I was in high school working after school at an Apple computer store and they let me take one home for a weekend (!!!). The refresh rate was actually one of the more outstanding features at the time as thanks to the active-matrix display, there was NO ghosting of what you speak of. But every other Mac (and non-Mac) laptop had the ghosting from the passive-matrix screens. I think you're confusing them. The Portable screen was crystal-clear as long as you were in a bright room (since it had no backlighting).

The original Macintosh Portable[1] seems like a pretty high quality machine all the way through:

Reflective active matrix LCD screen (fast response, no ghosting), full-travel mechanical keyboard, movable trackpad, built-in floppy and hard drives, expansion slots, all-day battery life. And an attractive and clever industrial design (note the cutouts for left-handed or right-handed trackball placement.)

Fantastic design for someone who didn't mind a bulky, 16-pound "portable". ;-)

In 2024, portable Macs are better in nearly every way (including battery life) but the keyboards aren't nearly as nice, and the screens aren't great in broad daylight (unlike a reflective LCD.)

(And didn't Apple subsequently invent the "palm rest" laptop design where you move the keyboard back toward the screen?[2])

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh_Portable

[2] https://techland.time.com/2014/01/24/mac-thirtieth-anniversa...

Are you sure you're not thinking of other Mac laptops with passive-matrix screens? I remember that the active-matrix screen of the Macintosh Portable was so unbelievably sharp.

I worked at an Apple dealer when the Portable came out. We called it the "Mac Luggable".

Its carry bag had only a shoulder strap. It should have had a full-blown backpack to distribute the weight better.