The Laser 128 is a clone of the Apple II series of personal computers, released by VTech in 1984.
The VTech Laser 128 has 128 KB of RAM. Like the Apple IIc, it is a one-piece semi-portable design with a carrying handle and a single built-in 5¼-inch floppy disk drive, and uses the 65C02 microprocessor. Unlike the Apple IIc, it has a numeric keypad, a Centronics printer port, and two Laser 128-only graphics modes. The Laser 128 also has a single Apple IIe-compatible expansion slot, which gives it better expansion capabilities than a IIc, but cards remain exposed; the slot is intended for an $80 expansion chassis that provided two slots compatible with the Apple's Slot 5 and Slot 7. The computer also has a separate, internal memory-expansion slot.
Apple filed a lawsuit to stop its distribution but VTech obtained United States Customs approval to export the Laser 128 to the United States in 1986, and the lawsuit reportedly had no effect on demand for the computer. Central Point Software—the most prominent dealer—sold the $395 Laser 128 and accessories by mail in full-page magazine advertisements, claiming that "a computer without expansion slots is a dead-end that stays behind as technology advances". It even advertised the Laser 128 in Commodore computer magazines; the name was, Central Point president Mike Brown said, "chosen to sound like the Commodore 128", and the company intended to appeal to those who wanted to use the large Apple software library with a computer that cost the same as the Commodore. By late 1986 other mail-order firms also sold the Laser 128, and at least one peripheral maker advertised its product's compatibility with the clone.
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The first laser was built in 1960 by Theodore H. Maiman at Hughes Laboratories, based on theoretical work by Charles Hard Townes and Arthur Leonard Schawlow. A laser differs from other sources of light in that it emits light coherently. Spatial coherence allows a laser to be focused to a tight spot, enabling applications such as laser cutting and lithography. Spatial coherence also allows a laser beam to stay narrow over great distances (collimation), enabling applications such as laser pointers. Lasers can also have high temporal coherence, which allows them to emit light with a very narrow spectrum, i.e., they can emit a single color of light. Temporal coherence can be used to produce pulses of light as short as a femtosecond.
Among their many applications, lasers are used in optical disk drives, laser printers, and barcode scanners; fiber-optic and free-space optical communication; laser surgery and skin treatments; cutting and welding materials; military and law enforcement devices for marking targets and measuring range and speed; and laser lighting displays in entertainment.
Laser is a brand of malt liquor manufactured by the Miller Brewing Company and Falstaff Brewing Company. The beverage contains 5.9% alcohol by volume. In 1997, Falstaff won a silver medal at the Great American Beer Festival for Laser Malt Liquor.
LaserPerformance is an Anglo-American dinghy manufacturer- the world's largest producer of small sailboats. LaserPerformance manufactures many sailboats including: Laser, Sunfish, Laser Pico, Bug, Laser Vago, Laser Bahia, Club FJ, Club 420, Vanguard 15, Dart 16, Funboat, Z420 and Optimists.
They are most well known for the Sunfish and The Laser – a single handed boat which is sailed in the Summer Olympic Games. Over the last 60 years, the Sunfish has become the most popular recreational sailboat in history. The Laser is widely accepted as the world’s most popular adult & youth racing class.
LaserPerformance is also well known for its Sunfish Stand Up Paddleboards and Seitech dollies and racking systems.
On a phone call between Canadians Bruce Kirby and Ian Bruce in 1969, the pair discussed the possibility of a car-topped dinghy (a boat small enough to be carried on a roof rack of a typical car) for a line of camping equipment. Kirby resultantly sketched out what would be known as "the million dollar doodle." Following his "doodle" Kirby developed working drawings that Ian Bruce used to develop the Laser.
