Adam Osborne

Adam Osborne (March 6, 1939–March 18, 2003) was a United Kingdom Author, book and computer software publisher, and computer designer who founded several companies in the United States and elsewhere.

Born in Thailand to British parents, Osborne spent much of his childhood in India. He graduated from the University of Birmingham in 1961 and completed his Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Delaware. He started his career as a chemical engineer with the Shell Oil Company in the United States, but he left Shell in the early 1970s to pursue his interest in computers and technical writing.

= Computers =

Osborne was known to frequent the famous Homebrew Computer Club s meetings around 1975. He was best known for creating the first portable computer, the Osborne 1, released in April 1981. It weighed 23.5 pounds (12 kg), cost US$1795—just over half the cost of a computer from other manufacturers with comparable features—and ran the popular CP/M operating system. At its peak, Osborne Computer Corporation shipped 10,000 units of Osborne 1 per month. For a time, it was a huge success.

It is said that in 1983, Adam Osborne bragged about two advanced new computers his company was developing. These statements destroyed consumer demand for the Osborne 1, and the resulting inventory glut forced Osborne Computer to file for bankruptcy on September 13, 1983. This phenomenon, a preannouncement of a new product causing a catastrophic collapse in demand for older ones, became known as the Osborne effect, but according to some new sources real reason for Osborne Computer bankruptcy were management errors.

After Osborne Computer s collapse, Adam Osborne wrote a best-selling memoir of his experience, .

= Publishing =

Osborne was also a pioneer in the computer book field, founding a company in 1972 that specialized in easy-to-read computer manuals. By 1977, Osborne Books had 40 titles in its catalog. In 1979, it was bought by McGraw-Hill.

In 1984, Osborne founded Paperback Software International Ltd., a company that specialized in inexpensive computer software. Its advertisements featured Osborne himself, arguing that if telephone companies applied the same logic to their pricing as software companies, a telephone would cost $600. One of its products was an inexpensive clone of Lotus 1-2-3, which led to lawsuit. In 1987, Lotus Software sued Paperback Software. As a result of the lawsuit, consumer confidence waned for Paperback Software, and its revenues dropped 80% by 1989, preventing the firm from getting venture capital for expansion. In February 1990, the case went to court and on June 28, the court ruled that Paperback Software s product, by copying Lotus 1-2-3 s look and menu interface, violated Lotus s Copyright. Osborne stepped down from Paperback Software the same year.

=Later life=

In 1992, Osborne returned to India in declining health, suffering from a brain disorder that triggered frequent minor strokes. He died in obscurity 11 years later, in Kodaikanal in India, aged 64.