Osborne 1
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| Developer | Adam Osborne |
|---|---|
| Type | portable computer |
| Release date | 1981 |
| Introductory price | US$ 1795 |
| Discontinued | 1983 |
| Operating system | CP/M |
| CPU | Zilog Z80 @ 4.0 MHz |
| Memory | 64 KB |
The Osborne 1 was the first commercially successful portable microcomputer, released in April, 1981 by Osborne Computer Corporation. It weighed 10.7 kg (23.5 pounds), cost US$ 1795,[1] and ran the then-popular CP/M 2.2 operating system. Its principal deficiencies were a tiny 5 inch (13 cm) display screen and single sided, single density floppy disk drives whose disks could not contain sufficient data for practical business applications. Its design owed much to that of the Xerox NoteTaker, a prototype developed at Xerox PARC in 1976. There were ten prototypes produced, as described in an email[2] to PBA Galleries, a San Francisco auction house, by Lee Felsenstein, the designer of the Osborne computer, on February 12, 2009:
I can confirm that this is one of the first ten prototype units built, known as the "metal case" units. I don't think they had serial numbers. The cases were made by Galgon Industries in Hayward but their quote for production was prohibitive, so work immediately commenced on the plastic cases. The circuit board was ready in January of 1981 and these were built shortly thereafter. They were used in the first ads ("the guy on the left doesn't stand a chance") in which the veins on the hand of the guy on the right bulge as he struggles with the 30-pound weight of his transformer-powered luggable. These were the units we took to the West Coast Computer Faire and the National Computer Conference in early 1981.
Software
The Osborne 1 came with a bundle of application software. The WordStar word processor, SuperCalc spreadsheet, and the CBASIC and MBASIC programming languages—all software packages that were the leading applications in their respective niches at the time—had a retail value of more than US$2000. The exact contents of the bundled software varied depending on the time of purchase; for example, dBASE II was not included with the first systems sold.
| Program Name | Version | Published by | Program Type | Date | Part Number | Number of Disks |
Picture |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MBasic | Microsoft | Language interpreter | 301002-02D | 1 | |||
| Colossal Cave | Game | ||||||
| Deadline | Infocom | Game | 2 | ||||
| dBase II | Ashton-Tate | Database | |||||
| dBase II Tutor | Ashton Tate | Training for database | 6 | ||||
| Nominal Ledger | 2.7 | PeachTree Software | Business Software | 1983 | 2X09200-04 | 2 | |
| Purchase Ledger | 2.7 | PeachTree Software | Business Software | 1983 | 2X09200-04 | 2 | |
| Sales Ledger | 2.7 | PeachTree Software | Business Software | 1983 | 2X09200-04 | 2 | |
| Supercalc | Sorcim | Spreadsheet | 1981 | 301002-03 | 1 | ||
| Wordstar | 2.26 | MicroPro | Word processor | 1 |
Hardware specifications
Hardware features:[3]
- Dual 5¼-inch, single-sided 40 track floppy disk drives ("dual density" upgrade available)
- 4 MHz Z80 CPU
- 64 kilobytes main memory
- Fold-down 69 key detachable keyboard doubling as the computer case's lid
- 5-inch, 52 character × 24 line monochrome CRT display, mapped as a window on 128 × 32 character display memory
- IEEE-488 port configurable as a Parallel printer port
- RS-232 compatible 1200 or 300 baud Serial port for use with external modems or serial printers
The Osborne 1 was powered by a wall plug with a switched-mode power supply, and had no internal battery, although an aftermarket battery pack offering 1 hour run-time was available. Early models (tan case) were wired for 120 V or 240 V only. [4] Later models (blue case, shipping after May 1982) could be switched by the user to run on either 120 V or 230 V, 50 or 60 Hz.
Peripherals
- External Monochrome Display
- Parallel Dot matrix Printer
Operating system:
Main memory was eight rows of model 4116 16,384 x 1-bit dynamic RAM chips, shared between CPU memory and video memory. No parity was provided and no provision for memory expansion existed on the mother board. The boot program loader and significant parts of the BIOS were stored in a 4 kilobyte EPROM, which was bank-switched. A second EPROM was used as a fixed character generator, providing upper and lower case ASCII characters and graphic symbols; the character generator was not accessible to the CPU. The eighth bit of an ASCII character was used to select underlined characters. Serial communications was through a memory-mapped Motorola MC6850 Asynchronous Communications Interface Adapter (ACIA); a jumper on the mother board allowed the MC6850 to be set for either 300 and 1200 baud or 600 and 2400 baud communications, but other bit rates were not available. Floppy disk drives were interfaced through a Fujitsu 8877 disk controller integrated circuit, a second-source of the Western Digital 1793. The parallel port was connected through a memory-mapped Motorola MC6821 Peripheral Interface Adapter (PIA) which allowed the port to be fully bidirectional; the Osborne manuals also claimed the port implemented the IEEE-488 interface bus but this was rarely used. The parallel port used a card-edge connector etched on the main board, exposed through a hole in the case; any IEEE-488 or printer cable had to be specially manufactured for the Osborne.
The disk drives used either Siemens or MPI full-height single-sided drive mechanisms, but the drive electronics board was replaced by an Osborne-designed board, which allowed both power and signal connections to be carried on the same ribbon cable from the motherboard. The power connections used lines that standard drives reserved for ground.
The video system used part of the main memory and TTL logic to provide video and synch to an internal 5-inch monochrome monitor. The same signals were provided on a card edge connector for an external monitor; both internal and external monitor would have the same video format.
Apart from the processor, floppy controller, PIA, ACIA and EPROMs, the Osborne 1 used only TTL devices for all logic functions.
Games
Since the display of the Osborne did not support bit-mapped graphics, games were typically character based games, like text adventures (the 1982 game Deadline, for example, packaged in a dossier type folder and came on two 5 1/4" diskettes.). Compiled and MBASIC interpreted versions of Colossal Cave Adventure were available for the Osborne. Some shareware games made good use of the Osborne's limited character-mode graphics. [5]
Peripherals
These peripherals were not part of the base computer. Peripherals may have been offered by particular vendors at various times.
- External Monochrome screen - using separate synch and video connections, driven by the motherboard video circuitry.
- Dot Matrix Parallel Printer (Made by Star)
- 300 Baud Modem - fit into a diskette storage pocket, powered from the motherboard.
A small set of aftermarket vendors offered several other upgrades to the basic model, including third-party double density disk drives, external hard disks, and a battery-backed RAM disk that fit in a disk storage compartment.
Aftermarket 80-column video upgrades were available for the original 52-column-only machines.
The Osborne corporation offered a "Screen Pac" 80-column upgrade that could be switched between original 52 column and 80 column modes. Osborne 1 systems with the 80-column upgrade have an RCA jack installed on the front panel to allow connection of an external composite video monitor.
Market life
In the first eight months following shipment of the first unit to a customer, the Osborne corporation sold 11,000 units. [6] At its peak, Osborne Computer Corporation shipped 10,000 Osborne 1 units per month [6]. The computer was widely imitated as several other computer companies started offering low-priced portable computers with bundled software. The Osborne 1 was about the size and weight of a heavily packed suitcase; one commercial humorously pointed out that it did not quite fit under an airplane seat. As such it is now classified as a "luggable" computer in comparison to later laptop designs. The Osborne's popularity was surpassed by the similar Kaypro II which had a much more practical 9 inch (23 cm) CRT that could display the standard 80 characters on 24 lines as well as double density floppies that could store twice as much data.
Osborne Computer Corporation was unable to effectively respond to the Kaypro challenge until after the market window had closed and the day of the 8-bit, CP/M-based computer had ended. A popular belief is that sales of the Osborne 1 were hurt by the premature announcement of superior successor machines such as the Osborne Executive[7]; a phenomenon called the Osborne effect. Later Compaq delivered a portable computer (the Compaq Portable) with a 9 inch CRT, that was software compatible with the IBM PC, making it the first PC clone.
From 1982 to 1985 the company published "The Portable Companion", a magazine for Osborne users. [8]
Osborne Computer Corporation filed for Chapter 11 (Bankruptcy) in September 1983.
The Osborne appears briefly in a scene of the movie The Philadelphia Experiment(1984), sitting on a desk inside a USMC base. In the same scene also a Commodore 64 is visible in the foreground.
After Chapter 11
When Osborne filed for Chapter 11 protection it was working on the Osborne Vixen, which when announced hampered the sales of the Osborne 1. In 1985 the Osborne-4 (Vixen) was released a smaller machine with the keyboard permanently fixed which acted as a stand. This model didn't sell in great numbers.
See also
External links
- Osborne 1 information and photos – At the Obsolete Technology Website
- Osborne 1 detailed images and boot up video – At the Bunker of DOOM
- Collection of old digital and analog computers
- At the Old Computer Museum
- Osborne Prototype for auction at PBA Galleries
References
- ^ [1]
- ^ Email to PBA Galleries on February 12, 2009
- ^ a b Osborne 1 Technical Manual, Thom Hogan and Mike Iannamico, 1982, Osborne Computer Corporation, part no. 2F00153-01
- ^ Osborne 1 Technical Manual, section 6.1 Power Specification
- ^ "Draw Cards Using MBASIC", "The Portable Companion", August/September 1982, ISSN 9732-7501
- ^ a b Leonard G. Grzanka, Requiem for a Pioneer in "Portable Computer" Magazine, January 1984
- ^ David H. Rothman, The Silicon Jungle,Ballantine Books, New York 1985 ISBN 0-345-32063-8 page 33
- ^ http://www.vintage-computer.com/portablecompanion.shtml The Portable Companion, retrieved Aug 1 2009
Further reading
- Adam Osborne, John Dvorak Hypergrowth: the rise and fall of Osborne Computer Corporation,Idthekkethan Pub. Co., 1984 ISBN 0918347009
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