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The Laptop Celebrates Its 40th Year
Wired has an interview with Alan Kay on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the idea of the laptop computer. Kay's vision, which he dubbed the "Dynabook," was for a 2-pound, 1-Mpixel color computing device. "... the Dynabook was never built. But it greatly inspired the devices we now call laptops, although it's taken four decades to slim the tech down to the point where usable computers actually weigh as little as two pounds. To honor his achievements, Mountain View's Computer History Museum on Wednesday will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the legendary Dynabook. [Quoting Kay:] 'The Amazon Kindle is kind of a subset of a Dynabook — too much of a subset. The screen is too small, it is not very capable of dynamics, the keyboard is poor, etc. But it does have several limited service ideas that are good. The next version of a Kindle could be really exciting.'"
Sorry folks, the "idea" of a laptop is nowhere near a laptop. Otherwise, break out the cake and candles again, happy birthday flying car!!
Modding me -1 troll doesn't make me wrong.
...to make trial runs at size and weight metrics. I loved reading that part. It makes you wonder...who is doing the equivalent right now? I'll bet somebody over at the DoD is estimating how many nanobots they can cram inside a nostril or something, using a funnel and a salt shaker perhaps.
Also, if it really was the 40th year, I'd say it was a pretty fantastic year for laptops, with netbooks and the Macbook Air and all those new ideas coming into popularity.
That's a good
point. I remem
ber reading
posts from peop
le who had them
on BBSs and Bix
back then.
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
Many laptops are so depressed at reaching 40yrs old the are setting themselves on fire! Its so sad and unnecessary.
Talk to your laptop today
Its not the years, its the mileage
Here's looking forward to your second centennial!
I remember the early DOC computers would respond to "fuck off"
>fuck off
fuck is not on
>
Actually I think I misremembered the punch cards. The punch cards gave way to big binders with bluish lined paper with scrollwheel holes on either side. These binders were huge.
My mom worked for a company called California Microwave. When my teachers and other parents asked where my mom worked I would say proudly "California Microwave!" Microwaves weren't ubiquitous back then so people would say "Oh I really want to get one of those." And I would look at them strangely "You want to get a guidance system for a nuclear warhead?" which is what they did.
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, /. story about forgotten lore -
over many a quaint and curious
While I nodded, nearly napping, then my keys awoke with tapping,
As of one gently typing, typing on my laptop keyboard.
"'T is some poster," I muttered, "speculating about his child he does not have. The one, who was Neverborn."
My first Journal Entry ever, in 8 years! http://slashdot.org/journal/365947/aphelion-scifi-fantasy-horror-poetry-webzine