Artifact Details

Title

Hancock, Neil oral history

Catalog Number

102717363

Type

Document

Description

Neil Hancock started writing and selling engineering software in BASIC for the Sharp PC-1500 pocket computer in Perth, Australia, in his late teens. During a visit to COMDEX in 1990 he came across the Microtouch touch screen display and got the idea to integrate a touch input device into a notebook computer. Using sensor chips and a touchpad developed for him by Microtouch he built prototypes of drop-in touch input modules for laptops from Sharp, Texas Instruments, and Acer. At COMDEX 1991 he displayed his touchpad-equipped laptops to great acclaim. But he realized that he could not set up a supply chain for large-scale manufacturing of the devices in Perth, Australia, and decided to concentrate on running and growing his portable-computer sales and service business. His company Portacom is now the biggest supplier of portable computers in Western Australia.

Date

2018-09-05

Contributor

Hancock, Neil, Interviewee
Steinbach, Gunter, Interviewer

Publisher

Computer History Museum

Place of Publication

Perth, Australia

Extent

11 p.

Format

PDF

Category

Transcription

Collection Title

CHM Oral History Collection

Credit

Computer History Museum

Lot Number

X8782.2019

Related Records

102717364 Hancock, Neil oral history