- Mike Brixius
The Osborne Executive (1984)
The Osborne Executive is one of the earliest portable computers and the one that, due to excessive pre-release information, contributed to the demise of Osborne Computer Corporation.
It's not usual to look at a vintage computer system that defines business terminology. The Osborne Effect describes a circumstance where a company releases too much information, too soon, on a new product. This pre-release can lead to the cannibalization of current sales and put the company out of business, as happened to Osborne Computer Corporation (OCC) in 1985.
“The Osborne Effect describes a circumstance where a company releases too much information, too soon, on a new product”

Features and Specifications
The Osborne Executive is an amazing vintage computer and it is truly a shame that it contributed to the failure of OCC. The Executive came with a large library of productivity software and a stellar feature set for its time.
Specifications
Zilog Z80A processor at 4 MHz
124 Kb RAM (128K but 4K was reserved for paging)
8K ROM
7 Inch Amber CRT (80-Character x 24-lines)
2x 5 1/4" Floppy Drives (Half Height, 160 Kb)
Ports
IEEE 488 Parallel Port
2x RS-232C Serial Ports
Composite Monitor Out
Software
CP/M+ - Operating System
Wordstar 3.3 - Word Processor
SuperCalc 1.12 - Spreadsheet
Mailmerge (The snail mail kind)
CBASIC 2 - Programming Language
MBASIC - Microsoft BASIC Programming Language
Personal Pearl - File Manager
Tools Disk
Other Features
The Keyboard attaches to case and allows for portability
Switchable 110/220 volt power for travel flexibility
Weight: 28 Pounds
Size 20.5 x 9 x 13 Inches (WHD)