Discover the Unbelievable: Top 11 Surprising Fun Facts About Laptops You Never Knew!

1. Laptops in Space: GRiD Compass

Before laptops became sleek sidekicks for the posh and the privileged, they had a rendezvous with the rugged and the extraterrestrial: Meet the GRiD Compass, the brainchild of Bill Moggridge, which not only pioneered the folding clamshell design in 1982 but skyrocketed to fame among military circles and even hitched a ride to space on NASA's STS-51-G mission in 1985, all while carrying a hefty price tag of $8000. Cha-ching!
Source => collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk

2. Battery-Powered Grandpappy: IBM PC Convertible

Before dead batteries and painstakingly slow floppy drives became the ghosts of laptops past: the IBM PC Convertible swaggered onto the scene in 1986 as the company's first portable computing prodigy, rocking a whopping 256 KB of RAM (oooh, fancy), dual 720 KB 3.5-inch floppy drives, and the much-coveted power management, making it the trendsetting, battery-operated grandpappy of modern laptops.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

Did you know the touch screen technology we love on our smartphones dates back to the 1960s? Discover how E.A. Johnson and Dr. G Samuel Hurst made poking and swiping cool way before it was mainstream.

=> Fun Facts about Computers

3. Apple's Before-Slim Era: Macintosh Portable

Before laptops became as slim as a Victoria's Secret model: The Macintosh Portable, Apple's first battery-powered laptop in 1989, sported a hinged design hiding its keyboard and a monochrome active matrix LCD screen. Though critics were excited, customers found it as useful as an umbrella during a tornado due to its low readability in dim light, prompting Apple to launch a backlit version in 1991.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

4. Siri's Predecessor: HAL-9000

In a world where Siri and Alexa are the talk of the town, let's not forget the OG smooth talker, HAL-9000, who probably knows all the secret handshakes: Canadian actor Douglas Rain lent his vocal talents to the iconic sentient computer from "2001: A Space Odyssey," which featured capabilities like speech synthesis, speech recognition, facial recognition, and automated reasoning – now common features in modern laptops!
Source => en.wikipedia.org

5. Break-Dancing Butterfly: IBM ThinkPad 701

In a world of laptop transformers, the IBM ThinkPad 701 was more like a break-dancing butterfly, stretching its wings, making a statement, and ultimately ending its short-lived entomological adventure: Known as the Butterfly laptop, this high-end model from the 700 series featured an innovative sliding keyboard that expanded outward as the laptop opened, but it was unfortunately discontinued after just nine months due to the emergence of larger screens and full-sized keyboards.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

6. Laptop Weight Watchers: NEC UltraLite

Before “reducing weight” and “ultra-slim” became the tech world's version of shedding pounds and fitting into skinny jeans: The NEC UltraLite, released in 1988, pioneered the "notebook" category by weighing just 4.4 pounds, operating on a NEC V30 microprocessor, and having MS-DOS 3.3 built into ROM, though its hefty price tag and limited storage options left it feeling more like a fad diet's fleeting success.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

7. Tiny Time Traveler: Atari Portfolio

Before Marty McFly could hop on his hoverboard or smartphones even had a glimmer in their circuitry, the Atari Portfolio was strutting its stuff as a retro-futuristic gadget extraordinaire: The world's first palmtop computer, it debuted in 1989 with built-in apps like a diary, address book, word processor, and spreadsheet package, all while weighing less than 1lb (454g) and running on three AA batteries.
Source => muzeuldecalculatoare.ro

8. One-Inch Wonder Woes: Titanium PowerBook G4

Back in the day, Apple's Titanium PowerBook G4 was the "one-inch wonder" that had tech enthusiasts swooning like fainting goats: Little did they know that its titanium exterior was prone to scuffs and brittleness, propelling Apple to switch to anodized aluminum – a practice still followed for their laptops today.
Source => macworld.com

9. Spy Gear Chic: Sony's Limited Edition VAIO UX Set

In an ingenious marketing move that would make even James Bond proud, Sony equipped secret agents – or at least wannabes – with gadgets more dangerous than a martini shaken, not stirred: Sony released a limited edition Spy Gear set in November 2006, which included a Sony VGN-UX007 Limited Edition VAIO UX Micro PC, a Cyber-shot Digital Camera, and a VAIO UX Bluetooth GPS Receiver, all nestled in an aluminum Attaché Carrying Case - perfect for undercover missions to the grocery store! The serious reveal: This $3200 espionage extravaganza coincided with the movie Casino Royale, and the laptop was the same model used by Bill Tanner in the film.
Source => jamesbondlifestyle.com

10. Laptop Fashionistas: Mini Netbook & Design Studio

Who needs a fashion runway when you've got laptops strutting their stylish stuff: HP partnered with clothing designer Vivienne Tam to create the Mini netbook, while Dell launched Design Studio, letting customers choose custom colors and artwork for their PCs.
Source => deniseleeyohn.com

11. Nighttime Typing Saviors: Backlit Keyboards on PowerBook G4

Fear not, keyboard crusaders of the night! Your fingers need no longer fumble in the shadows, for salvation has arrived on an aluminum steed: The PowerBook G4 was the first notebook to possess a backlit keyboard, gracing the 17-inch model initially before illuminating one of its 15-inch brethren, setting a new standard in nocturnal typing capabilities for work and play.
Source => en.wikipedia.org