Another early ad the next year for the much more mainstream Apple II pictured a woman preparing a meal, gazing adoringly at her mate working on the Apple computer on the kitchen table.

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In his dress blue uniform and wire-rimmed eye glasses, the slightly built Manning followed a slide show of the prosecutor's hour-long opening statement, watching on a laptop computer at the defense table.

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"The vision technology allows that surface to become interactive, so that while the computer is projecting the information on to, say, your table top, the worker can interact with that the thing which is basically just light by using light, " Lai said.

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She punched a few buttons on the computer display of her cash register, electronically communicating our special order to the kitchen, and gave me a table stand with a number on it to identify us to the waiter responsible for serving the tables.

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At a trendy coffee shop in the French Quarter, nearly every table has an open laptop computer on it.

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There are hooks on one wall to hang a sleeping bag and a spot on the opposite wall for a fold-down table and foot restraints so astronauts can use a laptop computer.

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