Dencho Denchev

The History Of Laptop Computers.

Almost everyone in the world use a PC or laptop computer. If you want to know the history of laptop computers and what kind of changes have undergone throughout the years read this article.

Have you ever wondered where the sleek new portable PCs of

today came from? How did they get so small, and so fast?

Its true that modern notebook computers have undergone many

changes throughout the years.

In this article I will attempt to put together a rough history

and timeline based on the laptop computer. I say rough because

no one can really put a finger on who developed the first

mobile computer. Anyways, lets get started!

Computer buffs may not know who created the first laptop, but

most will agree that Alan Kay of the Xerox Palo Alto research

center was the first to come up with the idea of the portable

PC in the 1970s. Kay envisioned a portable computer much like

the ones found today  Something small and lightweight that

anyone could afford.

Some say that the first notebook that was actually built in

1979 by William Moggridge who was with Grid Systems Corp. It

featured 340 kilobytes of memory, a folding screen, and was

made of metal (magnesium). This was hardly like the laptop

computers found today, but it was a start.

Arguably, the next mobile computer produced was in 1983 by

Gavilan Computers. This laptop featured 64  128 megabytes

of memory, a touchpad mouse, and even a portable printer.

Weighing in at 9 pounds without the printer, this computer

was actually only a few pounds heavier than notebooks found

today.

Gavilan later failed largely due to their computer being

incompatible with other computers  Mainly because the

Gavilan laptop used their own operating system.

Apple Computers introduced the apple IIc model in 1984,

but it wasnt all that much better than what Gavilan had

produced a year earlier. It did feature an optional LCD

panel which had on impact on later notebooks.

Finally in 1986 a true laptop was created by IBM called the

IBM PC Convertible. I say true because unlike a few of the

others, this laptop didnt have to be setup everywhere. And

unlike the others it featured two modern 3.5 inch floppy

drives, and space for an internal modem! Also found on the

Convertible was an LCD screen and basic applications the user

could use to create word documents, and schedule appointments.

Maybe most interesting was that the IBM PC Convertible sold

for $3500! Of course you would be hard pressed to find that

price tag on any laptop these days  (They have gone way down).

Since the late 80s many manufacturers have come forward to

produce new machines that are even faster and more powerful

than their previous counterparts. These days the buyer has

a lot of choice, and laptops are faster than ever.

Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR