The 1970s was a somewhat awkward phase for the computer industry — as hulking, room-sized mainframes became ever smaller and the concept of home and portable computers more capa ...

* 1975: IBM launches the IBM 5100, the first computer to look like the modern desktop model complete with a QWERTY keyboard, display and mass storage on tape all found within a single case.

In 1977, the IBM Model 5100 was released and marketed as one of the world's first 'portable computers'. In a now-hilarious full-page advert, IBM proudly boasts that at 50lbs (23kg), the Model 5100 ...

* 1975: IBM launches the IBM 5100, the first computer to look like the modern desktop model complete with a QWERTY keyboard, display and mass storage on tape all found within a single case.

And then there was his reason for travelling. Titor claimed he had been sent back to 1975 to retrieve an IBM 5100 computer, which was needed to debug ageing machines still used in 2036.

William C Lowe, who supervised the birth of IBM's first personal computer, has died aged 72 in Lake Forest, Illinois. The IBM Personal Computer, known as the 5150, was launched in August 1981 ...