'Adequacy is sufficient: everything else is irrelevant.'
Adam Osborne, founder of the quintessential boom-and-bust Silicon Valley tech company, built the first portable computer in 1981. The Henry Ford holds examples of the few products the ill-starred Osborne Computer Corporation ever developed. What can Osborne’s innovative products and boom-and-bust company history tell us about computing and the high-tech economy?
Osborne 1 In 1980 Adam Osborne designed a portable computer based around the prevalent technology of the time: CP/M running on a Z80 microprocessor. His machine, introduced in 1981, was about the size of a small suitcase and was shaped to fit under an airline seat. Summary The Osborne 1 is the first mass-produced portable computer-a suitcase-sized 'luggable' system weighing 23.5 pounds. It was one of the first bundled systems, with an inclusive package of hardware and software including word processing, spreadsheet, and BASIC programs.
In 1980, Adam Osborne was a successful publisher of computing manuals in Silicon Valley. But he wanted to do something new, and with the advent of low-cost chips, he saw the economic and social potential for “no-frills computing.” He recruited already-famous computer engineer Lee Felsenstein and a small team who worked to design, manufacture and sell the smallest, cheapest possible computer for the time, a portable computer that could fit under an airplane seat. The result was the Osborne 1, introduced in 1981.
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. It came bundled with software worth about $1500--including word processing, spreadsheet and two versions of BASIC--making it one of the first computers to offer an all-in-one package of hardware and software. It retailed for a very competitive $1795, roughly half the cost of a similar computer including software and peripherals. Osborne also offered an optional modem and 11” external monitor for sale.
Silicon Valley, and the high-tech economy, is known for its quick cycles of prosperity--and just as quick devastating crashes. The Osborne Computer Corporation was, unfortunately, the prototype for this kind of company. After the company demonstrated its Osborne 1 at the West Coast Computer Faire in January 1981, orders began rolling in and sales of the Osborne 1 rose exponentially through 1981-2, to a peak of 10,000 units a month. But, by spring 1983--soon after releasing the Osborne Executive, the company’s improved second product with a larger screen--the Osborne Computer Corporation was bankrupt.
What happened? “The company, plain and simple, committed suicide,” explained Adam Osborne. Some have speculated that Osborne’s decline was caused by announcing a new product prematurely, causing demand for the original product to evaporate, a phenomenon known as “the Osborne effect.” This did not actually happen. Instead, a perfect storm of internal political maneuvering between Osborne and the new CEO, Robert Jaunich, plus manufacturing problems, worked together to swamp the company. The IBM-compatible luggables that soon followed the Osborne began to take market share.
The Henry Ford also owns an Osborne Vixen. This CP/M luggable, similar to the Osborne 1, was released in 1984 by the company that emerged briefly from bankruptcy without Adam Osborne. Osborne himself founded a low-cost software company, Paperback Software, but was forced to shutter it in response to legal challenges. Adam Osborne died of a degenerative brain disorder in 2003, in India, where he had grown up.
Osborne accurately described the high-tech economy as resting on “hypergrowth,” exponential growth in an unsaturated market. Hypergrowth companies strive for sales volume rather than market share; a large proportion of consumers are simply waiting for products to buy in the new market segment. Osborne saw in his lifetime the shift of the center of high-tech gravity from microcomputers to software and peripherals like memory cards. The recent rise and fall of web and web 2.0 companies would be very familiar to him. Hypergrowth is often growth too fast for small companies to manage.
Osborne’s vision of low-cost, portable computing and his insight into the trajectory of Silicon Valley were highly influential, but could not keep his company above water.
Suzanne M. Fischer was a former Curator of Technology at The Henry Ford. This post originally appeared as a Pic of the Month in 2009.
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In 1981, Adam Osborne produced what is generally considered to be the firsttruly portable computer. Although technically, there were a few other 'portable'machines which came before it (for example, the IBM 5100, which cost $20,000, and ran an IBM proprietary system), the Osbornewas the first portable CP/M system, and the first 'affordable' portable computer.It was therefore the first portable computer to achieve widespread use.
The most notable feature of the Osborne is the small (5') internal monitor,which could display only 52 columns at a time. Many people found this to be toodifficult to use, and 'Osborne clones' with bigger screens such as theKaypro soon appeared on the market.
The Osborne-1 appeared in two distinct releases, both of which are shownhere. The first edition is slightly smaller, and has keyboard latches on theside. The second edition is much sturdier, slightly larger and has thekeybaord latches on the top.
The Osborne-1s were donated by Dan Lanciani and Richard Parsons..
The Osborne-1As were donated by Bob Maxwell and Ralph Curtis.
Click any photo to view a large high-resolution image.
Osborne-1 (first edition)The Osborne-1 - Note the full sized 5.25' diskette drives, and the tiny videodisplay. The keyboard is separate from the main unit, and clips onto the frontof the machine for storage and travel. It was designed such that the machinecould sit up on the keyboard (as shown) when in use.
Closeup view of the Osborne-1 front panel and keyboard.
Back of the Osborne-1. Note that this edition has a permanently attachedpower cord. A velcro cover holds it in place while traveling.
Here the keyboard is clipped into place on the front of the machine, and it isready for travel.
Here are views from the Top andBottom.
Osborne-1a (second edition)
This is the second edition of the Osborne-1, produced about a year afterthe original version shown above. Note that the case is appears to be muchstronger, and the machine is slightly larger. Internally, the two machinesare virtually identical.
Closeup view of the Osborne-1s front panel and keyboard.
Back of the Osborne-1s. Inside the hatch are themodel name plate, power connector, switch and fuse, as well as room to storethe coiled up power cord.
Here is the Osborne-1a closed up and ready to be transported.
Here are views from the Top andBottom.
As you can see here, the angle of the keyboard prevents the machine fromsitting straight up when closed.
Here is the inside of an Osborne-1. Here is a closeup of mainboard.
Here are some original Osborne-1 manuals.
Upper left hand is the Osborne-1 user/reference manual.
Upper right hand is the Osborne-1A user/reference manual.
And here are some original distibution diskettes which came with thesemachines.
The Osborne-2 'Executive' is an updated Osborne-1A. Packaged in a case nearlyidentical to the 1A, the most notable feature is the larger 7' screen. Thiswas accomplished by using 1/2 disk drives occupying only one side of the machinefor both drives. This allowed the screen to be offset to one side and enlarged.On the back we see another addition - a coolingfan under the handle. Internal improvements include more RAM and native 80column video capability. It is reported that the announcement of the Executivesome time before it was ready to ship virtually halted sales of the Osborne-1and contributed greatly to the companies demise.
Osborne Laptops & Desktops Driver Download For Windows 10
The Osborne-4 'Vixen' is the last machine produced by Osborne, in factthis machine was still in development when the company folded (Like theExecutive, early announcement of the Vixen causes major problems for Osborne).The company was reopened briefly in 1985 and a few of these machines were sold.
This is the 'cutest' Osborne - it is much smaller than the Osborne-1/2,yet has the larger (7') screen. The keyboard is permanently attached, andfolds down to serve as a riser for the front of the machine.
Here is a view of the back, and here it isclosed.
1981 Osborne advertisement (108k JPG)
1983 Osborne advertisement (47k JPG)
An Industry Challange: 1981 KiloBaud artical by Adam Osborne (1.3M PDF)
Osborne-1 Ad with specs. (38k JPG)
Osborne-1 At a Glance' (38k JPG)
Osborne-1 Technical Manual (19M)
CP/M version 2.2 Manual (0.5M PDF)
Z80 CPU Technical Manual (5M PDF)
Z80-CP/M emulator
Z80-CP/M simulator - boots CP/M
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