Xerox NoteTaker

Xerox NoteTaker
DeveloperXerox PARC
TypePortable computer
Release date1978 (1978)
Introductory price50000 US$ (today $224300)
Units shipped10 prototypes only
Operating systemSmalltalk
CPUIntel 8086 @ 5 MHz
Memory256 KB RAM
StorageFloppy disk drive
Display7 inch (18 cm) built-in touch-sensitive monochrome display monitor
SoundStereo speakers
InputFolded out keyboard, Microphone
Controller inputMouse
ConnectivityEthernet board
PowerRechargeable battery
Dimensions2 1/2 x 21 1/2 x 7 1/2 in
Mass22 kg (49 lb)
PredecessorDynabook

The Xerox NoteTaker is a portable computer developed at Xerox PARC in Palo Alto, California, in 1978. Although it did not enter production, and only around ten prototypes were built, it strongly influenced the design of the later Osborne 1 and Compaq Portable computers.

Development

The NoteTaker was developed by a team that included Adele Goldberg, Douglas Fairbairn, and Larry Tesler. It drew heavily on earlier research by Alan Kay, who had previously developed the Dynabook project. While the Dynabook was a concept for a transportable computer that was impossible to implement with available technology, the NoteTaker was intended to show what could be done.

Description

The computer employed what was then highly advanced technology, including a built-in monochrome display monitor, a floppy disk drive and a mouse. It had 256 KB of RAM, then a very large amount, and used a 5 MHz Intel 8086 CPU. It used a version of the Smalltalk operating system that was originally written for the Xerox Alto computer, which pioneered the graphical user interface.

The NoteTaker fitted into a case similar in form to that of a portable sewing machine; the keyboard folded out from the bottom to reveal the monitor and floppy drive. The form factor was later used on the highly successful "luggable" computers, including the Osborne 1 and Compaq Portable. However, these later models were about half as heavy as the NoteTaker, which weighed 22 kg (49 lb).

See also


This page was last updated at 2023-10-20 05:21 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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