Grid Compass

<h2 id="history">History</h2>

<p>Development of the Compass began in 1979, and the main buyer was the U.S. government. NASA used it on the Space Shuttle during the early 1980s, as it was powerful, lightweight, and compact. The military Special Forces also purchased the machine, as it could be used by paratroopers in combat.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> The <a href="/facts/National_Security_Agency/Sg6MGV1o">National Security Agency</a> was reportedly interested in a <a href="/facts/Tempest_(codename)/geLPqTp2">TEMPEST</a>-compliant version produced by <a href="/facts/Leidos/wwJGA94C">SAIC</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a>
</p><p>Along with the <a href="/facts/Gavilan_SC/LjaXbHYp">Gavilan SC</a> and <a href="/facts/Sharp_PC-5000/pvpIoDmm">Sharp PC-5000</a> released the following year, the GRiD Compass established much of the basic design of subsequent laptop computers, although the laptop concept itself owed much to the <a href="/facts/Dynabook/VnxoHqzl">Dynabook</a> project developed at <a href="/facts/Xerox_PARC/fh2Su0k9">Xerox PARC</a> from the late 1960s. GRiD Systems Corporation subsequently earned significant returns on its <a href="/facts/Patent_rights/LjT2bG3A">patent rights</a> as its innovations became commonplace.
</p>
<h3>Competitors</h3>
<p>The portable <a href="/facts/Osborne_1/TYLLMXyH">Osborne 1</a> computer sold at around the same time as the GRiD, was more affordable and more popular, and ran the popular <a href="/facts/CP%2fM/n5rTgXdC">CP/M</a> operating system. But, unlike the Compass, the Osborne was not a laptop and lacked the Compass's refinement and small size.
</p>
<h2 id="models">Models</h2>
<p>The Compass runs its own operating system, GRiD-OS. Its specialized software and high price (US$100,000–$1,000,000) meant that it was limited to specialized applications.
</p><p>Grid at first intended customers to purchase an <a href="/facts/IBM_minicomputer/AqMu97th">IBM minicomputer</a> as the "Grid Central" remote host, from which Grid Compass would download software. Customers were uninterested, and Grid replaced it with "Grid Server", hosting a <a href="/facts/Local-area_network/edUDxJ6J">local-area network</a> of up to 48 Compasses and <a href="/facts/IBM_PC/yhcJGMPL">IBM PCs</a>, and 10 remote systems. The Server would run both Grid and MS-DOS software, the company's first acknowledgement of <a href="/facts/PC_compatibility/zGUpl7Sh">PC compatibility</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a>
</p>
<h3>Compass</h3>
<p>The initial model, the 1101, was introduced in April 1982;<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> The 1100 model designation were never released commercially, but featured in some pre-release marketing material.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> The computer was designed by <a href="/facts/United_Kingdom/kuPAILt2">British</a> <a href="/facts/Industrial_design/6oBprKds">industrial designer</a> <a href="/facts/Bill_Moggridge/xjAvWn26">Bill Moggridge</a>.
</p>
<h4>Design</h4>
<p>The <a href="/facts/Clamshell_design/pCR2wwHQ">clamshell</a> case (where the screen folds flat to the rest of the computer when closed) was made from a magnesium alloy. The computer features an <a href="/facts/Intel_8086/sS9dlSdK">Intel 8086</a> <a href="/facts/Central_processing_unit/Jxp1bqMV">processor</a>, a 320 × 240-pixel <a href="/facts/Electroluminescent_display/9Dl7JxCW">electroluminescent display</a>, 384-<a href="/facts/Kilobyte/jIe6t4yv">kilobyte</a> <a href="/facts/Magnetic_bubble_memory/gBYFcwJn">magnetic bubble memory</a>, and a 1200 <a href="/facts/Bit_per_second/ppUNMmVd">bit/s</a> <a href="/facts/Modem/9H0Xwtq0">modem</a>. Devices such as <a href="/facts/Hard_drive/kekLSGSE">hard drives</a> and floppy drives can be connected via the <a href="/facts/IEEE-488/JdmHrwJB">IEEE-488</a> I/O (also known as GPIB or General Purpose Interface Bus).  This port makes it possible to connect multiple devices to the addressable device bus. It weighs 5 kg (11 lb). The power input is ~110/220 V AC, 47–66 Hz, 75 W.
</p>
<h3>Compass II</h3>

<p>The Compass II was released in 1984; known as 1121, 1129, 1131 and 1139 models.
</p>

<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>

Wikimedia Commons has media related to GRiD Compass.

<ul><li>Clare, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080625004757/http://www.netmagic.net/~clare/gis.html"><i>GRiDs in Space</i></a>, Net magic, archived from <a href="http://www.netmagic.net/~clare/gis.html">the original</a> on 2008-06-25</li>
<li><a href="https://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?st=1&c=900"><i>GRiD Compass</i></a>, old-computers.com</li>
<li>Hrothgar, <a href="http://pages.total.net/~hrothgar/museum/Compass/">"GRiD Compass"</a>, <i>Cool Old Junk</i>, Total</li>
<li><a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=NjAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA24">InfoWorld Aug 2, 1982</a></li>
<li><a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=EjAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA68">InfoWorld Nov 8, 1982</a></li>
<li>Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. <a href="http://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18732295/">"GRiD Compass"</a>. Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. Retrieved 10 October 2012.</li>
<li><a href="http://vintage-laptops.com/?page_id=46&lang=en"><i>GRiD Compass 1100, 360 degree model</i></a>, Vintage Laptop Museum, 5 April 2017</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5s2AHYsJmI"><i>Video about GRiD Compass</i></a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGQS5AhZc14"><i>Video about the SPOC program that was used on the NASA Shuttle</i></a></li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>McCracken, Harry (July 17, 2012). "Clamshell! The story of the best computing form factor ever". CNN.com. Time Inc. Archived from the original on December 4, 2022. <a href="/wiki/Harry_McCracken" target="_blank">/wiki/Harry_McCracken</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:2"><p>McCracken, Harry (July 17, 2012). "Clamshell! The story of the best computing form factor ever". CNN.com. Time Inc. Archived from the original on December 4, 2022. <a href="/wiki/Harry_McCracken" target="_blank">/wiki/Harry_McCracken</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:3"><p>Foster, Edward (March 1985). "'Lap' Portables: How Small Is Too Small". Personal Computing. 9 (3). Hayden Publishing: 82–97 – via the Internet Archive. <a href="https://archive.org/details/personal-computing-march-1985/page/83/" target="_blank">https://archive.org/details/personal-computing-march-1985/page/83/</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:4"><p>Casella, Phil (June 16, 1986). "Attractive Gridcase 2 Runs Well, Costs More". InfoWorld. 8 (24). IDG Publications: 54–55 – via Google Books. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=VC8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA54" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=VC8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA54</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:5"><p>didyouknowwebsite (2020-06-14). "The Space Age Best Inventions We use Today". Did You Know?. Retrieved 2020-06-14. <a href="https://didyouknowwebsite.com/2020/06/14/the-space-age-best-inventions-we-use-today/" target="_blank">https://didyouknowwebsite.com/2020/06/14/the-space-age-best-inventions-we-use-today/</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:6"><p>Markoff, John; Shapiro, Ezra (September 1984). "Cloak and Dagger". BYTE West Coast. BYTE. pp. 397–400. Retrieved 2025-04-10. <a href="https://archive.org/details/BYTE_Vol_09-10_1984-09_Computer_Graphics/page/n398/mode/1up?view=theater" target="_blank">https://archive.org/details/BYTE_Vol_09-10_1984-09_Computer_Graphics/page/n398/mode/1up?view=theater</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:7"><p>Markoff, John; Shapiro, Ezra (September 1984). "Cloak and Dagger". BYTE West Coast. BYTE. pp. 397–400. Retrieved 2025-04-10. <a href="https://archive.org/details/BYTE_Vol_09-10_1984-09_Computer_Graphics/page/n398/mode/1up?view=theater" target="_blank">https://archive.org/details/BYTE_Vol_09-10_1984-09_Computer_Graphics/page/n398/mode/1up?view=theater</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:8"><p>"GRiD Compass 1101". oldcomputers.net. <a href="http://oldcomputers.net/grid1101.html" target="_blank">http://oldcomputers.net/grid1101.html</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:9"><p>"GRiD Compass". vintage-laptops.com. 2017-04-05. Retrieved 2021-07-30. <a href="http://vintage-laptops.com/en/grid-compass/" target="_blank">http://vintage-laptops.com/en/grid-compass/</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:10"><p>"Pioneering the Laptop – The GRiD Compass", YouTube, Google, archived from the original on 2021-12-21. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQgoAQq7bP4" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQgoAQq7bP4</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
</ol>

Grid Compass open-in-new

Grid Compass