The very first laptop in the world: photo

The creation of newfangled devices always has an interesting story. Someone invented, then created a prototype, then faced the first setbacks. Sometimes by pure chance it is possible to get out, and some incredible way before humanity is a new technical miracle.

The first laptop in the world has also gone through a lot to become the one that has settled on the desktops of many of us. With the history of the formation of this device, we will go further.

What is it?

Now hardly anyone does not know what a laptop is and what it's for. Unless some nationalities in Africa can not deal with this miracle of technology. Most modern people know that this is a personal computer, which is primarily popular due to the ease of transportation. Inside it are all the traditional components that are inherent in the PC.

Before us - all the same display, keyboard, mouse analog, sometimes the mouse itself. Also there is an opportunity to use disks, flash drives and so on. Inside the system runs on a processor that is slightly modified, as the dimensions do not allow the installation of large chips. Also, the video card looks different. Models of RAM memory are built into the motherboard, and the hard disk has a different format, which differs in device dimensions.

The first laptop in the world had similar features, on the one hand, but was completely different from modern devices.

Idea

You can argue for a long time over which device was the first. But all the reflections lead us to Alan Curtis Kay. This American scientist has long been studying computer systems. Since 1970, the researcher began working in Xerox. He immediately becomes one of the developers of the prototype of network workstations. It is interesting that these developments were not ignored, and later they were used by experts from Apple Computer.

That's how the scientist approached to create the first laptop. Kay suggested the concept of Dynabook. This option already described the device, which is now very similar to a laptop. But this option was designed for mobile training and not fully embodied all the available capabilities of the device.

In general, the idea of Alan Kay appeared in 1968. Then he suggested creating a mobile personal device that would simulate a notebook. But its capabilities and functions should not be inferior to full-fledged machines.

Real attempts

In 1976, the very first laptop in the world of NoteTaker was released. Above him worked Alan Kay, Larry Tesler, Adele Goldberg, Douglas Fairbairn. The prototype was shown to everyone, but it was not released to production. About ten models were assembled, in order to continue further work on the development of this device.

Nevertheless, even then NoteTaker had a monochrome screen, a flip cover, a keyboard, a floppy drive and a mouse. The RAM was only 128 KB, and the chip clock frequency did not exceed 1 MHz. The operating system was the earlier version of Smalltalk.

Despite the seemingly conceptual idea, the first laptop in the world was not very mobile. Its weight was 22 kilograms. Although the device worked autonomously and was even used by some employees on the plane, it was still far from the modern model. The fact that Kay did not take advantage of the moment and did not translate his ideas into production turned out to be deplorable for him, as he could earn a lot of money.

Successful attempt

And instead of it, Bill Mogridge did it. He began to work with this device commissioned by NASA. Serial production was started in 1982. But he did not use demand for the reason that the power supply was not available in this model.

This first laptop weighed already up to 3 kilograms, which compared to 22 is a huge breakthrough. The thickness of it was 5 centimeters. In addition, there was a removable rechargeable battery, a bright monochrome display and a built-in modem.

The processor inside from the company Intel 8086 worked with a frequency of 8 MHz, which was already a breakthrough. RAM - 256 KB. There was a serial port RS-232. The modem operated at a rate of 1200 bits per second. Thanks to him, it was possible to use the on-line software store and data from the company for free.

Interestingly, since 1979, when this laptop was developed, it could not yet use MS-DOS, because by that time it had not yet been created. But the laptop got it right after 1988 when the new Intel 80386 processor was working inside.

After that the device became multifunctional and worked immediately with several tasks. So, inside it was possible to use proprietary technologies, among which was a prototype of a modern control panel, a print manager, a text editor, a spreadsheet, a file manager, and much more.

Successful were not only the insides of this machine, but also its shell. The body is magnesian, had stable dynamic loads, respectively, immediately attracted the attention of the military and NASA. Therefore, first of all this machine went into circulation to these departments. As a result, Grid Compass was used as a coordinator and manager of combat units, as well as it was repeatedly sent into space.

For people

Photos of the first laptop in the world indicate to us one more applicant for the title of first-born. It became Osborne 1. Despite the fact that it became known later than all the previously mentioned, it is considered the first laptop that got commercial success. It was this model that went to the masses in 1981. Behind her was the American company Osborne Computer Corporation.

The peculiarity of this model was that on one side of the device there was a handle for transportation, and on the other there was a keyboard that was made on a hinged lid. Inside was a monochrome screen with a five-inch display. Also, the design is equipped with two disk drives and the ability to connect a monitor or modem.

The operating system was CP / M. Inside there was a text editor, a table processor and several language interpreters. The main drawback of this device was its weight - 11 kilograms, with the first laptop received a price tag in 1795 dollars. Therefore, despite the spread of the machine to the masses, not everyone could afford this miracle of technology.

Inside was the Z80 processor with a frequency of 4 MHz. RAM was only 64 KB. The fate of this company was tragic. Due to the huge number of competitors who were in a hurry to make devices better, the manufacturer decided to inform the world about the beginning of sales of the next model before the devices went into implementation. This step was unsuccessful, hit the sales of Osborne 1, and then completely bankrupt the firm.

The Soviet alternative

Interestingly, the photos of the very first laptop in the world lead us to the domestic prototype. It was called "Electronics" and was released in 1991. Outwardly, it resembled the brands of brands that were already promoted. Interestingly, its technical characteristics were slightly better than those of the first American versions. For example, RAM was already 640 KB.

The problem with this model was that its cost exceeded the average salary in the country, but even if the user had the opportunity to purchase such a machine, he still could not do it because of its inaccessibility. Therefore, almost nothing is known about the technical characteristics, and the information about this prototype has remained only on paper, since this laptop did not come out to the broad masses.