At 20 pounds, the Dolch P.A.C. was a “desktop replacement” or portable computer that weighed almost as much as a desktop. It was meant to be plugged in for power — an extra battery was available but offered only one extra hour of power supply. Designed for maximum computing power in minimal space, the Dolch P.A.C. offered 1-8 MB of RAM, 20-170 MB of hard disk space, and up to six expansion slots. The display was electroluminescent and featured yellow text on a black background, said to enhance readability. With a $7,995 price tag for the basic model, the Dolch P.A.C. was clearly marketed towards serious users. And trade publications also appreciated its charms: PC Magazine lauded it as “the fastest portable on the planet” in its December 1989 issue.
This Dolch P.A.C. was owned by Dr. Barry Richmond, Chief of the Neural Coding and Computation Section in the Laboratory of Neuropsychology at NIMH. His laboratory studies the how information is encoded by single neurons, and as a result of this work, the laboratory developed an algorithm able to decode real-time neuronal firing in order to deliver real-time commands to a prosthetic device. [14.0004.001]
