1986-GRiD Gridcase 1520 laptop

Video Link...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nF_VWBBE0M8&feature=related

Pioneering the Laptop - The GRiD Compass

Video Link (1hr 30min)...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQgoAQq7bP4

Man, these are Cool!:) They were used on the Space Shuttle too... I want one now!

Don

GRiD Compass 1101

Released:	1982
Price:	US$8150
Weight:	10 lbs, 12 oz
CPU:	Intel 8086 @ 8MHz (?)
RAM:	256K DRAM
Display:	6-inch electroluminescent
	80 x 24 text
	320 x 240 graphics
Ports:	RS-232/422 serial
	GPIB parallel port
Storage:	internal 384K bubble RAM
	external floppy drive(s)
OS:	GRiD OS

GRiD onboard Space Shuttle "Discovery"
mission STS-51G - June 1985.
source: http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/

Designed to be the ultimate portable computer, the clamshell-style GRiD Compass 1101 is the grand-daddy of all present-day laptop computers.

The Compass is very high-tech, with its flat-black, die-cast magnesium-alloy case, and bright, sharp electroluminescent display (ELD). No other system packed so much speed and power in as small a case, and none had such a unique and large, easy-to-read screen, allowing full 80x24 text.

Of course, all of these great features raised the price significantly. At $8150, the GRiD Compass 1101 was the most expensive personal computer you could buy.

Originally developed for business executives, GRiDs were also used by the U.S. military 'in the field', and by NASA on the Space Shuttles during the 1980's and 90's. It's even been said that the US President's "nuclear football" at one time included a GRiD computer.

Few, if any, non-IBM computers in 1982 ran MS-DOS, and the GRiD is no exception. Although MS-DOS compatibility was eventually added, the original GRiD 1101 ran only the GRiD-OS operating system - its design started in 1979, before MS-DOS or the IBM PC existed.

But GRiD-OS is no slouch - the suite includes:

-GRiDManager	-communication and utility functions
-GRiDPrint	-control format and appearance of text files
-GRiDWrite	-full-screen text editor
-GRiDPlan	-electronic worksheets
-GRiDFile	-database facilities
-GRiDPlot	-converts data to graphs
-GRiDBASIC	-programming language

Controlled almost entirely my menus, GRiD-OS is a full-function, powerful operating system. It displays data by DEVICE, SUBJECT (folder), TITLE (file name), and KIND (file type). Files can be password protected if desired.

Read More...
http://oldcomputers.net/

Grid Compass

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Astronaut John Creighton posing with a Grid Compass aboard a Space Shuttle Discovery mission in 1985. It displays Mr. Spock of Star Trek
Developer	Bill Moggridge^[1]
Type	Portable computer
Release date	April 1982
Introductory price	8150 USD ^[1]
Operating system	Grid-OS
CPU	Intel 8086
Memory	340 KB magnetic bubble^[2]
Display	320 x 240
Connectivity	19-pin "serial", Telephone Line+Audio 1,200 bit/s modem, GPIB^[2]
Successor	GridCase 1535EXP^[2]

The Grid Compass (written GRiD by its manufacturer GRiD Systems Corporation) was one of the first laptop computers when the initial model was introduced in April 1982 (the model 1101^[3]).
The computer was designed by British industrial designer Bill Moggridge in 1979, and first sold three years later. The design used a clamshell case (where the screen folds flat to the rest of the computer when closed), which was made from a magnesium alloy. The computer featured an Intel 8086 processor, a 320 × 240-pixel electroluminescent display, 340-kilobyte magnetic bubble memory, and a 1,200 bit/s modem. Devices such as hard drives and floppy drives could be connected via the IEEE-488 I/O (also known as the GPIB or General Purpose Instrumentation Bus). This port made it possible to connect multiple devices to the addressable device bus. It weighed 5 kg (11 lb). The power input is ~110/220 V AC, 47–66 Hz, 75 W.
The Compass ran its own operating system, GRiD-OS. Its specialized software and high price (8–10,000 USD) meant that it was limited to specialized applications. The main buyer was the U.S. government. NASA used it on the Space Shuttle during the early 1980s, as it was both powerful and lightweight. The military Special Forces also purchased the machine, as it could be used by paratroopers in combat.
Along with the Gavilan SC and Sharp PC-5000 released the following year, the GRiD Compass established much of the basic design of subsequent laptop computers, although the laptop concept itself owed much to the Dynabook project developed at Xerox PARC from the late 1960s. The Compass company subsequently earned significant returns on its patent rights as its innovations became commonplace.
The portable Osborne 1 computer sold at around the same time as the GRiD, was more affordable and more popular, and ran the popular CP/M operating system. But, unlike the Compass, the Osborne was not a laptop and lacked the Compass's refinement and small size.
The Compass's manufacturer, Grid Systems Corp., was acquired by Tandy Corporation (RadioShack) in 1988.