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HEADSTART

Thanks to Michael Hoyle for this information:

The HeadStart had two models. HeadStart VPU and HeadStart ATS.

The VPU was an impressive machine. It was a portable or a desktop machine. Notice the picture has a smaller keyboard that snapped on the front bezel and a handle on the back. No customers ordered the portable version.

The VPU had a Z-80 and an 8086 and could support up to 1MB RAM. Inside the computer consisted of three circuit boards. Two (over the top of the CRT) was the processor and the RAM. The 1MB RAM took up a whole board.

The unit had a 3½" diskette drive that read Intertec's proprietary formats. The machine could convert CP/M 2.2 format and MS-DOS 2.1 format data. The machine had a coaxial network board (proprietary protocols) that connected one of two server machines. A 10/20MB and a 50 MB.

The machine was not popular because of:
- CP/M was dying, no one thought 3½" drives would be accepted (I think this was the first to install 3½" drives),
- IBM compatibility (Lotus 123) was a huge issue.

The IBM compatible ATS was created to answer these objections. The diskette was dropped out and an external 5¼ drive was added. The machine was sold with IBM PC-DOS 3.1 OS. It ran Lotus 123 and others and was very fast. It maintained the local area network capability. The ATS downfall was monochrome video, an external drive and no hard drive.

Intertec stopped production of the HeadStart in 1984 and the company reduced itself to 12 employees. Service of the HeadStart continued however. A Netherlands company picked up the HeadStart name illegally (I remember a wrestler was used as the spokesperson for them). The legal issues were resolved out of court.

Intertec was a public company. The name was changed to Wells American Corporation around 1985.
In 1985 Wells American began production of the A*Star. The A*Star was an IBM XT compatible that was exactly like the IBM. It used the 80286 and the speed could be switched: A*Star I 6/8 MHz, A*Star II 6/8/10/12/14/16 MHz. The A*Star used PC-DOS 3.x OS and would accept any of the IBM add-ons. Top memory was 1MB. The proprietary network was included with the A*Star I and was promoted as network ready. Wells American added an ISA bus NIC to allow IBM compatibles to access the HeadStart file servers.

The successful A*Star was sold directly to the enduser and was the first to break the $1000 barrier. The A*Star was never updated beyond the 80286 by Wells American. A*Star's were sold with a 30 day money back guarantee, on-site serviced by RCA/GE Computer services and guaranteed compatibility with IBM software and hardware add-ons.

After the A*Star, Wells American designed a dual bus 80286/80386 machine called the CompuStar I. This machine was a floor standing tower and was designed with the first processor local bus. A separate motherboard held the bus interface circuitry. The bus architecture could have been a combination of Microchannel or ISA. Only ISA was ordered as microchannel was a flop. The CompuStar had a single board processor (proprietary design) that was interchangeable. An 80286 machine could be switched to an 80386 in 10 min.
The case was built from extruded aluminum and was a hefty design. "The Robb Report" picked the CompuStar I as the "Ultimate" computer and it received the highest rating given to any hardware product by "Infoworld" magazine for the year it was reviewed. 386 processor speeds reached 16/20/25MHz.

The CompuStar II in contrast was a very small machine. It had interchangeable processor boards but only the ISA bus. It could mount 3 half height 5¼ drives and a 3½ fixed drive. Each of the CompuStar machines could hold up to 16MB RAM. 80386 Processor speeds were 16/20/25/33 MHz.

With the recession of 1988/9 the expensive CompuStar sales slowed and Wells American could not keep up financially, declaring bankruptcy.
The A*Star and CompuStar trademarks were sold to CornerStone Technologies, Inc., in SC. The A*Star is still manufactured by CornerStone.

I was the production manager when the A*Star was first produced and then became the Product Manager for the A*Star and CompuStar lines. I am the President of CornerStone Technologies, Inc. so I have been building the A*Star since 1985.