The Laptop

The Term "Laptop"

            The term “laptop” in today’s society is most definitely ordinary, conventional, and extremely common, however, it has not always been as so. Specifically, the first notable article on this term was in The New York Times in 1988, where writer William Safire walked the reader through this new “brainy, little machine”. Furthermore, in The Los Angeles Times in 1987, the author talks about shifting production of these portable computers to America due to tariffs and trade regulations. In similar terms, laptops were discussed about in The Chicago Tribune all the way back in 1985, as the nation learned about this new and upcoming trend that originally got off to slow expansionary trend. In contrast, the term “laptop” can be found on the proQuest database from 1984, as there is an article discussing the potential sales of such a new and innovating product. On the Project Muse database, 1994 was the first time “laptop” came up, in the midst of a mathematics article on the metaphysics of cyberspace. Lastly, on the JStor database, “laptop” was first used in 2002 in the context of describing electrical outcomes in India.

            When first introduced to society, it was clear that the term “laptop” was breakthrough and previously unimaginable. All early indications of this term talk about how a laptop was revolutionary because no one could possible fathom doing work in your “lap”. People believed this to make things much more convenient and informal. Also, techy’s discussed how the laptop is cool and all, but will never be able to hold a lot of data. The main early uses of the term are all focused around the new objects portability and how “high tech” a laptop really is. In today’s terms, the laptop is viewed for the most part differently. It is now able to hold so much, and is used to do just about everything. People can play games, read books, and look up anything with the Internet. Laptops are not viewed as radical and groundbreaking anymore, and are instead being used in elementary school classrooms and formal business settings around the globe. They are small, quick, and in most cases, a part of everyone’s everyday life.