"J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote in
:

All-in-one units with CRTs did exist - I think
the Osborne 1 may even have run on batteries, it was certainly heavy
enough! - the best example possibly being the original Amstrad word
processor

And the early Apple Mac's. Fugliest hardware anyone could call a computer,
in their day. No wonder Apple go for arty aesthetics these days, they had
a LOT to live down.

What gets me though is what happened when LCD's came in, and hard disks got
plentiful and easy to use. I'd have thought that a CPU, with attacked hard
disk, and the VDU, all shared the same need to be sat firmly in place, while
keyboards were shoved around as required, like books. So WHY separate the CPU
from the VDU and attach it to the keyboard?! This is basically the logic
behind the laptop. Apart from keeping the weight in the base, it made little
sense, and that was founded on a false premise anyway. How many people really
use a laptop, in their lap, hunched over ruining their spines for hours on
end? Most people can find a table, even on a train. And on a plane or bus
there isn't room for anythign that isn't all in one peice anyway. No room to
even lift a lid if has a big screen in it. I susp[ect that as much as
anything has made people realise that laptops are a bit stupid, and made them
all want phones and tablets. But what a SLOW awakening!