From the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center came a man named Alan Kay. This man holds the original idea of a laptop computer. In truth, Kay envisioned a portable and wireless computer called the Dynabook that was about the size of a notebook and could hold all of the consumer's informational needs. However, William Moggridge somehow came into the picture. It was said that he designed the first actual laptop. This mechanism had all of a desktop's capabilities, but it was one-fifth its weight. This notebook was said to be used by NASA in the 1980's.

However, the first fully functional laptop was aid to be created by Galivan Computers. Unfortunately, Galivan computer had a floppy drive that was not the least bit compatible to any other manufacturer, and it used it's own operating system. Eventually this company failed and the Osborne 1 came to be known as the first true portable computer. Adam Osborne created it in 1981. This short-lived company failed as well.

In the years that followed, many companies began to produce their own versions of a laptop. In 1984, The Apple Computer introduced its Apple IIc model. This was not considered a true laptop, but it was notebook-sized. Just two years later, IBM introduced its IBM PC Convertible. This device was a true laptop with an 8088 microprocessor, 256 kilobytes of memory, and it's own software applications. When this laptop was a huge hit, Toshiba created a clone. Both companies were extremely successful with their similar creations.

Upon relating the laptop to the desktop, I have already uncovered some differences, but there are still more. Batteries mainly power laptops. They can be plugged into a power source when the battery runs out, but they are not constantly on a desk as a desktop is. The size of the displays and the different input devices differ as well. A Docking Station was also invented for the laptop to be used on top of desks, just to relieve the factor of discomfort to the user.