Quantex Microsystems

The American company's first major product, the Otrona Attache, came out in April 1982 and folded up to the size of a fat briefcase painted off-white with orange trim. When set up for use, the carrying handle swung under the chassis to prop it up for easier viewing. A keyboard could be removed from one end, revealing a small 5 inch monochrome CRT and two 360Kb "half-height" 5.25 inch floppy disk drives.The system featured a Zilog Z80 microprocessor at running 4 MHz, used the CP/M version 2 operating system with 64K of RAM and optionally, a modified version of IBM's DOS operating system. The RAM can be upgraded to 640Kb and had several programs in ROM. It contained a single speaker for sound output (which could be set to give audible feedback when keys were pressed) and two RS422 serial ports for communication. It also supported monochrome bit-mapped graphics, and introduced the concept of desk accessory programs, such as a calendar. calculator and auto-run timer that could be run without closing a user application. This innovative application set, known as Valet, predated the appearance of similar functionality in the 1984 Macintosh.The brainchild of Ron Lingeman, a gifted H-P alumnus, the Attache was significantly smaller, sleeker, lighter and faster than the Osborne 1 and other portable computers of the time. Unlike the Kaypro, Attache was not IBM compatible. The Attache was both more capable and more expensive than its competition in many ways. The Attache was meant to run on AC power; batteries were not part of the package but an external battery could be attached.