Grid Compass

Astronaut John Creighton posing with a Grid Compass aboard a Space Shuttle Discovery mission in 1985.
Developer	Designed by Bill Moggridge[1]
Manufacturer	GRiD Systems Corp.
Type	Portable computer
Release date	April 1982 (1982-04)
Introductory price	US$8,150 (equivalent to $25,730 in 2023)[2]
Operating system	CCOS (Compass Computer Operating System), optionally MS-DOS 2
CPU	Intel 8086
Memory	256 KB[3]
Storage	384 KB magnetic bubble[3][4]
Display	320 × 240
Connectivity	19-pin "serial", Telephone line+Audio 1,200 bit/s modem, GPIB[4]
Successor	Grid GRiDCASE 2

The Grid Compass (written GRiD by its manufacturer GRiD Systems Corporation) was one of the first laptop computers.

History

Development began in 1979, and the main buyer was the U.S. government. NASA used it on the Space Shuttle during the early 1980s, as it was powerful, lightweight, and compact. The military Special Forces also purchased the machine, as it could be used by paratroopers in combat.^[5]

Along with the Gavilan SC and Sharp PC-5000 released the following year, the GRiD Compass established much of the basic design of subsequent laptop computers, although the laptop concept itself owed much to the Dynabook project developed at Xerox PARC from the late 1960s. GRiD Systems Corporation subsequently earned significant returns on its patent rights as its innovations became commonplace.

Competitors

The portable Osborne 1 computer sold at around the same time as the GRiD, was more affordable and more popular, and ran the popular CP/M operating system. But, unlike the Compass, the Osborne was not a laptop and lacked the Compass's refinement and small size.

Models

The Compass ran its own operating system, GRiD-OS. Its specialized software and high price (US$8,000–$10,000) meant that it was limited to specialized applications.

Compass

The initial model, the 1101, was introduced in April 1982;^[3] The 1100 model designation were never released commercially, but featured in some pre-release marketing material.^[6][7] The computer was designed by British industrial designer Bill Moggridge.

Design

The design used a clamshell case (where the screen folds flat to the rest of the computer when closed), which was made from a magnesium alloy. The computer featured an Intel 8086 processor, a 320 × 240-pixel electroluminescent display, 340-kilobyte magnetic bubble memory, and a 1200 bit/s modem. Devices such as hard drives and floppy drives could be connected via the IEEE-488 I/O (also known as GPIB or General Purpose Interface Bus). This port made it possible to connect multiple devices to the addressable device bus. It weighed 5 kg (11 lb). The power input is ~110/220 V AC, 47–66 Hz, 75 W.

Compass II

The Compass II was released in 1984; known as 1121, 1129, 1131 and 1139 models.