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The PowerBook 100Apple entered the portable computer marketplace in 1989, but it wasn't until the late 1990s that laptops achieved mainstream use by noncorporate users. Apple has cemented its place in tech history by designing laptops for the home user market, among many other innovations. While the PowerBook 100 only featured a 16MHz processor, 2MB RAM and the option for a 20-, 40- or 60MB hard drive, it represented a big step in the world of portable computing. -
The original iBookApple has had several lines of laptop computers throughout the years. The PowerBook was originally a boxy, dark gray laptop, but quickly morphed into a sleeker, more rounded-not to mention more powerful--computer. The Duo laptop lacked many features when used as a stand-alone computer away from its docking station, but the premise never caught on with users. The iBook started as a colorful cousin of the original iMac, but quickly became a white, powerful laptop. Apple's MacBooks (MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air) are the current models. -
The ill-fated PowerBook Duo (sans docking station)Aside from the spectacularly unsuccessful Mac Portable--which was 17 pounds--in 1989, Apple Computer's successful foray into the laptop started in 1991 with the introduction of the lighter PowerBook series. A year later, the Duo followed, but it wasn't until the 1999 debut of the iBook series that the laptop was embraced by the home user and student market and became Apple's best-selling line. Apple consolidated its laptop line in 2006, and the ensuing MacBook line also remains a best-seller. In 2008, Apple debuted the MacBook Air, a descendant of the Duo (but without the docking station), which was the world's thinnest and lightest laptop at the time it was introduced. - Gone is the era where laptop users traded the portability of the computer for power and functionality. Starting with the PowerBook 100, Apple laptops lacked the power of contemporary desktop models, but were relatively stable. But with the later addition of FireWire and DVI ports, many users have forgone the desktop, and rely solely on a laptop, attached to an external mouse and keyboard, and monitor, finally fulfilling the promise of the Duo.
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The MacBook Air: You can't be too rich or too thinTechnology has improved to the point where laptops are just as powerful as desktop models. Today, Macintosh laptops carry a certain cache with students, artsy types and power users alike. While there are still some disadvantages of using a laptop --namely the inability to quickly and easily upgrade the hard drive--the portability and the ubiquity of Wi-Fi hot spots more than make up for the these shortcomings.
