IBM Produces First Portable Computer

The IBM SCAMP Microcomputer was a prototype of one of the first portable computers, the IBM 5100 which would be announced in 1975. This stands a critical moment in the decade of the transition from mainframe to microcomputers, smaller, more portable computers that were becoming available to artists. Herbert W. Franke would write about the importance of the microcomputer in the ’70s: “But the emergence of microprocessors and microcomputers, which came as a surprise even to experts, and with it the general availability of “decentralized intelligence” has created an entirely new situation….Thus, the new situation provides the best conditions for activating artistic capabilities, but it also increases the chances of achieving better quality.”