October 1991
Apple PowerBook released
Apple introduced the PowerBook line in October 1991 — laptops with the keyboard pushed toward the screen hinge and a built-in trackball.
What it was for
The PowerBook 100, 140, and 170 set the template for modern laptop ergonomics — palm rest, centered pointing device, and compact footprint. Mobile developers and writers carried Mac OSOperating system — software that manages hardware and provides services to applications. on the road; the line stayed Apple's portable platform until the MacBook era. Its industrial design influenced every laptop that followed.
Companies
- Apple
Why it's here
The PowerBook defined the modern laptop layout that PCPersonal computer — a computer designed for individual use, especially desktop or laptop machines. makers copied throughout the 1990s.
Why it mattered
It made Macintosh development and publishing portable for creative professionals.
What it solved
Early portables placed keyboards awkwardly; users needed a usable pointing device without external mice.
Media
ImagePowerBookredjar (Jared C. Benedict), also active as en:User:redjar and User:redjar, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Related
- Macintosh Portable releasedSeptember 1989
- Macintosh 128K releasedJanuary 24, 1984
- IBM ThinkPad 700C releasedOctober 1992
- iMac G3 releasedAugust 15, 1998
- MacBook Air releasedJanuary 29, 2008