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Columbia Data
Products (301-992- 3400) turns out another split-personality computer, appropriately named the Multi-Personal Computer. Using only the Intel 8088 microprocessor, it manifests its duality in an ability to run both I.B.M.-oriented software and software requiring an operating system called
409:
The IBM PC, in contrast, had only five expansion slots, with the video card and floppy disk controller taking two of them. The MPC also included two floppy disk drives, one parallel and two serial ports, which were all optional on the original IBM PC. The MPC was followed up with a portable PC, the
27:
529:
saying "Some of them are operating at 5 percent pretax margins, and there is just no room for more price cuts." By August 1984 the CDP sales were faltering and CDP announced layoffs of 114 employees at its
Maryland headquarters and 409 employees at a second factory in
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of April 1984, was found a worthy competitor of the XT and without major compatibility problems, even though its hard drive controller was quite different from IBM XT's, being based on a Z80 microprocessor with 64 KB of RAM emulating the
633:
379:
CDP advertisements stated that the MPC "can use software and hardware originally intended for the IBM Personal
Computer". The "Multi" in its name hinted to the fact that it could also run the multi-user operating system
515:
entering the PC market as well. Besides CDP, other PC clone companies like Eagle were also having a hard time as a result. Discussing the perspectives of the smaller PC firms like CDP, Eagle, or
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and BIOS specifications, wrongly assuming that this would not be enough to facilitate unlicensed copying of the design, but be enough to encourage the add-on market.
469:, thus putting pressure on its competitors in this niche as well, which besides CDP already included Compaq as the market leader in this segment, as well as
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The competition in the PC market became more intense in June–July 1984 with several companies, including IBM, announcing price cuts, and with
455:, and other popular applications without problems. It concluded that the computer was "one of the best overall bargains on the market today".
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in June 1983 criticized the MPC's documentation, but reported that it had very good hardware and software compatibility with the IBM PC.
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The success of the MPC and its successors built CDP revenue from US$ 9.4 million in 1982 to US$ 56 million in 1983, with an
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561:
In 1987 CDP shifted emphasis from hardware to software. They developed and licensed Small
Computer System Interface (
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Columbia Data
Products' MPC 1600, the first clean-house IBM PC clone, with an Amdek monitor and Key Tronic keyboard
85:
1111:
Columbia Wins Court Round. Competitor Formed By Former
Officers Appeals Injunction, Markets Its Own PC Compatible
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Clone Maker
Columbia Closes. Officers Resign From Bankrupt Company To Form Rival Computer Firm On Same Day
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computers as "Best" in the category of "Operationally
Compatible", its highest tier of PC compatibility.
356:"Multi Personal Computer", designed by David Howse, in June 1982. It was an exact functional copy of the
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152:-based computers, most notably their Commander 900 series, which had several models, some of which were
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534:. By April 1985 their stock had dropped to US$ 0.50 and was delisted. The company filed for
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in
November 1984 approved of the portable MPC-VP's PC compatibility, reporting that it ran
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127:. It faltered in that market after only a few years, and later reinvented itself as a
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The company was taken private in 1986 and continues to operate under that name.
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Columbia also released upgraded desktop models in order to compete with the
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standard, compared to the IBM's 64 KB maximum. The MPC had eight PC
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879:"BUSINESS PEOPLE; ; Columbia Data Lures Key Officer From Savin"
719:"PERSONAL COMPUTERS; RIVALS STAY ONE STEP AHEAD OF I.B.M. PORTABLE"
693:"Check The Chart Before You Choose Your New 16-Bit Computer System"
123:) is a company which produced the first legally reverse-engineered
452:
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has a more complete company profile, including non-8086 products
562:
361:
634:"Columbia Data Ready to Launch Its First Public Stock Offering"
1129:
Retailer tries to breathe new life into
Columbia Data Products
395:
369:
144:
Columbia Data Products was founded by William Diaz in 1976 in
504:
In May 1984, Richard T. Gralton, formerly a vice-chairman of
508:, became the president and chief operating officer of CDP.
465:
In February 1984, IBM announced the introduction of their
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1136:. 1 September 1986. p. 114, continues on p. 97.
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analyst was quoted in the June 9, 1984 issue of the
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839:"IBM Will Sell Portable Version of its PC Model",
406:drive interface was built into the motherboard.
660:. Computerworld. 15 September 1980. p. 70.
388:and was actually superior to the IBM original.
681:, By Bill Machrone, Page 451, Jun 1983, PC Mag
8:
159:
148:. In 1980, Columbia Data Products made some
19:
858:. PC Magazine. 3 April 1984. p. 122.
573:. In 1991, WD sold their SCSI business to
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158:
25:
18:
1114:. InfoWorld. 19 August 1985. p. 18.
402:, with one filled by its video card. Its
231:US$ 2,995 (equivalent to $ 8,410 in 2021)
792:"The Columbia Multipersonal Computer-VP"
1196:Software companies of the United States
1186:Computer companies of the United States
915:. InfoWorld. 16 July 1984. p. 49.
912:Price Cut Pressure on Compatible Makers
624:
584:. The company currently specializes in
790:Callamaras, Peter V. (November 1984).
259:MS-DOS, CP/M-86, MP/M-86, OASIS, Xenix
314:1-channel square-wave/1-bit digital (
7:
1012:"Chapter 11 Filing (Published 1985)"
542:1986–present: As a software company
326:RS-232, parallel, monitor, keyboard
765:"Columbia: Call It A "Work-Alike""
160:MPC 1600 "Multi Personal Computer"
14:
1074:. 11 March 1985. pp. 17–18.
877:Gilpin, Kenneth N. (1984-05-10).
632:Staff writer (December 5, 1983).
410:32 pound (15 kg) "luggable"
1024:from the original on 2020-08-28.
140:1976–1986: As a hardware company
1096:. 8 July 1985. pp. 24–25.
934:Sanger, David E. (1984-06-09).
156:and had graphics capabilities.
1176:1976 establishments in Florida
736:Ward, Ronnie (November 1983).
691:Advertisement (October 1982).
1:
1067:Columbia Data Fights For Life
936:"EAGLE'S BATTLE FOR SURVIVAL"
829:PORTABLE INTRODUCED BY I.B.M.
763:Sandler, Corey (June 1983).
738:"Levels of PC Compatibility"
580:CDP is now headquartered in
553:Logo used from 1986 to 2013
129:software development company
117:Columbia Data Products, Inc.
20:Columbia Data Products, Inc.
1191:Computer hardware companies
1156:Columbia Data Products Inc.
1042:Microcomputer Buyer's Guide
462:at US$ 11 in January 1983.
241:; 39 years ago
215:; 42 years ago
60:; 48 years ago
1212:
657:Columbia MPUs Get Graphics
582:Altamonte Springs, Florida
440:Microsoft Flight Simulator
360:model 5150 except for the
86:Altamonte Springs, Florida
173:
164:
24:
1161:Archived company history
538:protection in May 1985.
384:. The MPC was the first
577:, where it languished.
598:Altos Computer Systems
571:hard drive controllers
492:, briefly reviewed in
197:Columbia Data Products
1094:InfoWorld Media Group
1039:Tony Webster (1983).
358:IBM Personal Computer
843:, February 17, 1984.
569:(WD), a supplier of
421:ranked Columbia and
31:Logo used since 2013
999:Wall Street Journal
855:Columbia MPC 1600-4
841:Wall Street Journal
819:, February 16, 1984
679:Aboard the Columbia
644:on August 28, 2017.
638:The Washington Post
608:Hyperion (computer)
532:Gurabo, Puerto Rico
517:Corona Data Systems
366:Clean room designed
352:CDP introduced the
161:
21:
1181:IBM PC compatibles
1017:The New York Times
972:The New York Times
940:The New York Times
883:The New York Times
744:. pp. 248–249
372:had published the
228:Introductory price
146:Columbia, Maryland
1056:978-0-07-068959-6
506:Savin Corporation
477:Corporation, and
467:first portable PC
391:It came with 128
350:
349:
289:Removable storage
283:128 KB (1 MB max)
205:Personal Computer
114:
113:
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1045:(2nd ed.).
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1001:, April 26, 1985
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640:. Archived from
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419:Future Computing
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968:"Columbia Data"
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400:expansion slots
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1150:External links
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974:. 1984-08-15.
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521:Morgan Stanley
479:Eagle Computer
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334:compatibility
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293:Two 5.25" FDD
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983:. Retrieved
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894:. Retrieved
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800:. Retrieved
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773:. Retrieved
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746:. Retrieved
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701:. Retrieved
699:. p. 83
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642:the original
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386:IBM PC clone
378:
353:
351:
323:Connectivity
236:Discontinued
210:Release date
194:Manufacturer
143:
120:
116:
115:
81:Headquarters
76:William Diaz
37:Company type
1047:McGraw-Hill
769:PC Magazine
586:data backup
494:PC Magazine
449:Lotus 1-2-3
428:PC Magazine
412:Columbia VP
404:floppy disk
189:David Howse
1170:Categories
985:2023-02-06
953:2023-02-06
896:2023-02-06
802:23 October
775:21 October
703:19 October
619:References
536:Chapter 11
490:MPC 1600-4
364:which was
346:MPC 1600-4
312:PC speaker
270:Intel 8088
1142:0010-4841
1120:0199-6649
1102:0199-6649
1080:0199-6649
1072:InfoWorld
980:0362-4331
948:0362-4331
921:0199-6649
891:0362-4331
864:0888-8507
666:0010-4841
486:IBM PC XT
475:TeleVideo
414:in 1983.
343:Successor
318:-capable)
186:Developer
1022:Archived
748:19 March
724:MP/M-86.
592:See also
513:AT&T
488:. Their
453:dBASE II
445:WordStar
354:MPC 1600
332:Backward
298:Graphics
274:4.77 MHz
45:Industry
382:MP/M-86
246:1985-05
244: (
220:1982-06
218: (
135:History
99:Website
73:Founder
63: (
55:Founded
40:Private
16:Company
1140:
1118:
1100:
1078:
1053:
978:
946:
919:
889:
862:
664:
519:, one
471:Kaypro
423:Compaq
338:IBM PC
280:Memory
308:Sound
106:.cdpi
1138:ISSN
1116:ISSN
1098:ISSN
1076:ISSN
1051:ISBN
976:ISSN
944:ISSN
917:ISSN
887:ISSN
860:ISSN
804:2013
796:BYTE
777:2013
750:2016
742:BYTE
705:2013
697:BYTE
662:ISSN
563:SCSI
499:ASIC
434:BYTE
362:BIOS
202:Type
108:.com
65:1976
58:1976
460:IPO
396:RAM
374:bus
370:IBM
316:PWM
302:CGA
265:CPU
150:Z80
121:CDP
104:www
1172::
1132:.
1092:.
1070:.
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481:.
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451:,
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393:KB
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272:@
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119:(
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
