Back in the 80's, IBM engineers were ahead of their time with the concept of a "convertible" style computer. The monitor could actually detach from the main body of the computer, which is probably where the ideal of tablets originated from. The convertible was the first laptop style computer because it ran off of a battery and it was IBM's first computer to support a 3.5 floppy disk. The the concept was revolutionary, the con's of this computer outweighed the positive. The computer at the time was ridiculously priced. The unit itself was bulky and heavy. The computer didn't have any expansion ports installed on it, so any additions to the computer such as a printer had to be added at the end, making this device unmanageable. The average weight with all the expansion devices attached was around 20 pounds! Imagine trying to tote around a laptop that weighed that much today.
http://oldcomputers.net/ibm5140.html
The visionaries of the Coleco Adam computer envisioned a computer system that could function as a gaming system, music system and printer outlet. The Adam provided built in storage and a high quality printer. The cassette tapes provide by the company produced high quality audio and it produced one of the best user friendly keyboards around. The Coleco was also price efficient, making it affordable to customers to buy. The downsize to Coleco is that the power supply was housed inside the printer. Without attaching the printer, the unit could not work. The printer provided to be loud, noisy and slow, making consumers reluctant to buy it. Another drawback was the system did not have a operating system, instead it only provided a word processor. The cassette tapes that came along with the system produced electrical current, which is stored in certain areas could cause data loss and failure.
http://oldcomputers.net/adam.html
No comments:
Post a Comment