Friday, March 18, 2016

The Start Of It All...!

The very first portable computer didn't look very portable at all. In fact, it didn't look like the present day portable computers in any way at all!

There have been so many changes between then and now that it's scary! Makes you wonder just where we are heading. I'm guessing that implants are not too far in our future.

Portable Computers


Photo via Wikimedia

The Osborne 1 was the world’s first portable computer and the predecessor of today’s laptops. Invented by Adam Osborne of Osborne Computers in April 1981, this computer had a fully detachable keyboard, two disk drives, and a 13-centimeter (5 in) monitor. It weighed 11 kilograms (24 lb), ran on 64 kilobytes of memory, lacked a built-in battery, and sold for $1,795. Yet it was a huge success, and Osborne sold more than 125,000 units in less than one year.

Osborne Computers soon ran into problems after they announced a new computer called the Vixen too early. Many people canceled their orders for the Osborne 1, preferring to wait for the newer, improved product. Unfortunately for Osborne, that product wouldn’t be available for at least another year. Due to lagging sales for the Osborne 1, Osborne Computers suffered financial problems that forced it out of business.

The sudden, unexpected fall of Osborne Computers gave a name to the hugely unfavorable consequence of announcing a new or improved product long before it will be available: the Osborne effect. Such early announcements often led to a rapid drop in sales of current products, loss of customers’ trust, indefinitely postponed orders, and in extreme cases, the total downfall of the company.

Other companies that experienced the Osborne effect include famous game console manufacturer Sega and North Star Computers. In 1978, North Star almost went bankrupt after it announced a new floppy disk controller with twice the storage space but no increase in price from its older version.

This article (which is from Listverse) makes me sorta understand all the secrecy behind the introduction of new products from people like Apple and Google...almost!

Better have our coffee inside this morning. Bad weather moving in later.

7 comments:

linda m said...

That computer kind of looks like something my hubby uses at work. His is not a portable computer but is used for data collection of tests he is running. Sometimes I wish Company's would announce their new products early but I sure can see the reasons NOT to do this. We have purchased products only to have the new and improved product come out a few months later. It's all about SALES. Bad weather here today and tomorrow so I'll see you in the kitchen. Have a great weekend.

Chickenmom said...

Some things never change. Walk out of the store with your new laptop, go home and turn it on: ten new updates are already waiting for you to install! Snowstorm for us on Sunday.

HermitJim said...

Hey Linda...
Just no way to keep up with all the new and improved stuff now days.
Thanks for stopping by today!


Hey Phyllis...
Boy, I sure know how that goes! I never seem to catch up!
Thanks for coming over today!

Dizzy-Dick said...

Not wanting to give my age away, but when I went to college, the only computer there filled up a huge air-conditioned room and ran on punch cards. BTW, it was the only air conditioned room on campus.

HermitJim said...

Hey Dizzy...
Did they still use horse and buggy transportation back then?
Thanks for coming by this morning!

JO said...

I sure wouldn't wantto lug that thing around, having a hard enough time with the laptop. thing of looking at a tablet.
No weather issures here for a while but Ill be happy in the kitchen.

Dizzy-Dick said...

Actually, we had just transformed to the horseless carriage.