Computer Pioneer Adam Osborne Dies

Online staff -- Electronic News, 3/25/2003 Portable computer pioneer Adam Osborne died Monday at age 64 after a long illness, Reuters reported. The British immigrant and Berkeley, Calif., resident was famed for his introduction of the 23-pound luggable computer in 1981. The technology and his gutsy attempt to challenge then PC kings Apple Computer and IBM made his start-up, Osborne Computer Corp., the fastest-growing company up to that time. But the success ended in bankruptcy two years later, making Osborne's trials a forgotten example of the dangers of undisciplined growth that was recently repeated by various dot-commers. Career challenges were not new to Osborne, however. Originally a chemical engineering with Shell Oil, he gambled on a career in technical writing and publishing during the formative years of the PC industry. With an opportunity to go head-to-head with Apple in his sights, Osborne turned to developing the first commercially viable portable computer and was backed by Silicon Valley venture capitalist Jack Melchor. In Osborne Computer's first year, 1981, it had sold $5.8 million worth of the Osborne-1. By the end of 1982, the company had sold $68.8 million. But then Osborne boasted his second-generation product before it was ready to ship, pushing sales of his first model down. As the tech industry's seen happen many time since, an inventory build up occurred, forcing Osborne Computer to close in 1983. "His enthusiasm for the next big thing meant Adam couldn't keep a secret," Lee Felsenstein, co-founder of Osborne Computer, told Reuters. Compaq Computer Corp. snatched up the opportunity and introduced its first product, a portable computer, in 1983. Osborne was buried today in a local cemetery near his sister's home, in Kodiakanal, India, Reuters reported. Jon Titus Milford, MA jontitus(a)attbi.com [demime 1.01a removed an attachment of type application/ms-tnef which had a name of winmail.dat]