<s>
The	O
Osborne	B-Device
1	I-Device
is	O
the	O
first	O
commercially	O
successful	O
portable	B-Device
computer	I-Device
,	O
released	O
on	O
April	O
3	O
,	O
1981	O
by	O
Osborne	O
Computer	O
Corporation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
weighs	O
,	O
cost	O
US$1	O
,	O
795	O
,	O
and	O
runs	O
the	O
CP/M	B-Application
2.2	I-Application
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
powered	O
from	O
a	O
wall	O
socket	O
,	O
as	O
it	O
has	O
no	O
on-board	O
battery	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
is	O
still	O
classed	O
as	O
a	O
portable	O
device	O
since	O
it	O
can	O
be	O
hand-carried	O
when	O
the	O
keyboard	B-Device
is	O
closed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
computer	O
shipped	O
with	O
a	O
large	O
bundle	O
of	O
software	O
that	O
was	O
almost	O
equivalent	O
in	O
value	O
to	O
the	O
machine	O
itself	O
,	O
a	O
practice	O
adopted	O
by	O
other	O
CP/M	B-Application
computer	O
vendors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Osborne	B-Device
1	I-Device
was	O
developed	O
by	O
Adam	O
Osborne	O
and	O
designed	O
by	O
Lee	O
Felsenstein	O
,	O
first	O
announced	O
in	O
early	O
1981	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
computer	O
's	O
design	O
was	O
based	O
largely	O
on	O
the	O
Xerox	B-Device
NoteTaker	I-Device
,	O
a	O
prototype	O
developed	O
at	O
Xerox	O
PARC	O
in	O
1976	O
by	O
Alan	O
Kay	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Osborne	B-Device
1	I-Device
is	O
about	O
the	O
size	O
and	O
weight	O
of	O
a	O
sewing	O
machine	O
and	O
was	O
advertised	O
as	O
the	O
only	O
computer	O
that	O
would	O
fit	O
underneath	O
an	O
airline	O
seat	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
now	O
classified	O
as	O
a	O
"	O
luggable	B-Device
"	O
computer	O
when	O
compared	O
to	O
those	O
later	O
"	O
laptop	O
"	O
designs	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Epson	B-Device
HX-20	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Osborne	B-Device
1	I-Device
was	O
described	O
as	O
"	O
a	O
cross	O
between	O
a	O
World	O
War	O
II	O
field	O
radio	O
and	O
a	O
shrunken	O
instrument	O
panel	O
of	O
a	O
DC-3	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
Felstenstein	O
admitted	O
that	O
carrying	O
two	O
of	O
them	O
to	O
a	O
trade	O
show	O
"	O
nearly	O
pulled	O
my	O
arms	O
out	O
of	O
their	O
sockets	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
West	O
Coast	O
Computer	O
Faire	O
attendees	O
stated	O
,	O
InfoWorld	O
said	O
,	O
that	O
the	O
Osborne	B-Device
1	I-Device
"	O
represented	O
an	O
advancement	O
of	O
the	O
price/performance	O
ratio	O
for	O
microcomputers	B-Architecture
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Adam	O
Osborne	O
agreed	O
but	O
emphasized	O
the	O
price	O
,	O
stating	O
that	O
its	O
performance	O
was	O
"	O
merely	O
adequate	O
"	O
:	O
"	O
It	O
is	O
not	O
the	O
fastest	O
microcomputer	B-Architecture
,	O
it	O
does	O
n't	O
have	O
huge	O
amounts	O
of	O
disk	O
storage	O
space	O
,	O
and	O
it	O
is	O
not	O
especially	O
expandable.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Osborne	B-Device
1	I-Device
's	O
principal	O
deficiencies	O
are	O
a	O
tiny	O
display	O
screen	O
,	O
use	O
of	O
single-sided	O
,	O
single-density	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
drives	I-Device
that	O
store	O
90	O
kB	O
per	O
disk	O
,	O
and	O
considerable	O
unit	O
weight	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sales	O
were	O
hurt	O
by	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
premature	O
announcement	O
of	O
superior	O
successor	O
machines	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Osborne	B-Device
Executive	I-Device
,	O
which	O
replaced	O
the	O
Osborne	B-Device
1	I-Device
's	O
52	O
character	O
screen	O
with	O
an	O
80	O
character	O
screen	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
computer	O
was	O
widely	O
imitated	O
as	O
several	O
other	O
computer	O
companies	O
began	O
offering	O
low-priced	O
portable	B-Device
computers	I-Device
with	O
bundled	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Osborne	O
's	O
popularity	O
was	O
surpassed	O
by	O
the	O
similar	O
Kaypro	O
II	O
;	O
which	O
has	O
a	O
larger	O
,	O
CRT	B-Device
that	O
can	O
display	O
80	O
characters	O
on	O
24	O
lines	O
,	O
and	O
double	O
density	O
floppies	B-Device
that	O
can	O
store	O
twice	O
as	O
much	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Osborne	O
Computer	O
Corporation	O
was	O
unable	O
to	O
effectively	O
respond	O
to	O
Kaypro	O
until	O
after	O
8-bit	O
,	O
CP/M	B-Application
-based	O
computers	O
were	O
obsolete	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1981	O
,	O
IBM	O
released	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
,	O
which	O
is	O
significantly	O
more	O
powerful	O
and	O
expandable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
the	O
IBM-compatible	O
Compaq	B-Device
Portable	I-Device
in	O
1983	O
,	O
the	O
market	O
for	O
CP/M	B-Application
computers	O
shrank	O
and	O
Osborne	O
was	O
unable	O
to	O
compete	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
64KB	O
main	O
memory	B-Architecture
is	O
made	O
of	O
four	O
rows	O
of	O
eight	O
type	O
4116	O
dynamic	O
RAM	B-Architecture
chips	I-Architecture
,	O
each	O
with	O
16,384	O
bits	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Memory	B-Architecture
is	O
shared	O
,	O
with	O
60KB	O
available	O
for	O
software	O
and	O
4KB	O
reserved	O
for	O
video	O
memory	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
No	O
parity	O
is	O
provided	O
and	O
no	O
provision	O
for	O
memory	B-Architecture
expansion	O
exists	O
on	O
the	O
motherboard	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
boot	O
program	O
loader	O
and	O
significant	O
parts	O
of	O
the	O
BIOS	B-Operating_System
are	O
stored	O
in	O
a	O
4	O
kilobyte	O
EPROM	B-General_Concept
,	O
which	O
is	O
bank-switched	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
second	O
EPROM	B-General_Concept
is	O
used	O
as	O
a	O
fixed	O
character	O
generator	O
,	O
providing	O
96	O
upper	O
and	O
lower	O
case	O
ASCII	O
characters	O
and	O
32	O
graphic	O
symbols	O
;	O
the	O
character	O
generator	O
is	O
not	O
accessible	O
to	O
the	O
CPU	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Serial	O
communications	O
are	O
through	O
a	O
memory-mapped	O
Motorola	O
MC6850	O
Asynchronous	B-Architecture
Communications	I-Architecture
Interface	I-Architecture
Adapter	I-Architecture
(	O
ACIA	O
)	O
;	O
a	O
jumper	O
on	O
the	O
motherboard	B-Device
allows	O
the	O
MC6850	O
to	O
be	O
set	O
for	O
either	O
300	O
and	O
1200	O
baud	O
or	O
600	O
and	O
2400	O
baud	O
communications	O
,	O
but	O
other	O
bit	O
rates	O
are	O
not	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
drives	I-Device
are	O
interfaced	O
through	O
a	O
Fujitsu	O
8877	O
disk	O
controller	O
integrated	O
circuit	O
,	O
a	O
second-source	O
of	O
the	O
Western	B-Device
Digital	I-Device
1793	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
parallel	B-Device
port	I-Device
is	O
connected	O
through	O
a	O
memory-mapped	O
Motorola	O
MC6821	O
Peripheral	B-General_Concept
Interface	I-General_Concept
Adapter	I-General_Concept
(	O
PIA	O
)	O
which	O
allows	O
the	O
port	O
to	O
be	O
fully	O
bidirectional	O
;	O
the	O
Osborne	O
manuals	O
state	O
that	O
the	O
port	O
implemented	O
the	O
IEEE-488	O
interface	O
bus	O
but	O
this	O
is	O
rarely	O
used	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
parallel	B-Device
port	I-Device
uses	O
a	O
card-edge	O
connector	O
etched	O
on	O
the	O
main	B-Device
board	I-Device
,	O
exposed	O
through	O
a	O
hole	O
in	O
the	O
case	O
;	O
any	O
IEEE-488	O
or	O
printer	O
cable	O
has	O
to	O
be	O
modified	O
for	O
the	O
Osborne	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
diskette	B-Device
drives	O
installed	O
in	O
the	O
Osborne	B-Device
1	I-Device
are	O
Siemens	O
FDD	O
100-5s	O
(	O
MPI	O
drives	O
were	O
also	O
used	O
later	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
were	O
actually	O
manufactured	O
in	O
California	O
by	O
GSI	O
,	O
a	O
drive	O
manufacturer	O
that	O
the	O
German	O
firm	O
had	O
purchased	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
video	O
system	O
uses	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
main	O
memory	B-Architecture
and	O
TTL	B-General_Concept
logic	I-General_Concept
to	O
provide	O
video	O
and	O
sync	O
to	O
an	O
internal	O
5-inch	O
monochrome	O
monitor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
processor	O
,	O
memory	B-Architecture
,	O
floppy	B-Device
controller	O
,	O
PIA	O
,	O
ACIA	O
and	O
EPROMs	B-General_Concept
are	O
interconnected	O
with	O
standard	O
TTL	B-General_Concept
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Osborne	B-Device
1	I-Device
has	O
bank	B-General_Concept
switched	I-General_Concept
memory	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unusual	O
for	O
a	O
system	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
Z80	B-General_Concept
,	O
all	O
I/O	O
is	O
memory	B-Architecture
mapped	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
Z80	B-General_Concept
I/O	O
instructions	O
are	O
only	O
used	O
to	O
select	O
memory	B-Architecture
banks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bank	O
1	O
is	O
"	O
normal	O
"	O
mode	O
,	O
where	O
user	O
programs	O
run	O
;	O
this	O
includes	O
a	O
4	O
KB	O
area	O
at	O
the	O
top	O
of	O
the	O
address	O
space	O
which	O
is	O
video	O
memory	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
4	O
KB	O
of	O
this	O
address	O
space	O
is	O
the	O
ROM	B-Device
,	O
and	O
4	O
KB	O
is	O
reserved	O
for	O
the	O
on-board	O
I/O	O
ports	O
:	O
The	O
disk	O
controller	O
,	O
the	O
keyboard	B-Device
,	O
the	O
parallel	B-Device
port	I-Device
PIA	O
,	O
the	O
serial	B-Protocol
port	I-Protocol
ACIA	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
second	O
PIA	O
chip	O
used	O
for	O
the	O
video	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
memory	B-Architecture
above	O
the	O
first	O
16	O
KB	O
is	O
the	O
same	O
memory	B-Architecture
as	O
Bank	O
1	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
the	O
mode	O
of	O
the	O
system	O
on	O
power	O
up	O
,	O
because	O
this	O
is	O
where	O
the	O
boot	O
ROM	B-Device
was	O
mapped	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bank	O
3	O
has	O
only	O
4	O
KB	O
by	O
1	O
bit	O
of	O
memory	B-Architecture
,	O
used	O
solely	O
to	O
hold	O
the	O
"	O
dim	O
"	O
attribute	O
of	O
the	O
video	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
computer	O
runs	O
on	O
the	O
CP/M	B-Application
2.2	I-Application
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
complete	O
listing	O
of	O
the	O
ROM	B-Operating_System
BIOS	I-Operating_System
is	O
in	O
the	O
Osborne	O
technical	O
manual	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Osborne	B-Device
1	I-Device
came	O
with	O
a	O
bundle	O
of	O
application	B-Application
software	I-Application
with	O
a	O
retail	O
value	O
of	O
more	O
than	O
US$1500	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
WordStar	B-Application
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
,	O
SuperCalc	B-Application
spreadsheet	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
CBASIC	B-Language
and	O
MBASIC	B-Language
programming	I-Language
languages	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
exact	O
contents	O
of	O
the	O
bundled	O
software	O
varied	O
depending	O
on	O
the	O
time	O
of	O
purchase	O
;	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
dBASE	B-Application
II	I-Application
was	O
not	O
included	O
with	O
the	O
first	O
systems	O
sold	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Osborne	B-Device
1	I-Device
is	O
powered	O
by	O
a	O
wall	O
plug	O
with	O
a	O
switched-mode	O
power	O
supply	O
,	O
and	O
has	O
no	O
internal	O
battery	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Osborne	O
and	O
other	O
companies	O
produced	O
many	O
Osborne	B-Device
1	I-Device
accessories	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
uses	O
separate	O
monochrome	O
synch	O
and	O
video	O
connections	O
driven	O
by	O
the	O
motherboard	B-Device
video	O
circuitry	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Parallel	B-Device
Dot	B-General_Concept
matrix	I-General_Concept
printer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
Osborne	O
DATACOM	O
"	O
300	O
baud	O
modem	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fits	O
into	O
the	O
left	O
diskette	B-Device
storage	O
pocket	O
and	O
powered	O
from	O
the	O
motherboard	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Aftermarket	O
vendors	O
offered	O
several	O
other	O
upgrades	O
to	O
the	O
basic	B-Language
model	O
,	O
including	O
third-party	O
double	O
density	O
disk	O
drives	O
,	O
external	O
hard	O
disks	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
battery-backed	O
RAM	B-Application
disk	I-Application
that	O
fits	O
in	O
a	O
disk	O
storage	O
compartment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Osborne	B-Device
1	I-Device
systems	O
with	O
the	O
Screen-Pac	O
upgrade	O
have	O
an	O
RCA	O
jack	O
installed	O
on	O
the	O
front	O
panel	O
to	O
allow	O
users	O
to	O
connect	O
an	O
external	O
composite	O
video	O
monitor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
,	O
like	O
most	O
CP/M	B-Application
systems	O
,	O
the	O
display	O
of	O
the	O
Osborne	O
does	O
not	O
support	O
bit-mapped	O
graphics	O
,	O
games	O
are	O
typically	O
character	O
based	O
games	O
,	O
like	O
Hamurabi	B-Application
or	O
text	O
adventures	B-Application
(	O
the	O
1982	O
game	O
Deadline	O
,	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
packaged	O
in	O
a	O
dossier	O
type	O
folder	O
and	O
came	O
on	O
two	O
5	O
"	O
diskettes	B-Device
.	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Compiled	O
and	O
MBASIC	B-Language
interpreted	O
versions	O
of	O
Colossal	B-Application
Cave	I-Application
Adventure	I-Application
are	O
available	O
for	O
the	O
Osborne	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
attendees	O
 '	O
opinions	O
were	O
divided	O
—	O
some	O
praised	O
the	O
computer	O
,	O
while	O
others	O
said	O
that	O
the	O
screen	O
was	O
too	O
small	O
—	O
many	O
agreed	O
"	O
that	O
the	O
Osborne	B-Device
1	I-Device
represented	O
an	O
advancement	O
of	O
the	O
price/performance	O
ratio	O
for	O
microcomputers	B-Architecture
"	O
,	O
the	O
magazine	O
said	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Jerry	O
Pournelle	O
wrote	O
that	O
the	O
small	O
size	O
of	O
the	O
Osborne	O
's	O
screen	O
surprised	O
him	O
by	O
not	O
being	O
a	O
problem	O
,	O
and	O
stated	O
that	O
after	O
using	O
it	O
at	O
Caltech	O
when	O
Voyager	O
1	O
arrived	O
at	O
Saturn	O
,	O
"	O
a	O
dozen	O
science	O
writers	O
were	O
ready	O
to	O
go	O
buy	O
an	O
Osborne	B-Device
1	I-Device
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Osborne	B-Device
1	I-Device
is	O
quiet	O
and	O
efficient	O
and	O
not	O
at	O
all	O
distracting	O
...	O
You	O
ca	O
n't	O
beat	O
it	O
for	O
the	O
price	O
,	O
under	O
bucks	O
with	O
over	O
a	O
thousand	O
dollars	O
 '	O
worth	O
of	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
Osborne	O
and	O
an	O
Epson	O
printer	O
will	O
put	O
you	O
in	O
the	O
computing/word	O
-processing	O
business	O
cheaper	O
than	O
anything	O
I	O
can	O
think	O
of	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
later	O
described	O
the	O
computer	O
as	O
"	O
the	O
VW	O
of	O
the	O
microcomputer	B-Architecture
field	O
:	O
It	O
's	O
cheap	O
,	O
reliable	O
,	O
handles	O
standard	O
programs	O
well	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1981	O
,	O
the	O
daily	O
Israeli	O
newspaper	O
Maariv	O
,	O
provided	O
several	O
Osborne	B-Device
1	I-Device
to	O
its	O
reporters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
computers	O
were	O
equipped	O
with	O
acoustic	B-Device
couplers	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Maariv	O
used	O
a	O
localized	O
version	O
of	O
Osborne	B-Device
1	I-Device
that	O
supported	O
Hebrew	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Freelance	O
journalist	O
David	O
Kline	O
praised	O
the	O
Osborne	B-Device
1	I-Device
's	O
durability	O
,	O
reporting	O
in	O
1982	O
that	O
the	O
"	O
damage	O
inflicted	O
by	O
arrogant	O
customs	O
officers	O
,	O
airport	O
police	O
,	O
vengeful	O
Paris	O
bellhops	O
and	O
opium-fogged	O
Pakistani	O
cabbies	O
were	O
entirely	O
cosmetic	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Stating	O
that	O
a	O
computer	O
that	O
weighs	O
30	O
pounds	O
"	O
really	O
is	O
n't	O
very	O
portable	O
"	O
,	O
Creative	B-General_Concept
Computing	I-General_Concept
in	O
1984	O
concluded	O
that	O
"	O
the	O
main	O
reason	O
that	O
the	O
Osborne	O
was	O
a	O
success	O
was	O
not	O
that	O
it	O
was	O
transportable	O
,	O
but	O
that	O
it	O
came	O
with	O
a	O
pile	O
of	O
bundled	O
software	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
