How Apple INVENTED the laptop

The Macintosh Portable has long been regarded a failure of the between Steve Jobs era at Apple- when the product line didn't make sense and they introduced weird stuff like the Newton- but I disagree. I don't think the Macintosh Portable was a disaster or a bad product, I think it was absolutely brilliant, and was crafted with care and intentional ergonomic thought that still eludes tech companies. So today let's go through the history of the Macintosh Portable- what makes it so great and why did it still fail?

time stamps
0:00 Intro
3:03 Portable computer history
5:11 The Macintosh Portable was different
7:09 Revolutionary construction
10:16 Groundbreaking
13:29 Drawbacks
15:02 The sequel made it work

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[thewaxlab]

The only reason this failed was because Starbucks (nationwide) wasn’t a thing yet.

[jonglass]

The Mac Portable was actually the size and shape of a typical portable typewriter of its day. I suspect that was what they were going for ;-)

[Sevenfeet]

This video showed me nothing but nostalgia. Why? Because I used to have one of these. Back in 1988 I got my first post-college job at Apple as a field engineer. When the Portable came out, I had the use of one of these until I left the company in 1990. I frequently demoed this to customers. I actually used this on a plane multiple times. Some say its not a laptop but with someone as tall as me, well I have a big lap. :). Anyway, you're right about that this was basically a no-compromises computer. It was twice as fast as a Mac SE (16 Mhz vs 8 Mhz processor). The motherboard was a version of the Mac SE, which was a problem because of its size. In an SE, the motherboard was tiny compared to IBM PCs and the like. But a true laptop needed further minuturization, a skill Apple didn't have yet (and why they went to Sony for the Powerbook 100). But there were so many firsts. The active matrix screen was a revelation back then...nothing else was even close to it on the market. It would have been nice for the first version to be backlit. I don't think there were a pointing device before on a portable computer since none of them has GUIs. Battery tech was in the stone age....we take laptop batteries for granted now, but early NiCad cells didn't exist yet, hence the lead acid cell, just like a car battery. And it only added to the weight and bulk of the device, not to mention the full size 3.5" hard drive and floppy drive. And that shell of a case was very durable. One of our sales reps actually ran over his Mac Portable with his Jeep when he forgot it and the black carrying case sitting behind his car when he was packing for a trip. The shell cracked, but the machine still worked and the screen was undamaged.

When Sony came out with the Powerbook 100, it was the first laptop in a size and configuration you would recognize as a modern (if early modern) laptop. It had the hinged screen, pointing device in the middle, palm rests, reasonable weight and size, etc. And yes it was far less expensive than the Portable despite the minuturization of the motherboard to get it into that body. But there were compromises. The screen is a cheaper passive matrix (still good). The battery is still lead acid, but a lot smaller and in a slot design that was quickly copied by other companies. And just like future Apple products, there is no removable drive built in (amazing design decision since Steve Jobs hadn't been at Apple since 1985). Of course, the Powerbook 100 wasn't the only machine to replace the Portable in 1991. The Powerbook 140 and 170 (Apple designs) gave customers choices (at higher prices). First, the battery for those models were NiCad, probably a first. The 140 had a passive matrix screen but the 170 had a backlit active matrix screen. All three Powerbooks had 2.5" ATA laptop drives, another first. The Powerbook 140 had an Motorola 68030 processor (serious horsepower for the day) and the Powerbook 170 had an even faster one. I remember carrying SE/30s in carrying cases places while at Apple. These were laptops with the same power and storage....that could operate on battery alone. And a year later, the 180c would add a color active matrix...truly sick tech and still a bit cheaper than the original Portable.

The Portable was a transition machine from the likes of Osborne and Kaypro to the true laptop world that would come in the 90s/2000s. But it showed what could be done...it just needed to get the size down. And if you really want a look at an earlier Apple machine that had glimpses of the Portable, the Apple //c (and //c+) had an optional Flat Panel display in 1984! Yes it was a lot of compromises but again, it showed what Apple really wanted for a portable computer back then. BTW, if you want to see the flat panel display, it's featured briefly in the movie 2010.

[philodygmn]

First off, congrats on leaning into the 80's glitz on the soundtrack😆

This video is why I love your channel: insightful analysis that isn't just mainstream of-the-moment view chasing, undergirded in genuine user centrism and human interest value. This computer proves that hot swappable, tool-free, semi-user-repairability is not too much to ask.

[The-Future-Is-The-Past-]

i would argue that the Tandy 200 and PC convertible are the first laptops. as for the pointing devices, these were not commonplace until the late 386 era of laptops, with a similar story for hard disks.

[Der_Ingenieur]

Before the Portable there were some 3rd party kits that took a Mac Plus mainboard and added screen, keyboard, trackball, and battery. Of course, you could also buy special bags for the old all in one Macs (128/512/Plus/SE, etc) and take them to various locations, as long as you had a power outlet available. My dad used to work in major construction management, supervising several sites at a time. He would transport his Mac Plus from his main office to different temporary office containers/trailers at the sites he was responsible for, and often brought it home on the weekends. This was before they had personal computers in the office and he had to convince his boss that a Mac would be useful. He used Project, Excel, and MacWrite, etc. He bought it out when he left the company and later also bought an SE for personal use. When he lugged it around he usually used the original box, or just set it in a laundry basket. He still has the Plus and SE, along with many other Macs that followed.

[barryporter]

For its time system 7 was revolutionary, as was the Lisa. I had an Osborne 2 " sewing machine" that ran CPM with a full suite of software and 2 floppies and a1200 baud modem built in. How far we have come. And when Apple shook up the printing industry with the laser writer it was amazing.

[nchia]

I remember the PowerBook 100 fondly. Pushing the keyboard towards the hinge was a master stroke in terms of balancing the laptop on your lap. I also remember the Macintosh Portable, with the trackball switchable to the left, but mostly how heavy and expensive it was.

[jaegan]

Imagine if Apple made a computer that was modular and easily repairable today.

[seltzerbot]

It's so funny whenever tech fans nonchalantly bring these old dinosaurs to public spaces.

[kenw]

I’m guessing those two odd indentations on the bezel, left and right of screen, were there to allow the track ball (in either left or right position) to stick up above keyboard. FYI, it has 16 MHz 68000 (double speed of original compact Macs), but not 68030 like SE/30.

[rivaterrier]

I was there! Our office was Mac only. I had a Mac 2fx in the office and we had a couple of portables. They were pretty awesome back then. Definitely easier than taking an SE/30 home in a big black carrying bag.

[deBaer]

Sadly, I've never had any first-hand experience with the Portable. I didn't know they made one with backlight, which I think would be very usable actually. But I think the lead-acid battery makes a large percentage of the system's weight. I'm sure you could replace it with a much lighter battery with the same capacity today. Also, use a BlueSCSI instead of the spinning rust to save even more weight and a bit of power. Really sad that it's so hard to get one nowadays.

[briangeorgebedard]

My dad had one of those suitcase portables. IBM compatible where the keyboard came off the end and there was a monitor and two vertical floppy disk drives. My first programming was done on it with LOGO.

[johnDingoFoxVelocity]

So a little history the Macintosh portable has a design flaw 2 of them.

1. On some models you have to have installed a battery on the portable or it wont start up.

2. The same battery explodes this is due to the portable not having a stop charging circuit in place the portable would just charge the battery until bang happens.

[panagiotispappas]

I think the reason why this failed as a product was because people excepted it to be a laptop, they treated it like a laptop and got dissapointed! This is not supposed to be a laptop, The thing is called Macintosh Portable, it's a Macintosh that you can carry around, not a Macintosh laptop!

[TheBasementChannel]

Great timeless content Luke. As much as we all like to watch videos about the latest and greatest, these kind of videos have appeal through the ages. I admire your faith in the flexibility of those 30+ year old plastic clips 😅

[DEFGI]

Can they get Jean-Louis Gassee to do the Apple presentations today? He seems much more entertaining than Tim Cook

[michaelsimpson]

In Germany it was called “Schlepptop” which means heavy lifting😂

[Epicgamer_Mac]

Awesome video Luke! I love these old machines. I need to expand my collection to include Performa’s, PowerBooks, Power Mac’s and Macintoshes, as of now I don’t have anything before 2010 in my ever-growing collection!