Mobile Architecture of a Computer

Introduction

The computer has become an essential part of people's everyday lives. With the invention of the mobile computer or laptop the accessibility of computers has greatly increased. Whether you are sitting on a college campus or on a park bench you will more than likely see a mobile computer pass your way. Now the convenience of a computer is at your fingertips. You can surf the web, write a paper or work on your résumé any where you please.

The invention of the laptop has greatly been debated. There is one school of thought that says that the idea for a laptop computer can be contributed to Alan Kay of Xerox Palo Alto Research Center. His stroke of genius was called the Dynabook. The portable computer would be about the size of a notebook and could manage all the needs of the user. He even envisioned that the computer would have wireless networking capabilities! He was far ahead of his time for the 1970's.

Others credit William Moggridge from Grid systems Corporation for inventing the first laptop computer. It had a "magnetic bubble memory and 1200bps internal modem. It also had a glass plasma display" (www.howstuffworks.com). It was cumbersome and really did not work well for home use. It also had a very hefty price tag of about $6000.

In May 1983 Manny Fernandez who was the founder of Gavillon Computers began promotion what he called "the first laptop computer". The Gavillion had a floppy drive that was not compatible with other computers. It also used its own operating systems. The company failed.

Around the same time as the Gavillon computer Adam Osborne introduced the Osborne 1. It had a "five inch display screen, two floppy drives, it weighed 24 pounds and it cost $1795" (www.howstuffwork.com). It came with a large package of software programs and a battery pack. This company was not very successful either.

Overall Structure