In 1982, the GRiD Compass was introduced as one of the first laptop computers. It featured a clamshell design, a 320×200 pixel electroluminescent display, and was used by the U.S. military and NASA. The GRiD Compass, while expensive and not a consumer device, demonstrated the viability of a portable computer, a concept that would eventually become ubiquitous.

The laptop computer was a major milestone for writers, offering the promise of true portability. While early laptops were bulky and expensive, they paved the way for the lightweight, powerful machines that poets now use to write anywhere. The ability to take a computer to a café, a park, or on a journey has fundamentally changed the writing process, allowing for a level of mobility and flexibility that was unimaginable with a desktop machine or a typewriter.