Should this be considered an ancestor of laptops?

[Jules Richardson]

'Computer Collector Newsletter' wrote:
>  Wow lookie here:
> http://www.oldcomputers.freeserve.co.uk/page-3-newbury-nb.html
> 
> So they definitely thought of it not just as a desktop with a small display
> in the main unit, but really as a portable...

Portable, yes - but too awkward for any series use as a laptop I'd think.

 > The site old-computers.com
> (http://old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?st=1&c=176) has conflicting
> information on whether it's from 1980 or 1982... But that matters because is
> it's 1980, then it's before the "pocket computer" (HHC) generation; if it's
> 1982, then it's very cool but not the "first" of anything.

Hmm, if I were to take an educated guess, I'd put the project start date 
somewhere around the start of 1980, and the launch date somewhere in 1981.

The machine was a possible candidate for the BBC Computer Literacy Project, 
but wasn't ready in time - resulting in the BBC standardising on Acorn's 
Proton (what became known as the BBC Model A and B)

The BBC were looking for a machine to 'adopt' in 1980 I think, so the Newbrain 
must have been in some sort of design / prototype phase at that point. The 
first Acorn BBC machines were let loose in the latter end of 1981 though, so 
presumably production Newbrains followed soon after...

Unfortunately I'm not sure who the resident authority on Newbrains would be, 
although Witchy probably knows a fair bit about them and may have some useful 
info up on binarydinosaurs.

cheers

Jules