30 years ago this week, Adam Osborne released the Osborne 1 computer and the portable computing age was born. Weighing in at a svelte 23.5 pounds, the Osborne shuttled between home and office and was lugged into the field by anthropologists, journalists, and naturalists. Movers and shakers peered into the tiny 5-inch monochrome monitor and used the most advanced software of the day: MBasic, Wordstar, SuperCalc, dBase II. Zowie!
Unfortunate management and competitors like Kaypro and Compaq put Osborne out of business, but PCs had left the desk top, and there was no turning back.
More:
“Osborne!” Harry McCracken, Technologizer.com
Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com
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Tags: 30th anniversary, 30th birthday, business, computers, CP/M, history, luggable computers, Osborne, Osborne 1, PCs, portable computers, technology
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