website/content/museum/otrona-attache.md

title, categories, types, origins, years, cpus, params

title	categories	types	origins	years	cpus	params
Otrona Attache	Computers	Transportable	U.S.A.	1982	Zilog Z80A at 4 MHz	name image company company_name specs tabs photos links comments oc_id source Attache /media/museum/photos/otrona_attache_1s.jpg /companies/otrona Otrona label value NAME Attache label value MANUFACTURER Otrona label value TYPE Transportable label value ORIGIN U.S.A. label value YEAR April 1982 label value END OF PRODUCTION 1984 label value BUILT IN LANGUAGE Unknown label value KEYBOARD compact full-stroke keyboard (QWERTY) label value CPU Zilog Z80A at 4 MHz\ + Intel i8086 at 8 MHz for the Model 8:16 label value RAM 64 KB\ 8:16 model: 256 KB when running in MS-DOS mode label value ROM 4 KB label value TEXT MODES 80 x 24 label value GRAPHIC MODES 320 x 240 label value COLORS No (monochrome built-in 5.5'' CRT display) label value SIZE / WEIGHT 12 x 5.75 x 13.6 inches / 19 lbs label value I/O PORTS expansion slot, keyboard connector, two RS-232c ports, video output (composite) label value BUILT IN MEDIA 5.25'' built-in floppy disk drive (360 KB) label value OS CP/M\ + MS-DOS with 8:16 model label value POWER SUPPLY AC power or battery pack (optional) label value PERIPHERALS second 5.25'' floppy disk drive, 10 MB hard disk, parallel interface, carrying case, battery pack label value PRICE $3995 (USA, 1982) photos links title subtitle text image OTRONA ATTACHE /media/museum/photos/otrona_attache_1.jpg title subtitle text image RIGHT SIDE /media/museum/photos/otrona_attache_3.jpg title subtitle text image TOP VIEW /media/museum/photos/otrona_attache_top.jpg title subtitle text image CLOSED ready to go ! /media/museum/photos/otrona_attache_closed.jpg title subtitle text image CLOSED - STAND UP /media/museum/photos/otrona_attache_closed_2.jpg title subtitle text image CLOSED WITH 5.25'' DISK /media/museum/photos/otrona_attache_closed_3.jpg title subtitle text image DETAIL The serial number of this unit is 1464. /media/museum/photos/otrona_attache_detail.jpg title subtitle text image TURNED ON /media/museum/photos/otrona_attache_2.jpg title subtitle text image USING THE DISK DRIVES /media/museum/photos/otrona_attache_disk.jpg title subtitle text image REAR /media/museum/photos/otrona_attache_rear.jpg title subtitle text image BOOT SCREEN /media/museum/photos/otrona_attache_screen.jpg title subtitle text image MOTHERBOARD This is a model 8:16 motherboard, with the additional i8086 board placed on top of the main Z80 board. /media/museum/photos/otrona_attache-8-16_mobo.jpg title subtitle text image DOCUMENTATION /media/museum/photos/otrona_attache_docs.jpg title url text Oldcomputers.net - Otrona Attache page http://oldcomputers.net/attache.html Very interesting page about the Otrona Attache title url text Otrona Attache 8:16 diskette contents http://wps.com/archives/Otrona-Attache-8-16-diskettes/ download this while it's online! title url text Rhod's collection http://www.rhod.fr/otrona.html Nice pictures! title url text Wikipedia - Otrona page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otrona Some info here... author date text Steve Gray (United States) Monday 3rd May 2021 This line above annoys me "Sadly the 2001 wasn''t completely IBM PC compatible...." . Actually, the 2001 was thoroughly tested and completely IBM PC compatible. At the time the company folded there was only one progarm identified that did not run correctly, the game ''frogger$'' that woould crash under some conditions. That was being thorouhly anlyed at the time the company folded. The company folded due to cash flow issues that had norhing to do with a PC ''compatibility'' issue. It was a Catch-22. Xebec refused to ship the disk controllers needed to buld the machines that were on order unless they were first paid in cash. Revenue could not be generated without the controllers. But the banks and the VC''s had decided they would give no more money to Otrona becase they had not met revenue goals. The problem is they were blindsided by the rise of the IBM-PC .... and the 8:16 co-developed with Phoenix Software, did not have the compatibilty needed to compete in the the PC compatible market. So, suffeirng from the resulting revenue loss, Otrona designed and built the superior 2001 in record time, including its own BIOS, but could not generate the needed revenue to continue because they did not have the cash to buy the disk controllers needed to complete the systems. It was a very sad thing. What was the best PC compatible in existence was kept out of the market by the bean counters. Otrona should have been as big or bigger than Compaq. The Compaq PC was a tugboat compared to the 2001. Oh well. author date text Kerry Davis (USA) Thursday 29th January 2015 I got myself a new-condition Attache with the padded case recently, on ebay. Works perfectly, but didn''t come with any software. Any suggestions or sources would be greatly appreciated. email pearled-duck@earthlink.net I saw the previous posts by Charles Raisch but the site no longer exists, and it seems like he might have passed away since then. I did some software development work that was intended to be used on the Otrona and Compaq portables, for utility company energy audits, in the 1980s. author date text Charles Raisch (USA) Thursday 11th April 2013 Have original First Attache Users Group software library and some part. www.charlesraisch.com author date text Charles Raisch (USA) Thursday 11th April 2013 Have original First Attache Users Group software library and some part. www.charlesraisch.com author date text Charles Raisch (USA) Thursday 11th April 2013 Have original First Attache Users Group software library and some part. www.charlesraisch.com author date text Charles Raisch (USA) Thursday 11th April 2013 Have original First Attache Users Group software library and some part. www.charlesraisch.com author date text Charles Raisch (USA) Thursday 21st March 2013 I was FAUG First Attache Users Group. Still have software and disks. Remember? author date text Tim (US) Friday 26th October 2012 I still have an Attache that I fire up every once in awhile - man, what a Cadillac it was in the day. It''s a very good example of how badly IBM shook up the whole market, because that company really deserved to keep going on. Sitting in my storeroom with the keyboard folded over the screen and the coiled keyboard hanging down, people often ask me why I have a portable heart monitor stored away! author date text cpubuilder Wednesday 18th January 2012 @steve I fixed it about a year ago, it was a crt controller, and a rom chip author date text Steve (Boulder, CO USA) Tuesday 15th November 2011 Oops.. I filled out the previous post incorrectly. It''s from me, not James Wilson. I wrote it TO James Wilson. author date text James Wilson (Boulder, CO USA) Tuesday 15th November 2011 @James. Funny you should mention and appreciate the keyboard. It was a custom job (of course) using high quality Cherry switches. We put a lot into that in order to get a quality look and feel. The Otrona was the Ferrari of portables and everything about it had to be top shelf. author date text Steve (USA) Tuesday 15th November 2011 @cpubuilder. I just happened back across ths thread. I don''t really know how to fix this macihine. I was a firmware/sodtware geek. Sorry. author date text James Wilson (Laguna Beach, California) Saturday 15th October 2011 My first computer at JPL was an Otrona, and it was a winner. I was particularly impressed with the keyboard, and was sorry that the IBM one was totally inferior. I would like to chat with anyone connected with its development. Thanks. Jim Wilson author date text Steven Streeper (Idaho/USA) Wednesday 14th September 2011 I purchased an Attache when they were first released. It was a fabulous machine for the times. I used it to develop several software applications over a three-year period, then sold it to a friend. At the time it came on the market, it was the ideal portable computer...pretty awesome!! author date text cpubuilder Monday 6th December 2010 do you know anything on how to fix it steve author date text Steve (USA) Tuesday 23rd November 2010 I worked there. Employee number 8, start to finish, and wrote most of the software including the ROM code (including the 2001 BIOS), utilities and O/S ports (CP/M and DOS). Just two things. The 2001 was completely IBM compatible. At the time we folded there was only on program we could find that would not run (Frogger) and that issue was almost licked. The reason we went under is because we were shot by our own marketing dept. Well, not really. But it was the straw that broke the camel''s back. They let leak that the 2001 was coming so orders for the 8:16 dried up and so did our revenue stream. We couldn''t hit the revenue targets necessary to access our credit line so we could not by parts to build the new 2001 machines. That''s why there were so few. The first run was really more like a proto run and then we shut down. It was too bad. The 2001 was a good machine and the orders were strong. But the banks and the VC''s decided they had enough and so we closed. A real shame. author date text David Vohs (USA) Thursday 15th April 2010 Here''s some trivia about this machine that must people don''t know about: NASA''s Jet Proulsion Laboratories was a large purchaser of these machines when they were new. An Attache even flew on the space shuttle! (before the GRiD Compass came out) 1227 url date https://web.archive.org/web/20230530210241/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=1227 2023-05-30

The Otrona Attache was the most wanted transportable computer at the time as it was the smallest of its category. Preceded by the Osborne and Kaypro II, the Attache was also more expensive than its competitors. Compactness has a price!

The Attache is this a nice little CP/M system. High-resolution graphics, compact keyboard, 64 KB RAM, real time battery-packed clock, composite video output, delivered with Wordstar, MBasic, CP/M, the Otrona Attache had all that was needed at the time to be efficient.

in 1983, Otrona released a second model, the Attache 8:16 which was in fact a "normal" Attache with an Intel 8086 expansion board built-in, thus offering the MS-DOS world in addition to the CP/M compatibility. The IBM PC was already putting a strong pressure on the market. The rush toward MS-DOS compatibility had begun, announcing CP/M death. Meanwhile, hybrid machines like this one appeared on the market illustrating the transition.

In May 1984, Otrona announced a new transportable model, the Otrona 2001, using an Intel 8088 processor. Sadly the 2001 wasn't completely IBM PC compatible and the production costs were high. Like its predecessor (Attache), the 2001 had real assets, but was too expensive compared to other portables. As Otrona didn't want to exceed the $3000 price limit to stay competitive against IBM and Compaq, they had to throw in the towel.

Too bad, as the demand for the "2001" ran extraordinarily well, as Otrona president Jim Lindner explained. 1000 orders in the month were common.

But in september 1984, Otrona Advanced Systems announced that it was ceasing production. It gave notice to its 175 employees and said that it had decided that is was not able to reorganize (and thus continue in business) under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Act. Jim Lindner hoped for a buyback which never came (?).

We need more info about this computer ! If you designed, used, or have more info about this system, please send us pictures or anything you might find useful.