12 Sep
2012
12 Sep
'12
6:35 p.m.
On 12 September 2012 19:14, Fred Cisin <cisin at xenosoft.com> wrote:
I never heard the term "notebook" until much later, and then it was used
to refer to smaller than usual laptops. We played around at Comdex with,
"what is the dividing line between 'laptop' and 'notebook'?"
and then much MUCH later, "netbook"
"What is the dividing line between 'notebook' and 'netbook'?"
I agree. "Laptops" came 10-15y before "notebook computers" in my
experience.
The physical distinction is 1 thing, the marketing one another.
Physically, only when they shrank to the size of an actual paper
notebook did the term start to appear, in the early-to-mid 1990s. This
meant an approximately A4 (or possibly foolscap or "legal" in the
Colonies) footprint. The first ones were a little bit bigger - the
manufacturers were being a bit disingenuous - and were of course
/very/ thick by the standards of paper-pads - 3" or so thick wasn't
uncommon.
The 21st century distinction, when the term "laptop" started being
actively deprecated, was because of heat output. It is of course
entirely reasonable to put something called a "laptop" on your lap,
but the gigaHertz-era machines often ran too hot for this and would
either burn your thighs or overheat as their underside air-intakes
were blocked. They were designed to be used on a desktop, table or
other rigid flat smooth surface - not carpet, bed, duvet, sofa etc.
Thus the manufacturers started quickly removing the word "lap" from
their publicity information, as they started having to do warranty
returns and compensate people with burned legs...
--
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