16 Jul
2008
16 Jul
'08
9:06 p.m.
Bob Armstrong wrote:
I've found machine that I think is a prototype
for the Osborne Vixen.
From the outside the case looks exactly like a Vixen case except that mine
is a ugly brown color rather than the grey/white color scheme you usually
see and when you open it up it's slightly different from a "production"
Vixen - the floppy drives in mine are horizontal rather than vertical and
the back panel is re-arranged a little. There are no labels of any kind on
the machine except for the giant "OSBORNE" that's molded into the plastic,
and the PCB inside says "Osborne Computer Corp, Rev 2". When you turn it
on, though, it identifies itself as an "OCC 4" and asks for a boot diskette,
so I'm thinking that must be what it is.
Has anybody seen a Vixen in this style? None of the
photos I've found on
the web look like this configuration.
I'm remembering....
There was an issue of Microcomputing/Kilobaud that ran photos of Adam
Osborne showing the Executive and the Vixen, and the Vixen in those
photos had drives in the "other" orientation from the example I have.
I don't recall which issue this was, but am certain that it was in
Microcomputing/Kilobaud, and I'm thinking it was the issue that went
to press just after OCC filed Chapter 11.
I'm thinking the unit shown may have had a smaller CRT than the production
Vixen/OCC4 too.
And does anybody have software for the OCC4? Will
the boot diskettes for
an OCC1 or Executive work on it?
I think I've got it but it'll take a while for me to get to 'em.
-Frank McConnell