Prototype of the Osborne One Personal Computer at PBA Galleries

Prototype of the first self-contained portable computer, the visionary production of publishing and software entrepreneur Adam Osborne and computer engineer Lee Felsenstein, designer (in 1975) of the basic display architecture for personal computers. This is one of only ten such prototypes produced, as described in an email to PBA by Felsenstein on February 12, 2009, I can confirm that this is one of the first ten prototype units built, known as the "metal case" units. I don't think they had serial numbers. The cases were made by Galgon Industries in Hayward but their quote for production was prohibitive, so work immediately commenced on the plastic cases. The circuit board was ready in January of 1981 and these were built shortly thereafter. They were used in the first ads ("the guy on the left doesn't stand a chance") in which the veins on the hand of the guy on the right bulge as he struggles with the 30-pound weight of his transformer-powered luggable. These were the units we took to the West Coast Computer Faire and the National Computer Conference in early 1981.

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• computer
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• osborne
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[kasm279]

boot it!

[YrNameHr]

I still have two osbornes, plus the Juki daisywheel printer, software, manuals, etc. I ran my law office on them for five years. Was the first lawyer in St. Lawrence County NY to have a computer/word processor capacity! I also saw one operating in the late 80s in a law office in Manhattan, where each month in calculated and printed out the hundreds of checks for shareholders in the broadway show 'Grease', it was dedicated just that job, had its own little closet. great machine.

[Daghead]

Cool of you to whip out the iPhone :)