John Markoff writes:
''Thirty-six years ago, Alan Kay, a computer scientist, published a rough sketch of his Dynabook portable computer, establishing the ideal of ever more intimate personal computers.
During the next decade, Mr. Kay's tablet design, at 9 inches by 12 inches by 3/4 inch, morphed into today's ubiquitous laptop form-factor - a term used by consumer electronics specialists to describe the different sizes of various gadgets.''