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Photos: Dinosaur sightings--The Osborne 1 and TRS-80 4P

Antique computers called "portable" are a tiny bit thicker and heavier than the MacBook Air.

Osborne 1 screen
Click here for dinosaur sightings.
Mark Kaelin/CNET Networks

Anyone remember when you talked to computers in 52-character sentences? Need a technology nostalgia fix? Head over to CNET News.com, where we've excerpted a TechRepublic gallery of the earliest "portable" computers. They're from a time when "portable" just meant you could haul them from place to place with a handle--and it was truly revolutionary to be able to do so, since it exaggerated the fact that computers were not the size of a room, as they had been.

Click here to go to the News.com gallery: "Dinosaur sightings: Osborne 1 and TRS-80 4P"