Last updated January, 2012
But I'm really planning on getting back to it someday..
The Osborne 1, the world’s first portable computer, and its quickly appearing competitors, were suitcase-sized, 20-30 pound computers soon known as “luggables.” The Osborne 1 used the CP/M operating system, the first industry standard operating system, and had two disk drives and a 5” built-in screen. The new Apple MacBook Air (M1, 2020) isn't just the best laptop Apple has ever made, it's the best laptop money can buy right now. This is the first time a MacBook has topped our best laptops list. Osborne-1 (first edition) The Osborne-1 - Note the full sized 5.25' diskette drives, and the tiny video display. The keyboard is separate from the main unit, and clips onto the front of the machine for storage and travel. It was designed such that the machine could sit up on the keyboard (as shown) when in use. Osborne 3 - 1985 By Osborne Computer Corporation The Osborne 3 portable computer was the last system ever released by the Osborne Computer Corporation. Osborne had skyrocketed to fame back in 1981, by releasing one of the first portable computers, the Osborne 1, but financial problems (stiff competition and poor management) forced them into bankruptcy in late 1983. The Osborne Computer Corporation (OCC) was a pioneering maker of portable computers. It was located in the Silicon Valley of the southern San Francisco Bay Area in California. Adam Osborne, the founder of the company, developed, with design work from Lee Felsenstein, the world's first mass-produced portable computer in 1981.
The Vintage Computer Forums
This web site is dedicated to collecting, restoring and simply playing with old (A.K.A. vintage, classic, antique, outdated or just plain junk) computers. Like many in the computer age, I cut my teeth on computer systems that represent the dawn of the computer revolution. Some of these systems, such as the Altair 8800, Apple ][ and IBM PC have tons of historical significance. Others, such as the Atari 800, Osborne 1, Kaypro 2x and Dec Pro 350 have less historical but more personal significance (at least to me). All of these systems do, however, have one thing in common. They all take up some room in my home and often get time on the workbench to strut their stuff.
This site was created to document computers and related items that most rational people would consider junk and the history and stories of those items and the people that created or used them. It is all about systems that have, with few exceptions, never seen a mouse and many of which have never even seen a keyboard. It is, however, about classic systems that have a personality and a history. Systems that aren't carbon (silicon?) copies of the rest of the pack.
There are three criteria met by the computers listed here: They were, with a very few exceptions, built before 1985 (which classifies them as antiques in the computer world), they were built primarily to be used by individuals or very small groups and they were built to be sold inexpensively. That, along with the obvious requirement that these artifacts are actually computers, is my definition of 'Vintage Personal Computer.' Another requirement for listing here is, of course, that the item in question is in my personal collection. If you don't see it listed here then I probably don't have one. . . yet.
With that in mind there is now a Kenbak-1 and a Mark-8 in the collection. These machines are considered by many to be the first true personal computers. Depending on how you define your terms, that is.
On these pages you'll also find a brief history of microcomputers, a look at my collection of old machines and a few other tidbits that I have found useful. You will also find the Vintage Computer Forum (VC Forums or VCF to some) which is a message board for the vintage computer community. It is my sincerest hope that this forum continues to grow as a center for sharing, learning and camaraderie within the classic computer community.
Please note: This site is under constant construction and it probably always will be. If something isn't there today, check back tomorrow or next week and hopefully it will have appeared. As my collection and knowledge grows, so will these pages.
Also note, contributions are always welcome. If you see anything in error or if you have detail to add to any of the information you find here, please feel free to contact me at this address with whatever you have to offer. I'll do my best to use anything contributed and I'll credit everything I use.
I also adopt old, classic computer systems to save them from the scrap heap. Please keep in mind that I am not Bill Gates and, therefore, don't have unlimited resources or unlimited space for old systems. For most older computers and related items (software, manuals, magazines, etc.) I will be happy to pay shipping to have them sent to me (I'll drive to most places in the San Francisco Bay Area and possibly beyond to pick up interesting items as well). For some particularly interesting artifacts I may be willing to pay a premium above shipping depending on completeness, condition and my budget (see my Wish List for computers and parts that I'm especially interested in.) In all instances, however, if you have an historic system that you can no longer care for, I can and will do my best to find it a home, even if it's not my home.
Whatever you do, donate your classic computer, don't throw it away!
Thank you,
Born | March 6, 1939 Bangkok, Thailand |
---|---|
Died | March 18, 2003 (aged 64) |
Alma mater | |
Known for | Osborne 1 |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Computer Engineering |
Institutions | Osborne Computer Corporation |
Adam Osborne (March 6, 1939 – March 18, 2003) was a British-American[citation needed] author, book and software publisher, and computer designer who founded several companies in the United States and elsewhere. He introduced the Osborne 1, the first commercially successful portable computer.
Early life[edit]
Osborne was born to a British father and Polish mother in Bangkok, Thailand on March 6, 1939.[1] His father, Arthur Osborne, was a teacher of eastern religion and philosophy[1] and a lecturer in English at Chulalongkorn University. All members of the family were fluent in the Tamil language. He spent World War II in southern India, with his mother.[1] He attended Presentation Convent School in Kodaikanal until Class 6.[citation needed] In 1950, the Osborne family moved to England.[2] From the age of 11, he was educated at a Catholic boarding school in Warwickshire but from 1954 to 1957 was a pupil at the grammar school Leamington College for Boys in Royal Leamington Spa, where he played chess. England.[1] He graduated with a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Birmingham in 1961,[1] and received his PhD from the University of Delaware in 1968.[1] It was while living in the United States that he learned to write computer code.[1] He obtained a position as a chemical engineer with Shell Oil, in California, but was dismissed.[1]
Publishing[edit]
Osborne was a pioneer in the computer book field, founding a company in 1972 that specialized in easy-to-read computer manuals. By 1977, Osborne & Associates had 40 titles in its catalogue. In 1979, it was bought by McGraw-Hill and continued as an imprint of McGraw-Hill, 'McGraw-Hill/Osborne'.[3][2] He also wrote several books.[2] One of them, An Introduction To Microcomputers, sold 300,000 copies.[1]
Computers[edit]
Osborne was known to frequent the Homebrew Computer Club's meetings around 1975. He created the first commercially available portable computer, the Osborne 1, released in April 1981. It weighed 24.5 pounds (12 kg), cost US$1795—just over half the cost of a computer from other manufacturers with comparable features—and ran the popular CP/M 2.2 operating system.[4] It was designed to fit under an airline seat.[5] At its peak, Osborne Computer Corporation shipped 10,000 units of 'Osborne 1' per month.[6] Osborne was one of the first personal computing pioneers to understand fully that there was a wide market of buyers who were not computing hobbyists: the Osborne 1 included word processing and spreadsheet software.[4] This was at a time when IBM would not bundle hardware and software with their PCs, selling separately the operating systems, monitors, and even cables for the monitor.
Adam Osborne's experience in the computer industry gave his new company credibility.[7] Osborne Computer Corporation advertisements compared Adam Osborne's influence on the personal computer market to Henry Ford's influence on transportation.[4] It is said that in 1983, Osborne bragged about two advanced new computers his company was developing. These statements destroyed consumer demand for the Osborne 1, and the resulting inventory glut forced Osborne Computer to file for bankruptcy on September 13, 1983. This phenomenon, a pre-announcement of a new product causing a catastrophic collapse in demand for older ones, became known as the Osborne effect, but according to some new sources, the real reasons for Osborne Computer's bankruptcy were management errors[8] and insufficient cash flow.[9]
Hypergrowth[edit]
Osborne Laptops Store
After Osborne Computer's collapse, Adam Osborne wrote a best-selling memoir of his experience, Hypergrowth: The Rise and Fall of the Osborne Computer Corporation, with John C. Dvorak, which was published in 1984.[10]
Software[edit]
In 1984, Osborne founded Paperback Software International Ltd., a company that specialized in inexpensive computer software. Its advertisements featured Osborne himself, arguing that if telephone companies applied the same logic to their pricing as software companies, a telephone would cost $600. One of its products was VP-Planner, an inexpensive clone of Lotus 1-2-3, which led to legal action. In 1987, Lotus sued Paperback Software. As a result of the lawsuit, consumer confidence waned for Paperback Software, and its revenues dropped 80% by 1989, preventing the firm from getting venture capital for expansion. In February 1990, the case went to court and on June 28, the court ruled that Paperback Software's product, by copying Lotus 1-2-3's look and feel menu interface, violated Lotus's copyright.[11] Osborne stepped down from Paperback Software the same year.[2] Paperback's database application, VP-Info continued to sell well for many more years, and acquired a second life as Sharkbase.[12]
His final venture, in 1992, was to found the company Noetics Software, to work on artificial intelligence.[1]
Personal life and death[edit]
Nvidia others driver download for windows 10. Osborne was a member of Mensa.[1] He married – and divorced – twice, firstly in the mid 1960s, to Cynthia Geddes, an American,[1] and later to Barbara Burdick (Zelnick), Osborne had three children.[3] Both former wives and all his children survived him.[1]
Osborne Laptops For Seniors
In 1992, Osborne returned to India in declining health, suffering from a brain disorder that triggered frequent minor strokes. He died in his sleep on March 18, 2003, in Kodaikanal, India, aged 64.[1][13][14]
Osborne Laptops Reviews
References[edit]
Osborne Laptops & Desktops Driver Download For Windows 10 64-bit
- ^ abcdefghijklmnSchofield, Jack (March 27, 2003). 'Obituary: Adam Osborne'. The Guardian. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
- ^ abcd'Adam Osborne: Pioneer of the portable computer'. The Independent. April 5, 2003. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
- ^ abJohn Markoff/New York Times. 'Adam Osborne 64 Dies Was Pioneer of Portable PC New York Times Website [1]
- ^ abcAdvertisement (September 1982). 'The $1795 Business Computer that is changing the way people go to work'. BYTE. p. 31. Retrieved October 19, 2013.
- ^Fallows, James (July 1982). 'Living With a Computer'. Atlantic Magazine. Retrieved May 21, 2010.
- ^Grzanka, Leonard G. (January 1984). 'Requiem for a Pioneer'. Portable Computer.Cite journal requires
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(help) - ^Hogan, Thom (April 13, 1981). 'Osborne Introduces Portable Computer'. InfoWorld. IDG. p. 1. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
- ^I, Cringely . The Pulpit . The Osborne Effect | PBS
- ^Technologizer
- ^Osborne, Adam (1984). Hypergrowth: The Rise and Fall of the Osborne Computer Corporation, ISBN978-0-918347-00-8.
- ^Lotus Dev. Corp. v. Paperback Software Int'l, 740 F. Supp. 37 (D. Mass. 1990)
- ^Sharkbase/VP-Info User's ManualArchived December 24, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- ^Edward Teague (March 2003). 'Adam Osborne, pioneer of PCs for people: dead at 64. His sister Katya Douglas (nee Osborne) continues to live in Kodaikanal'. Natural Science. Archived from the original on March 26, 2009. Retrieved December 20, 2008.
- ^Markoff, John (March 26, 2003). 'Adam Osborne, 64, Dies; Was Pioneer of Portable PC'. The New York Times. Retrieved September 11, 2017.