Page "Portable computer" Paragraph 8

An early portable computer was manufactured in 1979 by GM Research, a small company in Santa Monica, California.

The machine which was designed and patented ( US Patent No. 4, 294, 496 ) by Chris Simitsakos.

It was called the Micro Star and later changed the name to The Small One.

Although Xerox claims to have designed the first such system, the machine by Murez predated anything on the market or that had been documented in any publication at the time-hence the patent was issued.

As early as 1979 the U. S. Government was contracting to purchase these machines.

Other major customers included Sandia Labs, General Dynamics, BBN ( featured on the cover of their annual report in 1980 as the C. A. T.

system ) and several dozen private individuals and companies around the world.

In 1979, Adam Osborne viewed the machine along with several hundred other visitors at the first computer show that was sponsored by the IEEE Westec in Los Angeles.

Later that year the machine was also shown at the first COMDEX show.