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Comment by danans | Hacker News Reader

> The Macintosh Portable was the first portable (I hesitate to say "laptop") Mac,

Was it though? I recall a high school math teacher who carried his Mac SE around in a special rectangular backpack.

(author) Good point, I added "from Apple" to be explicit. There were certainly the third-party ones floating around by then.

Technically, Apple did sell the iic as an optional portable/luggable as well[0], with an add-on LCD screen, case, and a built in handle. Granted, at this point we're just getting into the weeds.

[0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_IIc#Portability_enhancem...

As featured in the movie 2010 (released in 1984).

The Apple IIc was not a Mac

The original Mac had a built-in handle for carrying it around (and Apple sold a bag with a shoulder wrap for doing that), too, but unlike this device, it wasn’t battery powered.

So, it was portable, but not “a portable”.

In the IBM compatable world, portable was definitely a category, and it didn't include batteries. From my one encouter with a compaq portable, I think it was a lot harder to carry than a Mac SE, but at least you could attach the keyboard to the front for transport, and no mouse needed. If you had the Mac shoulder bag, I guess it probably had room for a keyboard and mouse though.

Anything is that kind of portable if you're strong enough.

I'm remembering walking three and a half miles carrying a VAXStation from the rail station to home... :)

"Never trust a computer you can't throw out the window."

--t. Woz

There was a backpack for that Mac form factor. I believe that makes it a 'luggable' though, not a portable.

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