Netbook 1994
This is a photo of a working, though modified Gateway Computer Handbook 486. This machine is only ten inches by 6 inches overall, and has a 120MB internal hard drive with 8MB of RAM.
There is one PCMCIA slot for a modem or ethernet card and this one, before being given to Nextstep for recycling, was in use up to just a few years ago by it’s owner.
The Handbook had 640 k of RAM, a standard 20 MB Hard Disk, and a monochrome blue-white CGA-compatible display. The unit could be powered by a rechargeable NiMH battery or six AA batteries in a special battery pack.
A floppy disk was attached through a proprietary parallel port connector.
We put it to re-use by removing the dead rechargeable battery pack and modifying the AC adapter so it directly connected to the power in socket by soldering it on permanently.
There are ways on the internet to replace the battery pack with individual rechargeable batteries that you would remove from the specially-shaped pack to recharge.
Very unique link to the past showing that sometimes everything old is new again!
