GRiD Computers
Laptops and Palm pads
Couple of my favorite systems are the Gridcase three and the 1550
The three is a 8086 system. They had a 720k Floppy or a internal 10 meg HD along with slots for three internal ROMs This one has the original Grid DOS, mode, format and gridscan all on internal ROM.
This one is a Tempested system designed for use in a secure environment. produces almost no radio noise.
The 1550 is a 386/25 system with a internal 40 meg drive and a 1.4meg floppy. They also have three com ports with one dedicated to the internal plotter or mouse device located on the front.
Back of the 1550 showing the handle and the internal power pack that can be removed and the battery inserted into the same pod. The system accommodates up to 4 meg of 256k SIPS, looks just like a 256k card but they have pins!
Couple pictures of the 1550 and a 1530, the 1530 has a slower 12 MHz processor and no internal mouse. The 50 was built with Windows in mind but the 30 is more of a DOS system. couple of the 1550 I have came with Windows 3.0, not 3.1 or 3.11 but 3.0, wish I had the disks for that!
This is a shipboard "compass" system, the great granddaddy of the laptop. its AC power only and uses very strange bubble memory instead of a hard or floppy drive, the floppy when used connected to a external port on the back. Although this system was programmed back around 1980, it still reads its operating system and program from the bubble memory and tries to communicate with its friend, a AN/YUK-20, hard to believe that the bubbles last that long!
The Palm Pad 2351 and 2352, the 52 is the wireless version.
The Palm uses a capacitive input pen for typing on the screen.
The first menu allows you to select functions.
Additional menus allow you to input data and other tasks. Not bad for a system that was built in 93 and uses a 386 processor. They have no hard drive and use a SanDisk card for storage of the operating system and programs, they also have a PCMCIA slot, com port and keyboard and mouse port.
A 1520/30 advertisement from the 1989 Defense Science Journal.
Links:
Robs Grid Board: GRiD Rugged/Tempest Laptops
My Military Computer page: Military
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May 11