Sometimes it is hard to believe how quickly technology marches on … and other times it seems amazing to look upon the relics of technology past, and think that folks used those as cutting-edge devices at one point. As someone who used a Macintosh Portable from when it came out until past the time it was really a feasible computer, seeing it get torn to bits doesn’t sound too bad to me! Technologizer takes us step-by-step through the entire system, using a handy iPod Touch to serve as a size comparison throughout.

From their introduction:

On September 20th, 1989, Apple released the Macintosh Portable, the first true mobile Mac and a much-maligned machine. It didn’t sell well and is very rare today–not due to any particular design failure, but because the original price was a whopping $6,500-$7,300 ($11,288 to $12,677 in 2009 dollars). It wasn’t the only Mac to cost that much, but others in that price range offered top-of-the-line performance. The Portable was both too expensive and too underpowered to catch on. Its large size didn’t help, either.

I completely agree – the Portable was generally termed the ‘Luggable’ and it was a necessary evil for me in my job to carry around for the lab work I was doing back then. when the Powerbook arrived and I was able to justify one, it was a revelation in terms of size, weight and usability!

And here is what I found most amusing – stacking the iPod Touch on the massive battery of the Portable (they couldn’t do it the other way or the Touch would have been crushed beyond recognition!):

Source: Technologizer via Engadget

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