On Notebook Computers   AltNotebooks.com

About Laptop Computers

The laptop computers, or notebook computer, or just laptop, are small, and generally quite lightweight computers designed to be carried and used in multiple locations. Certainly a wide variation in actual weight and size of laptops exists, but normally they weigh between 1 and 6 kilograms (roughly 2.2 to 18 pounds). "Laptop" is reportedly actually the older term, having been first used with reference to the Gavilan SC (1983). Introduced in 1983, the Gavilan SC laptop was a $4000, 9 pound machine with an Intel 8088 and 32KB of built-in memory. While the GRiD Compass 1101 has often been cited as the first laptop, the Gavilan SC not only had a built-in floppy disk but also ran on batteries. Find out more about the Gavilan SC Laptop.

The GRiD Compass 1101 was a fascinating notebook computer. As the first true clamshell type "laptop" it had an internal 384KB bubble memory, one of the first plasma flat screens and a flat black magnesium case. It was also seriously expensive running 8 to 10,000 dollars. Aside from being the first notebook computer in outer space, it was also used on naval vessels and even dropped behind enemy lines with paratroopers. The GRiD laptop computer used an 8086 chip and had an 8087 math co-processor. It weighed in at about 11 pounds. With its price and specialized software - and suitability for specialized uses, its main buyer was the US Government.

As an interesting sidenote, Tandy Corporation acquired GRiD Systems Corp in 1988 and discovered that they had also gotten the patent on the clamshell case. Unlike, GRiD which had never sought royalties on the clamshell, Tandy did. Since the clamshell design had become a standard feature, manufacturers had little choice except to fork over the royalties after a court fight led to the patent being upheld.

Notebook computer was first really applied to smaller machines that were introduced around 1989. Of course, all these terms are rather imprecise at best. Actually using a 'laptop' on your lap can be extremely uncomfortable even (or maybe especially) today since the heat produced can fry your lap. Laptops generally are competent to perform all the functions of most desktop systems. However, given their use of specialized components, usually miniaturized and designed to be energy efficient to reduce battery consumption and limit heat build-up, they remain somewhat more expensive than desktop systems with equivalent power. Curiously, even a relatively basic notebook computer, can sometimes be more reliable than a desktop system under adverse conditions. Personal experience in a dusty, hot and frequently humid environment with intermittent unstable electrical service suggests that notebooks may survive such conditions better than desktops because of their design and because they use batteries and a transformer for power rather than being subject to line voltage spikes and smaller voltage variations which can sneak through stabilizers.

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