For many years, I was the lucky owner of an IBM Transnote, the greatest PC ever made.
- Screen on its own riser, so you could raise it several centimeters, even over your fingers while you type, for a surprisingly small footprint and easy-to-read screen.
- The Thinkpad's signature clit mouse® with chonky buttons and that delectable keyboard, for a human interfacing that's almost obscene. Only a butterfly keyboard was better.
- Also the screen is touch sensitive, tap it with your fingers. Play Bejeweled back when it was good!
- Digitizing pad that runs on its own power independently of the PC, recording your strokes with the special "Crosspad pen". You can transfer them as TIFFs, later. Or just disconnect the thing to save power. Or even flip it around for a left-handed model, sure, why not.
- Fancy case that couldn't possibly contain a computer, those things were huge! Then you whip this out and everyone's jaws hit the floor.
- Built-in 56k modem and fax.
- PCMCIA slot, a civilized expansion for a more civilized age. Stuff a wifi card in that and now you're mucking anywhere.
- And a CompactFlash slot because why not. When the internal hard drive fails, root that sucker and boot off a linux that doesn't have drivers for anything else.
I will never know this joy again, and I have made my peace with that. Let us enjoy the present while we hope for the future. Also no computer will have a better name than "Transnote".
