The Osborne 1 is one of the first portable computers but needs external power source. Its name comes from Adam Osborne, the man who made this computer a reality (not quite true, see end of the text).
It has a very small built-in screen (8.75 x 6.6 cm, which can display 128 columns!!) and weighs more than 10 Kg.
The first models couldn't display more than 52 columns by line, so to access to the 76 other columns, the user had to scroll among the screen thanks to the cursor keys.
It works under CP/M and was sold with Digital Research CBASIC (compiled BASIC), SuperCalc (spreadsheet), WordStar (word processor), MailMerge (mailing) and Microsoft's MBasic (MBasic source code was 100% upwards compatible with IBM PC's BASICA, source code only).
This machine would be succeeded in 1983 by the Osborne Executive, which featured a larger screen (YAHOO!) and lower-profile disk drives.
Despite its interesting characteristics, Osborne Computer Corporation suffered the competition of the first IBM PC compatibles and went bankrupt in 1983. One casualty was a planned portable computer called the Osborne PC (which, interestingly, was an MS-DOS clone). It was never released (even though prototypes exist).
Hello I''m interested in buying one of these. If you sell Osborne 1 please contact me at gogsy@mail.bg
Tuesday 22nd June 2010
Groag
I've got two of these, one I bought only for the keyboard. (It has a 220v PSU in it, so it's no use to me as-is). I managed to get a copy of CP/M for the one that has a US 120v PSU, and it boots up fine (just tested it last weekend). Having never used one of these machines before, I was amazed at the system. If anyone wants a non-US Osborne-1, email me.
Owned an O1 and loved it. Sold it a few years back and there's a part of me that wishes I still had it. Also had three years of the old FOG horn magazines.
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