Posted on 04/02/2011 6:34:03 AM PDT by Clint Williams
harrymcc writes
"This Sunday is the thirtieth anniversary of the announcement of the Osborne 1 — the first mass-produced mobile computer. For years, Osborne has been most famous for its failure, traditionally blamed on the company having preannounced new products before they were available. But that's not the whole story — and Adam Osborne, its founder, was a fascinating figure who deserves to be remembered."
I remember thinking it was pretty neat, too. However, after using the CP/M mode on my Commodore 128, I was less than impressed. Farrah would've been much more entertaining.
“I got close to $900 for it”
That’s just under 10% of the purchase price, which is consistent with the Osborne originally priced at $1750 going for about $200 (although the auction isn’t over). The listing makes no mention of software or manuals and emphasizes the “as is” condition. So any purchaser is only guaranteed a machine that turns on and off—NOT a machine that definitely can be restored to working order. As I say, I’m amazed people pay such prices for attic clutter.
I was working for Computerland at the time and recall what a great hit the Osborne was, as was the Kaypro when it came along. I recall vividly when the IBM PC came out and we were the official provider for IBM employees. The flocked to the store and bought up every one we could get for several months.
My first computer was the Sol 32 from Processor Technology. It came only as a kit. That was, I think, 1978, or maybe late 1977. About the time Radio Shack came out with the TRS-80. Ah, those were the days!
In late 1979 I got my first multi-user, multi-tasking machine, the Alpha Micro. I used their products for the next 15 years or so.
I LOVED that catalog.
I remember DAK back in the day, they sold some cool stuff cheap. The early bubble-jet printer for only a couple-hundred dollars rocked!
Well there are people who collect all manner of things.
What amazes me about computers, cell phones, etc, is how far we have come in short period of time.
Still have fanfold paper tapes for booting up DG Nova 840 boxes.
Make me an offer!
Still remember coding (in assembler) parts of a hospital information system on an EMR 6135. Now there is a obscure computer for you aficionados.
Still remember punching Fortran IV & V programs into cards, compiling 'em, & feeding the object decks into a Control Data 6600 beast, prior to the advent of uninterruptible power supplies. When the power went down, the hydraulic lines used for coolant went down, too, taking out plumbing for the entire top-secret building. Also programmed a Univac 1108 there.
Still remember the assembly instruction for erasing all the memory of an IBM 1620 machine, with its archaic 4 sense switches on the front panel.
Still remember programming a Univac 1105 in Basic Assembly Language -- a massive machine with vacuum-tube memory that required an air-conditioned room & raised floor for all the thick cables. When I tell this to some punk kid, I just get back a blank stare: "uh . . ., is that like a vacuum cleaner?"
Never had an Osborne but I met Osborne a couple of times, after the hardware and when he was doing Paperback Software. Seemed an interesting fellow.
http://technologizer.com/2011/04/01/osborne-computer/
Sigh, CP/M.
My first box was a North Star Horizon. The first hard drive available for that in the early 80s was $5500. 15 mb and weight too much for UPS to carry, came by truck. Took 3 minutes to warm up before read/write.
One of my memories was rushing to our local Radio Shack store after they announced the first TRS-80 to see it.
None of the clerks had even heard of it and I eventually spoke to the manager. His answer: “You don’t think that Radio Shack will make enough of them to supply all stores, do you”
Looking back that was astonishingly dumb.
One of my best friends was always getting the DAK catalog and singing their praises. What ever happened to them?
Like all old friends, it just looks a little different with age.
I got the "chipped up" version with 128KRAM. Smokin' hot! I was the envy of everyone on the staff.
Worst thing, I suppose, was the way it habituated me to keyboard shortcuts, as I used it almost exclusively for word processing with Wordstar. I still have fond memories of Wordstar when trying to do something with Microsoft Word 2007. Blech. And a mouse is still just one more thing to lose when packing and traveling.
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