An Italian manufacturer, Olivetti is renowned especially for its lightweight portable mechanical typewriters. In the early 1960s the company seized on the availability of integrated circuits to develop a desktop computer to supplement or even replace their line of electric calculators. The Programa 101 was launched in 1965 at the New York World’s Fair and incorporated in early form many of the features of modern desktop computers such as memory, a keyboard, an onboard printer, and a magnetic card reader/recorder. The Programa 101 is often considered the first generally available desktop computer. The production of better computer chips in the early 1970s led Olivetti engineers to design a new computer based on the Programa 101: the P652.
Bearing more resemblance to a modern art installation than a powerful supercomputer, the Cray X-MP/22 was the fastest computer in the world from 1983 to 1986. It ran at 105 MHz, then the quickest processing speed available, and was capable of performing 400 million calculations per second under optimal conditions. The circuits necessary to produce this processing power gave off so much heat that a conventional fan was insufficient for cooling; the circuit board had to be immersed in fluorocarbons in order to function properly. It was the first computer containing two processors that could be simultaneously accessed by a single program. Such superior technology wasn’t cheap—each Cray X-MP was built to order and cost tens of millions of dollars.
At first glance, the Hewlett Packard (HP) 9845-B computer looks very much like the personal desktop computers that became available in the mid-1980s. However, both the price—over $25,000—and performance of this machine clearly indicate that it was designed for use by scientists and engineers. One of the first commercially available workstations, the HP 9845-B included a highly integrated, complete system with graphics and networking capabilities, a variety of input/output devices, and large amounts of processing power.
“Not long after I acquired the computer, I published five first-author scientific papers…in one year.” So said Dr. Thomas Wehr, NIMH, about his Apple M0420.
While critics dismissed the Macintosh Classic M0420 for having slow processing speeds, it was extremely popular due to its low price—less than $1000 if you didn’t require a hard disk. The low price combined with the availability of educational software made the Mac Classic the computer of choice for school systems in the early 1990s. Even after factoring in the additional cost of up to 4MB of RAM, its relatively low cost attracted new computer users such as Wehr, who didn’t require the extra computing power of an SE/30 or Macintosh II. While this was the last Apple computer to use the 8 MHz 68000 CPU (all future models would have at least 16 MHz of processing power), it did have some unique features, such as the ability to boot from ROM by holding down “command-option-x-o” at startup, and screen brightness control through a keyboard-controlled “brightness control panel” rather than a knob.
Although it looks more like a calculator, the TRS-80 Model 100 was the first easily portable computer. Light and compact enough to be carried in a briefcase, the TRS-80 Model 100 was a favorite of scientists, journalists, and computer enthusiasts alike. With the 8 row by 40 character LCD screen in the same plane as the full-sized QWERTY keyboard, it came equipped with the precursors of programs we would now expect a portable computer to have: a text editor capable of holding up to 11 pages of text, an address book, a schedule organizer, and a BASIC programming module. It also had a 300-baud internal modem, allowing users to transmit data over any telephone line. Four AA batteries allowed the machine to run for 20 hours, with a 6V power adaptor available for static applications.
This laptop is a work of art: the IBM ThinkPad 701C is part of the design collection at the Museum of Modern Art due to its innovative design. Based on a bento box, the case opens to reveal a full-size folding keyboard and Trackpoint pointer, obviating the need for a mouse. At just 10 inches wide and weighing only 4.5 lbs, the 701C was the ultimate portable computer when it was released in 1995—making it the tool of choice for spies in movies such as “Mission Impossible” and “Goldeneye.” In addition to its sleek design, the 701C also boasted state-of-the-art features for the time: a 14.4Kbaud modem, a 75MHz processor, and the ability to wirelessly sync with other IBM devices.
The portability of the ThinkPad 701C made it popular among people on the go, such as scientists. This ThinkPad was used by Dr. Richard Nakamura during his tenure as Deputy Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) between 1997 and 2007. Nakamura began as a postdoctoral fellow at the NIH in 1976. His research focused mainly on the anatomical basis of thought in primates. Outside of the lab, he coordinated NIMH’s Biobehavioral Program and later was chief of its Integrative Neuroscience Research Branch. From 2007 to 2011, he was the Scientific Director of NIMH; and in 2012 he became director of the NIH’s Center for Scientific Review. [13.0009.001]
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]
