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                              Rediscovering the O1

                    (PIPMAG Upload Contest Winning Article)

                                       by

                          Robert Coleman (R.COLEMAN3)

          Needless to say, I am a computer nut, and a big CP/M fan.  In
     addition to owning a Big Board (blue -- circa 1980) computer with 8
     inch drives, a C128 full-blown with a 1750 REU and two 1571s, and an
     XT clone (yes, I do use one on occasion, ugh!), I have recently
     purchased a refurbished Osborne 1.  It all started when I read an AD
     in Computer Help for Worswick Industries -- a gray case O1 for $199.
     The price seemed too good to be true.  I called.  The salesperson
     confirmed that I would get two double-density drives, a modem, a
     carrying case, ten blank diskettes, and bundled software -- Wordstar,
     SuperCalc, Cbasic, Mbasic and the operating system plus the manual,
     all for $199 plus S & H.  Imagine, 10 years ago, this package was well
     worth $2000 -- but now $200?  He also warned that the sale wouldn't
     last for long.  Well...  I HAD been looking for a portable computer
     and the price WAS tempting.  Call it an impulse buy, but I placed an
     order and whipped out my Visa card.  While I was at it, I bought the
     80 column upgrade for $29.  The total price came to a little over
     $250.  I was told it would take a week to ten days to arrive.

          Now you might ask: What's the big deal?  The O1 came out ten
     years ago.  This thing is ancient history.  Well, just as a car buff
     might swoon over a '57 T-Bird or a '65 Mustang, to me, this baby --
     the O1, even if refurbished, was like a cherry '49 Ford with baby
     moons.  Catch my drift?  The truth of the matter is, this machine
     launched the portable computer industry back in 1981, and represents a
     small piece of personal computer history.  In essence if you will, the
     fire of CP/M.  A time when our beloved operating system was king, and
     8-bit micros ruled the computing world.  Perhaps I saw this as a
     chance to rekindle a little of that magic for myself.  With a full
     tank of gas and the top down, the wind in my hair, I would boot-up and
     take to the open road...

          When the package arrived, I removed the usual packing materials
     carefully, and spread the items out neatly in front of me.  I couldn't
     help but get the feeling that I was opening a time capsule from the
     distant past as I viewed the contents with wonder.  The computer was
     definitely used.  The fenders were slightly dinged but everything
     appeared to be in good working order.  Here is what I received in
     addition to the computer itself:

          * 4 floppies
               * CP/M 2.2 and Utilities
               * WordStar 2.26 and Mailmerge
               * SuperCalc 1.12
               * Mbasic 5.21 and Cbasic 2.37
          * 10 blank floppies with labels and protect tabs
          * the Osborne 1 Users Reference Guide
          * the Com-Pac modem and Myterm software
          * 1 IEEE-to-Centronics printer cable
          * a soft carrying case

          Indeed, this is an entire computer system.  A person could
     literally start with nothing and do some rather serious CP/M computing
     on the spot.  For roughly $200 I remind you.

          The first thing you will notice when you pop the top, perhaps the
     major drawback to the O1, is the tiny monitor screen.  5.5 by 4
     inches.  Yep...  small.  I can almost hear my next door neighbor now,
     Dan-the-man: "You've got to be kidding?" He says, laughing, kicking
     the tires (after all, he owns a super AT with VGA), "that's got to be
     the ugliest computer I ever saw!  Ha ha ha!" Then I smugly remind him
     that with all the money I saved buying this little portable, I will be
     putting a deck on my house this Spring and he won't.  He then stops
     laughing.

          Anyway, most software installed on the O1 is for 52 columns.
     (Now you know why I bought the 80 column upgrade.  Not only does it
     provide 80 and even 104 columns, it also offers a connector for an
     external composite monitor.  More about that later...) What you don't
     notice until you boot up is that this tiny screen offers very high
     resolution.  It also has a special non- glare windshield.  Not all
     that bad, really.

          Now, I guess I wouldn't be a real Osborne owner unless I was
     properly initiated into the Clan.  When I first turned on the power, I
     was greeted with a message to insert a system disk in drive A and hit
     return.  I did.  Nada.  Both drives were seemingly dead.  But there
     was gas in the carburetor.  Humph!  I called Worswick Industries.
     They were very courteous, and I could tell immediately that I was
     among FRIENDS (Yes, I still use CP/M and NO I am not crazy).  A
     technician told me that probably one of the circuit boards had jarred
     loose during shipment.  He told me how to disassemble the unit and
     what to look for.  It was easy.  After removing six screws, two
     monitor knobs and the front bezel, I could see that the small circuit
     board to the right of the CRT had shaken loose.  I simply reached in
     and firmly reconnected the board, replaced the front bezel and that
     was that.  Maybe ten minutes or so at most.  This time when I powered-
     up, drive A purred like a kitten.

          When the supplied system disk boots, you are presented with a
     generous help menu explaining the O1 implementation.  For those
     already computer literate, one pass of all menu items will do, then
     you can move on.  Within minutes, I formatted all ten blank floppies
     and backed-up the 4 original diskettes.  This is where the O1 shines
     -- the drives are fast.  The directory pops out quickly.  Suddenly you
     realize, with a 4 Mhz Z80, there is power throttling under the hood.

          The installed CP/M 2.2 system has some exclusive perks.  One is
     the COPY program which can be used to format disks and copy one disk
     to another.  The other is SETUP with which you can control just about
     any aspect of the system, from the baud rate, to the function keys,
     even the number of columns displayed on the screen.  Now I will admit,
     using CP/M 3.0 on a big highway cruiser like the C128 has me spoiled
     rotten, but I'm sure as time goes on, I will learn some O1 tricks of
     the trade.  (Maybe one of you O1 Vets can share some goodies with us.
     HINT: like submit an article maybe?)

          The best part of the entire package, still in the glove box, is
     without a doubt the manual.  Thumbing through the Table of Contents,
     and then through the rest of the book, I was impressed.  This is a
     GOOD manual.  Obviously, a lot of work went into it.  I have heard a
     lot of comments about Osborne documentation -- now I know why.

          I didn't waste any time getting to the modem.  It slips snugly
     into the left spare tire bin, and a small cable connects this unit to
     the O1 itself.  Myterm is an older term program, circa 1983.  However,
     it does provide Xmodem protocol, disk stored parameters, and even
     macros.  Although this program drives 1200 baud, the Com-Pac modem
     only runs at 300 Rpm.  Again, within moments I was reading the GEnie
     logon messages.  That is literally how easy this computer is to use.
     But alas, working with 300 baud is very painful, and I don't see
     myself doing this often.  But then again, with this modem, the O1 is
     truly a fully functional, self-sufficient unit.  While out on the
     road, E.T.  can at least CALL home if he wants to.

          The additional 80 column upgrade kit I previously mentioned was
     ALREADY installed which saved me much work.  The people at Worswick
     Industries were kind to do this -- it wasn't part of the deal (the
     usual labor charge is $30, $5 extra for spin and balance).  I noticed
     that in the right hand corner of the unit, there was an additional
     connector for an external composite monitor.  I hooked up and it
     worked fine.  With an external monitor, you really get the feeling
     you're in the CP/M big leagues.  It does work well.

          A few notes to C128 users: The Osborne DD format is handled
     flawlessly by the 1571 drive.  You can easily jump back and forth with
     the same floppy from one machine to the other.  Also, in the Osborne
     manual, it states that the IEEE bus is completely compatible with some
     IEEE Commodore peripherals.  Maybe one of you Guru programmers out
     there (yes,that means YOU!) can pull off some slick move with this,
     hey?

          All in all, I am satisfied with this powerful little machine --
     well worth the $250 investment.  I foresee using the O1 in tandem with
     the C128; perhaps using the C128 for most of my heavy workload and the
     O1 as a secondary system.  And of course, it will be a great asset
     when I have to travel.  I expect to get a lot of mileage out of this
     baby.

          Then again, I guess with the tiny screen and the relatively small
     disk storage (185K even with a DD drive), this computer is perhaps not
     for everyone.  A person could get a used Kaypro for portable CP/M
     computing and do very well indeed.  But what you may find lacking in
     the O1 can be made up for in its many value-added features.  In fact,
     my first impression of the O1 has been CONTINUITY.  The people at
     Osborne really went out of their way to pack a tremendous amount of
     utility into a small space, and then document it so well that a
     complete novice could utilize these resources to the fullest.  It's
     too bad Osborne went out of business.  What a great loss it was to the
     computing community as a whole.

          Though Worswick Industries has made it known that they are not
     actively marketing Osborne computers, parts or service, they will
     offer computers and parts while supplies last.  And they ARE going
     fast, as the prices are very low.  I may stock up an extra drive and a
     power supply soon, just to keep this puppy hummin' in the coming
     years.  If anyone is interested in giving an O1, an Exec, or a Vixen a
     spin around the block, here is the address and phone number:

          Worswick Industries
          4898 Ronson Ct.  Suite H
          San Diego, CA 92111
          [phone]
          Hours M-F 9-6 PST
          Visa/MC/AE/DISCOVER

          In fact I just got off the phone with one of their
     representatives to clear this article.  They told me that these
     computers and parts are going so fast, they will probably sell out in
     the next month or two.  I don't honestly believe that is just a sales
     pitch.  If you are interested, call now.

           ...Seriously, what I'm trying to say is, there are presently a
     lot of great deals to be had for CP/M computers and software.  Prior
     to my purchasing this O1 from Worswick, I had seen a local classified
     AD for an '83 Kaypro II in the papers for $150.  This included the
     software!  I called the next day.  It was gone.  The next week, I saw
     another AD for an old O1 with SD drives and bundled software for $100.
     I called.  Once again, it was gone.  SOMEBODY is buying this stuff,
     and this tells me something.  It tells me that in the hearts of many
     computerists, CP/M is certainly not dead.  You are not alone.

          By the way, remember my snippiddy neighbor, Dan-the-man?  He's
     thinking about already trading his new super AT for the even-bigger-
     better-faster 486!  Well...  thank God for the O1, CP/M, the Ford 289
     V8, and the rest of life's simple pleasures.