The Black Box Era

Information on the earliest IBM portables — from the PS/2 L40 SX in 1991 (the laptop that immediately predates the ThinkPad), through the original ThinkPad 700C in 1992, all the way to the 770 / 770Z at the end of the ’90s. The machines with magnesium roll cages, seven-row keyboards, the little red nub, latches that click, and service manuals that read like love letters to repairability.