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The 30th Anniversary of Osborne Computer

Posted by timothy on from the not-the-reality-tv-star-no dept.

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."

2 of 81 comments (clear)

  1. Actually, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    The hardware wasn't anything special. It was okay, and just barely managed to pull off a 'first', and was quickly superseded by better computers in that fast-moving time.

    What was really interesting about the first Ossy was you got nearly all the big CP/M apps bundled with the computer -- for what was really a fair price for the computer OR those apps. It was a 2 for 1 deal, and I think that was probably the swiftest maneuver Adam Osborne did.

    Disclaimer: I've got an Ossy in the closet, with an equal weight of manuals and floppies. It's also the only computer I've ever bought that came with complete wiring diagrams. Fun kit.

  2. Re:What's even scarier is that I almost bought one by julesh · · Score: 4, Informative

    Back in 1981, I was programming for a company with a 64K CPM computer with a Hazeltine monitor. Life was great.

    64K in 1981? Holy crap, that was the hotness!

    Not especially. The basic model IBM PC, launched that year, had 64k expandable to 256. The Apple IIe had launched 2 years earlier with 48k. 64k was probably about average at the time for a proper micro (i.e. not a "home" computer).