Gallery: Happy 30th Birthday to the Portable PC
01osborne-1-detail
*The Osborne 1, the world's first commercial portable computer, debuted on April 3, 1981. Photo: [Marcin Wichary/Flickr.com](http://www.flickr.com/photos/mwichary/2319910132/)*
02osborne-1-overhead
*The Osborne 1 had one tiny CRT, two floppy disk drive bays (and two smaller bays for disk storage) and a removable keyboard. Photo: [Marcin Wichary/Flickr.com](http://www.flickr.com/photos/mwichary/2224433407/)*
03osborne-1-on-a-shelf
*Finding an Osborne 1 in working order today is a rarity, as the computers are nearly 30 years old now. Photo: [Marcin Wichary/Flickr.com](http://www.flickr.com/photos/mwichary/2319866620/)*
04wordstar-keyboard-template
*The keyboard template here shows the many keyboard commands needed to use WordStar, a popular word processor for the Osborne-1 and other luggable computers of the early 1980s. Photo: [James Harton/Flickr.com](http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesotron/511533177/)*
05osborne-robot-head
*A non-operational Osborne 1 finds new "life" as the decorative head for a wheeled robot. Photo: [Zack Weinberg/Flickr.com](http://www.flickr.com/photos/zackw/5565990129/)*
Andy Ihnatko06kaypro-1
*Similar to the Osborne-1 but more compact, Kaypro enjoyed longer-lasting commercial success than its competitor, releasing many models well into the mid-1980s, including this Kaypro 1. Photo: [Andy Ihnatko/Flickr.com](http://www.flickr.com/photos/andyi/5032041439/)*
07kaypro-logo
*Perhaps the reason that Kaypro succeeded where Osborne failed is that the company had a really awesome logo. Photo: [Jason Kuffer/Flickr.com](http://www.flickr.com/photos/digiart2001/2253875795/)*
08compaq-486-portable
*By the early 1990s, portable computers had graduated to LCD screens instead of CRTs and 3.5-inch floppies instead of 5.25-inch ones, but the pop-off keyboard persisted in a few models, like this Compaq 486/66 portable. Photo: [Brian Jepson/Flickr.com](http://www.flickr.com/photos/bjepson/3608477026/)*
