Alexis C. Madrigal, editor at the Atlantic, asserts that the reason that the first laptops were so unpopular was not only due to the high price and heavy weight: men did not want to use keyboards which they were unfamiliar with, and which were "for secretaries" (who are women). Madrigal states that the reason for the low sales in the first release of laptops, the GRiD Compass, could have been due to its costliness, costing about $20,000 in today's dollars,"and its weighing 11 pounds. Madrigal, however, continues on to refer to Jeff Hawkins, founder of Palm and Handspring (makers of the Treo), noting that sociological and psychological factors also caused difficulties in its sales as well. The business men of 1982, which the GRiD Compass was designed for, did not want the laptop because it had a keyboard which only the secretaries used in their work; secretaries were women, so keyboards were for women. The business men were also uncomfortable with the idea of using the laptops because they were uncomfortable with using the keyboard itself--they were afraid to be having a hard time learning to use the keyboard.
In this article "Why the First Laptop Had Such a Hard Time Catching On," Alexis C. Madrigal implies that the intelligence of a technology does not determine its success in society. The factors that lead to the adoption of a technology includes not only its usefulness and efficiency, but the sociological and psychological readiness of the people as well, as it was demonstrated by the early sales of laptops.
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