895.

The opposite of 'leading edge' technology must be 'trailing edge', and so to the Commodore stand. Still no sign of a 16-bit machine but at long last it has got around to CP/M. Its Z80 cartridge with CP/M on disk was on show.

All that it requires now is some software.

Commodore also announced at the show a dual drive 2Mb floppy disk system. The 8250 costs £895.

Commodore was also promising delivery of its own modem in the next few weeks. This may be optimistic. One complaint to be heard regularly around the show was the cost and delay involved in getting modems approved.

Torch is particularly aggreieved because it wants approval for a modem to go into its new triple processor, Unix-running machine.

The only problem was that the company was unable to demonstrate any applications software. This may explain why it announced at the show that it has just signed a deal with Pipeline, the Unix subsidiary of Tamsys, to supply software.

Another drawback is the price of £6,050. A cheaper option is to buy Torch's new Unicorn (surely a play on the word Acorn!) hard disk add-on for the BBC B. For £2,895 you can get a 20Mb hard disk, 400K floppy, Z80B second processor, 68000 third processor and 256K of RAM. Unix will set you back an additional £800. Some peripheral for a £400 micro.