MicroOffice RoadRunner
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The RoadRunner (sold to OEMs as the MicroOffice 100) was an early
laptop A laptop computer or notebook computer, also known as a laptop or notebook, is a small, portable personal computer (PC). Laptops typically have a Clamshell design, clamshell form factor (design), form factor with a flat-panel computer scree ...
designed by MicroOffice Systems Technology and introduced in 1983. Weighing roughly and featuring a battery able to power it for up to eight hours, the RoadRunner was one of the first clamshell
notebook computers A laptop computer or notebook computer, also known as a laptop or notebook, is a small, portable personal computer (PC). Laptops typically have a clamshell form factor with a flat-panel screen on the inside of the upper lid and an alpha ...
ever released. Instead of magnetic disks for fixed and removable storage, the RoadRunner relied on
CMOS Complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS, pronounced "sea-moss ", , ) is a type of MOSFET, metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) semiconductor device fabrication, fabrication process that uses complementary an ...
RAM Ram, ram, or RAM most commonly refers to: * A male sheep * Random-access memory, computer memory * Ram Trucks, US, since 2009 ** List of vehicles named Dodge Ram, trucks and vans ** Ram Pickup, produced by Ram Trucks Ram, ram, or RAM may also ref ...
and
ROM Rom, or ROM may refer to: Biomechanics and medicine * Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient * Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac * ...
cartridges for storing and loading data and software. The laptop was equipped with a
CP/M CP/M, originally standing for Control Program/Monitor and later Control Program for Microcomputers, is a mass-market operating system created in 1974 for Intel 8080/Intel 8085, 85-based microcomputers by Gary Kildall of Digital Research, Dig ...
-compatible operating system in its built-in ROM, as well as an address book and a scheduler that took advantage of the laptop's ability to keep time with its
real-time clock A real-time clock (RTC) is an electronic device (most often in the form of an integrated circuit) that measures the passage of time. Although the term often refers to the devices in personal computers, server (computing), servers and embedded ...
. An external modem allowed it to communicate with a
mainframe A mainframe computer, informally called a mainframe or big iron, is a computer used primarily by large organizations for critical applications like bulk data processing for tasks such as censuses, industry and consumer statistics, enterpris ...
and
wake-on-ring Wake-on-Ring (WOR) or Wake-on-Modem (WOM) is a specification that allows supported computers and devices to "wake up" or turn on from a sleeping, hibernating or "soft off" state (e.g. ACPI state G1 or G2), and begin operation. The basic prem ...
to submit data remotely and automatically. Primarily the brainchild of MicroOffice co-founder James P. Dunn, the RoadRunner was released in November 1983 to positive reception by computer journalists. It remained on the market until 1985 when MicroOffice was acquired.


Specifications

The RoadRunner is a clamshell laptop measuring . The laptop's
liquid-crystal display A liquid-crystal display (LCD) is a flat-panel display or other Electro-optic modulator, electronically modulated optical device that uses the light-modulating properties of liquid crystals combined with polarizers to display information. Liq ...
measures , with a resolution of 480 by 64 directly addressable pixels, or 80 columns by 8 rows of text. Text characters are formed by a 5 by 7
dot matrix A dot matrix is a 2-dimensional patterned Array data structure, array, used to represent characters, symbols and images. Most types of modern technology use dot matrices for display of information, including mobile phones, televisions, and pri ...
with an additional row and column of dots separating characters. The dot-matrix letterforms feature no
descender In typography and handwriting, a descender is the portion of a grapheme that extends below the Baseline (typography), baseline of a typeface, font. For example, in the letter ''y'', the descender is the "tail", or that portion of the diagonal li ...
s. The laptop was built into a clamshell form factor both to protect the screen from abrasion and to allow for aftermarket display upgrades in the form of replacement display assemblies. The display assembly itself is connected to a ratcheting hinge, allowing the user to pivot it at multiple oblique angles without the weight of the housing causing it to fall back entirely. The laptop overall weighs roughly — of which is taken up by the
nickel–cadmium battery The nickel–cadmium battery (Ni–Cd battery or NiCad battery) is a type of rechargeable battery using nickel oxide hydroxide and metallic cadmium as electrodes. The abbreviation ''Ni–Cd'' is derived from the chemical symbols of nickel (Ni) an ...
, which can power the RoadRunner for up to 8 hours. The RoadRunner's keyboard sports 73 keys, 14 of which are reserved for
function Function or functionality may refer to: Computing * Function key, a type of key on computer keyboards * Function model, a structured representation of processes in a system * Function object or functor or functionoid, a concept of object-orie ...
(colored light tan and dark tan, respectively). The key switches are full-travel and of the linear variety, while the keyboard layout is modeled after that of the
IBM Selectric The IBM Selectric (a portmanteau of "selective" and "electric") was a highly successful line of electric typewriters introduced by IBM on 31 July 1961. Instead of the "basket" of individual typebars that swung up to strike the ribbon and page ...
typewriter. The key caps are concavely sculpted and have a matte finish. For a microprocessor, the RoadRunner uses
National Semiconductor National Semiconductor Corporation was an United States of America, American Semiconductor manufacturing, semiconductor manufacturer, which specialized in analogue electronics, analog devices and subsystems, formerly headquartered in Santa Clara, ...
's NSC800D, a
CMOS Complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS, pronounced "sea-moss ", , ) is a type of MOSFET, metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) semiconductor device fabrication, fabrication process that uses complementary an ...
-based version of
Zilog Zilog, Inc. is an American manufacturer of microprocessors, microcontrollers, and application-specific embedded System on a chip, system-on-chip (SoC) products. The company was founded in 1974 by Federico Faggin and Ralph Ungermann, who were soo ...
's
Z80A The Zilog Z80 is an 8-bit microprocessor designed by Zilog that played an important role in the evolution of early personal computing. Launched in 1976, it was designed to be software-compatible with the Intel 8080, offering a compelling altern ...
processor, clocked at 2.5 MHz. The performance of the NSC800D was rated on par with
NEC is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered at the NEC Supertower in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It provides IT and network solutions, including cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), Inte ...
's PC-8201 portable. The laptop has 16 KB of built-in
read-only memory Read-only memory (ROM) is a type of non-volatile memory used in computers and other electronic devices. Data stored in ROM cannot be electronically modified after the manufacture of the memory device. Read-only memory is useful for storing sof ...
, burned onto which is a custom implementation of version 2.2 of the
CP/M CP/M, originally standing for Control Program/Monitor and later Control Program for Microcomputers, is a mass-market operating system created in 1974 for Intel 8080/Intel 8085, 85-based microcomputers by Gary Kildall of Digital Research, Dig ...
operating system with added background printing capability; a phone book application; a basic text editor; a
VT100 The VT100 is a video terminal, introduced in August 1978 by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). It was one of the first terminals to support ANSI escape codes for cursor control and other tasks, and added a number of extended codes for special ...
-compatible terminal emulator; and a scheduler utility that takes advantage of the computer's
real-time clock A real-time clock (RTC) is an electronic device (most often in the form of an integrated circuit) that measures the passage of time. Although the term often refers to the devices in personal computers, server (computing), servers and embedded ...
to alert the user of an event at a set time. The laptop also has 48 KB of on-board static CMOS
random-access memory Random-access memory (RAM; ) is a form of Computer memory, electronic computer memory that can be read and changed in any order, typically used to store working Data (computing), data and machine code. A random-access memory device allows ...
. Additional RAM can be added to the laptop in the form of cartridges inserted into any of the four slots above the keyboard, in 16 KB, 32 KB, and 64 KB varieties. These RAM cartridges can also be purposed by the laptop as
RAM drive A RAM drive (also called a RAM disk) is a block of random-access memory (primary storage or volatile memory) that a computer's software is treating as if the memory were a disk drive (secondary storage). RAM drives provide high-performance tempo ...
s, each accessible by CP/M as drives A through D (as marked beside each cartridge slot). A lithium battery in each RAM cartridge keeps the contents of data intact for roughly five years. The RoadRunner supports a total of 256 KB RAM. Besides RAM, the four cartridge slots allow packaged software cartridges to be loaded. Available at release was a version of
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...
's
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,
Sorcim Sorcim Corporation was an early start-up company in Silicon Valley, founded in June 1980 by Richard Frank, Paul McQuesten, Martin Herbach, Anil Lakhwara, and Steve Jasik - all former Control Data Corporation employees working in the Language Group ...
's
SuperCalc SuperCalc is a spreadsheet published by Sorcim in 1980. History VisiCalc was the first spreadsheet program, but at first was not available for the CP/M operating system. SuperCalc was created to serve that market. Alongside WordStar, it wa ...
, and MicroOffice 100 Editor, a full-featured text editor with character–word–line delete and global find-and-replace. These remained the only software packages available for the machine for over a year after its release in late 1983. MicroOffice promised more in the coming months of 1985. At least one other company did deliver third-party software on cartridge for the machine: Distribution Management Systems of
Milford, Connecticut Milford is a coastal city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, between New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven and Bridgeport, Connecticut, Bridgeport. The population was 50,558 at the 2020 United States Census. The city includes the Vill ...
, who became a distribution partner of MicroOffice and who developed an
electronic mail Electronic mail (usually shortened to email; alternatively hyphenated e-mail) is a method of transmitting and receiving Digital media, digital messages using electronics, electronic devices over a computer network. It was conceived in the ...
client in late 1984. This email client was sold only to enterprise customers along with the computer, however. The back of the computer features a 25-pin
RS-232C In telecommunications, RS-232 or Recommended Standard 232 is a standard introduced in 1960 for serial communication transmission of data. It formally defines signals connecting between a ''DTE'' (''data terminal equipment'') such as a computer ...
serial port; a 37-pin parallel bus port; and the slot for an optional
modem The Democratic Movement (, ; MoDem ) is a centre to centre-right political party in France, whose main ideological trends are liberalism and Christian democracy, and that is characterised by a strong pro-Europeanist stance. MoDem was establis ...
. This modem could transmit data at 300
baud In telecommunications and electronics, baud (; symbol: Bd) is a common unit of measurement of symbol rate, which is one of the components that determine the speed of communication over a data channel. It is the unit for symbol rate or modulat ...
and was capable of auto-dialing, auto-answering, and
wake-on-ring Wake-on-Ring (WOR) or Wake-on-Modem (WOM) is a specification that allows supported computers and devices to "wake up" or turn on from a sleeping, hibernating or "soft off" state (e.g. ACPI state G1 or G2), and begin operation. The basic prem ...
. The latter function was complex enough to allow the laptop to "set to wake up at 2:00 a.m. and send the daily sales report back to the computer at the home office". The serial port worked in tandem with the built-in VT100 terminal emulator to allow the RoadRunner to connect to a desktop computer for offline data storage or to connect to a remote
mainframe A mainframe computer, informally called a mainframe or big iron, is a computer used primarily by large organizations for critical applications like bulk data processing for tasks such as censuses, industry and consumer statistics, enterpris ...
via an external modem.


Development

James P. Dunn, a former executive of
Exxon Exxon Mobil Corporation ( ) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston. Founded as the largest direct successor of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, the modern company was form ...
, co-founded MicroOffice Systems Technology in October 1981 in
Fairfield, Connecticut Fairfield is a New England town, town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It borders the city of Bridgeport, Connecticut, Bridgeport and towns of Trumbull, Connecticut, Trumbull, Easton, Connecticut, Easton, Weston, Connecticut, W ...
. The company's original intentions were to manufacture and develop office automation systems—particularly transportable systems. MicroOffice, which was worth 2,500,000 in early 1982, received $500,000 of funding by
Olivetti Olivetti S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of computers, tablets, smartphones, printers and other such business products as calculators and fax machines. Headquartered in Ivrea, in the Metropolitan City of Turin, the company has been owned b ...
in February 1982, as part of Olivetti's strategy of targeting advanced technology corporations. Critical development of the RoadRunner began between late 1982 and January 1983, with a specified design goal of an under-five-pound weight and final street price of 2,000. Olivetti offered suggestions to the laptop's design to coordinate it with Olivetti's line of
word processor A word processor (WP) is a device or computer program that provides for input, editing, formatting, and output of text, often with some additional features. Early word processors were stand-alone devices dedicated to the function, but current word ...
s and other office equipment. Robert F. Weltzien, a former chairman of Timex, landed a position as CEO of MicroOffice in September 1983, in the lead-up to the RoadRunner's release. Weltzien had discovered MicroOffice shortly after its formation, after leaving Timex in 1980, and helped fund MicroOffice with his small venture capital company to fulfill his ambition of "build nga company". He was also attracted to the RoadRunner's LCD, which "rang a bell with me because I came out of the watch business." He was named CEO for a brief period in 1982 but quit for lack of activity, as the company was still in deep in research and development. He moonlit at
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until MicroOffice had completed its financing in August 1983, when he returned full-time. MicroOffice targeted the RoadRunner at traveling salespeople and executives, writers and journalists, and other people of the "mobile professional" class. Richard Howell, manager of marketing, said that the RoadRunner was pitted between the cheaper
TRS-80 Model 100 The TRS-80 Model 100 is a Notebook form factor, notebook-sized portable computer introduced in April 1983. It was the first commercially successful notebook computer, as well as one of the first notebook computers ever released. It features a k ...
and the more expensive and smaller-screened
Gavilan SC The Gavilan SC is an early laptop, laptop computer first released by the Gavilan Computer Corporation in April 1984. The computer ran on an Intel 8088 microprocessor running at 5 MHz and sported a touchpad for a pointing device, one of the fi ...
. However, he contended in October 1983: "I don't think we really have any direct competitors".


Release and reception

The RoadRunner was unveiled at the 1983 Information Management Exposition & Conference at the
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on October 10, where it was announced for a late November 1983 release. MicroOffice provided the laptop only to OEMs for rebadging or to large companies for fleet sales at the onset, with the promise of direct-order purchasing later on. Federal Data Corporation of
Chevy Chase, Maryland Chevy Chase () is the colloquial name of an area that includes a town, several incorporated villages, and an unincorporated census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland; and one adjoining neighborhood in northwest Washington, D ...
, purchased a $1 million fleet of RoadRunner laptops and accompanying software cartridges in May 1984.
David H. Ahl David H. Ahl (born May 17, 1939) is an American author who is the founder of ''Creative Computing'' magazine. He is also the author of many how-to books, including ''BASIC Computer Games'', the first computer book to sell more than a million cop ...
of ''
Creative Computing ''Creative Computing'' was one of the earliest magazines covering the microcomputer revolution. Published from October 1974 until December 1985, the magazine covered the spectrum of hobbyist/home/personal computing in a more accessible format t ...
'' gave the RoadRunner a positive review, calling the "office on the road" moniker that MicroOffice was selling the machine under "apt". Ahl felt that the bundled applications made it a true "portable office" and, "with a weight of only five pounds and the compact data cartridges, you will be tempted to carry the machine everywhere". He wrote that the linear switches of the keyboard had a good feel and followed a primarily logical layout, unlike the contemporary
IBM PC The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) is the first microcomputer released in the List of IBM Personal Computer models, IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible ''de facto'' standard. Released on ...
's
keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Mus ...
, but he disliked the placement of the up arrow key between the period and right Shift (although he appreciated the
arrow keys Arrow keys or cursor movement keys are keys on a computer keyboard that are either programmed or designated to move the cursor (computers), cursor in a specified direction. The term "cursor movement key" is distinct from "arrow key" in that th ...
' inverted-T layout) and wrote that the placement of the
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under the right Shift "is all-too-easy to press inadvertently bringing on all kinds of undesirable results." Ahl found MicroOffice's Editor "more than adequate" with the function bar "understandable and sensible, even without an instruction manual (the ultimate test)" but found their TRS-80 100–esque scheduler and phone book applications not "especially useful, particularly since they devour memory like crazy". Author Owen Davies deemed the RoadRunner's clamshell design unique among the crop of portable computers of 1984. He wrote that the laptop was "one of the more promising contenders" and quite attractive. Davies disliked the clear plastic plate protecting the LCD, writing that it contributed to reflections and glare, but appreciated the future replaceability of the display. Davies found the compromises to the keyboard layout to make it portable adequate but found the placement of the Exit key next to the
Backspace key Backspace (, ⌫) is the keyboard key that in typewriters originally pushed the carriage one position backwards, and in modern computer systems typically moves the display cursor one position backwards,The meaning of "backwards" depends on the dir ...
user-unfriendly. He additionally found the feel of the keyboard "mushy" and "wobbly" but overall deemed it "perfectly adequate for full-speed touch typing." Davies concluded: "Overall, the RoadRunner is a useful, and even exciting system. If you need the portability, and particularly if you already have a desktop system running CP/M, the RoadRunner is definitely worth looking at."


Legacy

MicroOffice continued marketing the RoadRunner until 1985, when the company was purchased by Telxon Corporation, a handheld computer manufacturer based in
Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...
. MicroOffice continued operating as a subsidiary of Telxon, switching gears to develop custom software projects and provide data conversion services for medical offices and clinics. When Telxon was acquired by
Symbol Technologies Symbol Technologies, Inc., was an American manufacturer and supplier of mobile data capture and delivery equipment. The company specialized in barcode scanners, mobile computers, RFID systems and Wireless LAN infrastructure. In 2014, Symbol Tech ...
in 2000, MicroOffice was spun-off into a separate company once again and continued operating independently in the healthcare sector, until it was bought again by Medsphere Systems Corporation in 2020.


See also

* Athena 1 (computer)


Notes


Citations


References

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

* * {{cite book , last=Microsoft , date=1983 , url=https://archive.org/details/MicrosoftBASICInterpreterUsersGuideForTheRoadRunnerPortableComputer1983 , title=Microsoft BASIC Interpreter User's Guide for the RoadRunner Portable Computer , publisher=MicroOffice Systems Technology Computer-related introductions in 1983 Early laptops Z80-based computers