are there photo's anywhere?
----- Original Message -----
From: "Stan Sieler" <sieler_at_allegro.com>
To: <cctalk_at_classiccmp.org>
Sent: Monday, October 20, 2003 1:10 PM
Subject: MCM/70 : first "laptop"?
> Hi,
>
> My candidate for the first "laptop" is the MCM/70, from 1973.
>
> It was an 8008 computer, with APL in ROM, a one line
> 32-character video display, dual cassettes for mass storage,
> internal batteries (so it could run "on your lap" for a bit :),
> and "virtual memory" via the casettes.
>
> Some more info at:
> http://www.yorku.ca/yfile/archive/index.asp?Article=1044
> http://www.cs.yorku.ca/~zbigniew/MCM_col.html
>
> I got a phone call yesterday from a guy who owns a working MCM/70
> ... that he bought new in 1975.
> Sadly (for me :), he doesn't want to part with it :(
> He confirmed that it could run for a short while on batteries.
>
> The MCM/70 was announced in 1973. I'm not sure of the actual
> first shipping date, but his was received in Jan 1975.
> (The Computer History Museum's MCM/70 is dated 1974 on the display
> card.)
>
>
> Misc notes about the MCM/70 from the guy...
>
> He ordered his MCM/70 in August, 1974 ... and started threatening
> legal action in December ... that got him a machine in January 1975.
> (I'm not 100% sure of the months.)
>
> This makes me wonder: did the machine *ever* ship in 1973 or 1974,
> or did it first ship in 1975?
>
> He said that if the batteries were low, powering on the machine
> often resulted in a failure in the power supply. He reduced the
> problem by (1) adding a 10-ohm resistor (somewhere unknown); and
> (2) switching to a different kind of battery pack (instead of the
> individual batteries).
>
>
> Did I mention that he doesn't want to sell it?
>
> I'm working with him on trying to copy/scan some of the material
> he has about the computer (including original advertisements).
>
> Stan
>
>
Received on Mon Oct 27 2003 - 08:11:23 GMT