John Ellenby, Visionary Who Helped Create Early Laptop, Dies at 75

Wow, that's a nice looking laptop, the kind of retro design you'd expect someone today to build a Kickstarter campaign to re-issue: https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/08/27/business/27ellenb...

This obituary was quite good (and for fans of Halt and Catch Fire, seasone one, evocative) including bits like this about the Grid laptop: NASA also used one as a backup navigational device in its space shuttle program. One was aboard the Challenger on the morning of Jan. 28, 1986, when a rocket-booster failure destroyed the craft shortly after liftoff from Cape Canaveral in Florida. The Compass, which had been attached to a dashboard with Velcro, was recovered from the debris and found to be still working.

The Grid laptops were famously used as the interface for the sentry guns in the 1986 movie “Aliens”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ey4MVSpqhw

More details on specs, pictures, and usage here:

http://www.oldcomputers.net/grid1101.html

That was a good machine.

Business mistake: "Mr. Ellenby sold Grid to the Tandy Corporation (the parent of Radio Shack) in March 1988." Grid was never heard from again.

Serendipity. I got a bit obsessed about this computer a couple of weeks ago.

This was the best video I found:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0NSSwhwnR4

"Grid 1129 Compass Laptop Computer setup for NASA Shuttle mission STS-51-I"

The GRiD was popular in the upper echelons of the government and military, since it was so well built, and a highly expensive and respected status symbol. I don't know if it's true, but I heard that a GrID computer actually saved the life of Mossad agent by stopping a bullet.

I missed the opportunity to get a 1101 for 50$ in an auction once. Hesitated one afternoon. Found a 1660, not iconic but alas.

ps: gridpad pictures http://www.oldcomputers.net/gridpad.html

That laptop looks fantastic for a first one! Anyone got more pictures?