Kaypro
Kaypro wasmanufacturerCP/M compatible, portable¹ microcomputers. Their first model was launched1982,was built aroundZilog Z80 microprocessor.The Kaypro 2 had 64 KBRAM,dual, single-sided, 180K 5¼" floppy disk drives. The screen was an 80 column green monochrome 9" CRT. CP/M wasstandard operating system ofday, andKaypro 2 also cameapplications such asWordStar word processor (incl MailMerge,personalised mass mailings),SuperCalc spreadsheet, two versions ofMicrosoft BASIC interpreter, Kaypro's own compiled S-BASIC (which produced executable .com files),bytecode compiled BASIC called C-BASIC, anddBaseII relational database system.
Usingcomma separated file format (CSV) you could move data between these programs quite easily, which multipliedutility ofpackage. The manuals assumed no computer background,programs were straightforwarduse,thuswas usualfindCEO ofsmall company or somebody else developingapplications needed in-house.
All this software when bought separately would cost more thanwhole package includingKaypro 2, which wasvery usable(attime) powerful computer foroffice andlaboratory. This madeKaypro very popular, both at workwith well educated professionals also at home – even thoughmetal casing madelook more oflaboratory instrument thanhome/office appliance.
The case was constructedaluminum. The keyboard coveredscreendisk drives, when clipped on. There was no battery,computer ran off regular AC mains power. There waslegal disputeregards toKaypro 2 main circuit board being an unlicensed copy or clone ofBigboard design.
The Kaypro 10 followedKaypro 2,featured10 megabyte hard drive andsingle 5¼" floppy drive. After yearsgrowthCP/M based computers, Kaypro never quite foundcomparable position inIBM PC / MS-DOS arena. At this timenew company, Compaq, started selling an MS-DOS compatible portable computer, which essentially was what Kaypro should have made.
See also: Osborne 1
Notes
- Weighingat about 20 lbs (10 kgs), "luggable" might bebetter word, comparedmore recent truly portable computers.
