Columbia Data Products

Columbia Data Products (CDP) introduced the MPC 1600 "Multi Personal Computer" in June 1982. It was an exact functional copy of the IBM PC model 5150 except for the BIOS which was clean roomed. IBM had published the bus and BIOS specifications, wrongly assuming that this would be enough to encourage the add-on market and prevent unlicensed copying of the design.

As the first IBM PC clone, the MPC was actually superior to the IBM original. It came with 128 KiB RAM standard, compared to the IBM's 64 KiB maximum. The MPC had eight PC expansion slots, with one filled by its video card. Its floppy disk drive interface was built into the motherboard. 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 32 pound (15 kg) "luggable" Columbia VP in 1983.

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 IPO at US$11 in January, 1983.^[1] In February 1984 IBM announced the introduction of their first portable PC.^[2] By August 1984 the CDP sales were faltering and CDP announced layoffs of 114 employees at its Maryland headquarters and 189 employees at a second factory in Puerto Rico.^[3] By 1985 their stock had dropped to US$0.50 and was delisted.^[4]

In 1987 CDP shifted emphasis from hardware to software. They developed and licensed Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) software to Western Digital (WD), the leading supplier of hard drive controllers at the time. In 1991 WD sold their SCSI business to Future Domain, where it languished.

Columbia Data Products was founded in 1976 in Columbia, Maryland. It changed ownership, was taken private in 1986, and continues to operate under that name. CDP is now headquartered in Altamonte Springs, Florida. The company currently specializes in data security. No mention of the MPC can be found on the company's history page.

Notes

1. ^ New York Times, February 16, 1984
2. ^ "IBM Will Sell Portable Version of its PC Model", Wall Street Journal, February 17, 1984.
3. ^ New York Times, August 15, 1984
4. ^ Wall Street Journal, April 26, 1985

External links

• Columbia Data Products website
• CDP history
• MPC specifications from Old-computers.com
• Prototype of CDP luggable computer
• Columbia VP Portable PC – picture and specifications
• Scanned images (JPEG's) of CDP advertising and November 1983 brochure with price comparisons to IBM and Compaq portable
• Scanned jpg images of VP Portable advertising from 1984