Which CPM systems are most popular?

[John]

Every once in a while I see an Intertec Superbrain come to auction and
consider buying it. I was wondering what are the most popular, and the
most desirable (collectible?) CPM systems. I know the S-100 systems are
in a class by themselves. But I'm talking about the 'integrated
systems'. Like the Osbornes,Kaypros Superbrains, etc.
Does anyone track this sort of thing?

-John

[Captain Nemo]

Post by John
Every once in a while I see an Intertec Superbrain come to auction and
consider buying it. I was wondering what are the most popular, and the
most desirable (collectible?) CPM systems. I know the S-100 systems are
in a class by themselves. But I'm talking about the 'integrated
systems'. Like the Osbornes,Kaypros Superbrains, etc.
Does anyone track this sort of thing?

I've never seen a list based on popularity.

Osborne sold well, until they sunk their own company.
Kaypro also did well until MS-DOS did them in.
Eagle is another one people seem to like, but it seems that many of those
machines never made it into this era.

The problem is that CP/M machines were business machines. So even though
they sold well, they didn't sell at the level of the TRS-80, for example.
Also, the odds of us seeing one as kids was really low. I never saw a
Kaypro, for example, "in the wild" when I was a kid. I saw ads for them,
though.

I mention that last point because many of us collect the computers that we
remember from when we were kids - either we used them or lusted over them.

[John]

Post by Captain Nemo

Post by John
Every once in a while I see an Intertec Superbrain come to auction and
consider buying it. I was wondering what are the most popular, and the
most desirable (collectible?) CPM systems. I know the S-100 systems are
in a class by themselves. But I'm talking about the 'integrated
systems'. Like the Osbornes,Kaypros Superbrains, etc.
Does anyone track this sort of thing?

I've never seen a list based on popularity.
Osborne sold well, until they sunk their own company.
Kaypro also did well until MS-DOS did them in.
Eagle is another one people seem to like, but it seems that many of those
machines never made it into this era.
The problem is that CP/M machines were business machines. So even though
they sold well, they didn't sell at the level of the TRS-80, for example.
Also, the odds of us seeing one as kids was really low. I never saw a
Kaypro, for example, "in the wild" when I was a kid. I saw ads for them,
though.
I mention that last point because many of us collect the computers that we
remember from when we were kids - either we used them or lusted over them.

Understood. I definitely feel the same. In high school I lusted after
the S-100 machines I saw in BYTE. Now I have a decent stable of
Altairs, IMSAIs, and even a Sol-20. Along with a few SWTPC machines to
represent the 'other side'. But when I really started using computers
was in college; and my first was an Osborne 01. That started me down the
CPM road. After reading 'The Soul of CPM' book, I was on fire.
Compared to what I learned with the Osborne, I consider my college
courses teaching me the syntax of Fortran and Pascal to be a waste of
time (and money!). -J

[Mike Spencer]

But when I really started using computers was in college; and my
first was an Osborne 01. That started me down the CPM road. After
reading 'The Soul of CPM' book, I was on fire. Compared to what I
learned with the Osborne, I consider my college courses teaching me
the syntax of Fortran and Pascal to be a waste of time (and money!).

I got my first computer when I was in my mid-40s. In 1987 the O1 was
already obsolete. But I learned BASIC, Z80 assembler, K&R C and some
LISP on it, then used it as a terminal to connect to Unix and VMS
systems.

I'm really happy that I started with the O1. Extensive O1 and CPM
documentation available, system simple enough to understand without
recursive rabbit-hole excursions. All Linux now on hardware that I
don't really understand but I do understand the basic principals it
all works on.

(I check in on c.o.cpm periodically to watch for other O1 fans.)

[Kerr-Mudd, John]

On 08 Mar 2025 02:53:09 -0400

Post by Mike Spencer

But when I really started using computers was in college; and my
first was an Osborne 01. That started me down the CPM road. After
reading 'The Soul of CPM' book, I was on fire. Compared to what I
learned with the Osborne, I consider my college courses teaching me
the syntax of Fortran and Pascal to be a waste of time (and money!).

I got my first computer when I was in my mid-40s. In 1987 the O1 was
already obsolete. But I learned BASIC, Z80 assembler, K&R C and some
LISP on it, then used it as a terminal to connect to Unix and VMS
systems.
I'm really happy that I started with the O1. Extensive O1 and CPM
documentation available, system simple enough to understand without
recursive rabbit-hole excursions. All Linux now on hardware that I
don't really understand but I do understand the basic principals it
all works on.
(I check in on c.o.cpm periodically to watch for other O1 fans.)

My first works "PC" (shared) was a "SuperBrain" - you could get a
floppy drive with Classic Adventure (Colossal Cave), IIRC. - Properly
it was used for SuperCalc spreadsheets.

[pH]

Post by Kerr-Mudd, John
On 08 Mar 2025 02:53:09 -0400

Post by Mike Spencer

But when I really started using computers was in college; and my
first was an Osborne 01. That started me down the CPM road. After
reading 'The Soul of CPM' book, I was on fire. Compared to what I
learned with the Osborne, I consider my college courses teaching me
the syntax of Fortran and Pascal to be a waste of time (and money!).

I got my first computer when I was in my mid-40s. In 1987 the O1 was
already obsolete. But I learned BASIC, Z80 assembler, K&R C and some
LISP on it, then used it as a terminal to connect to Unix and VMS
systems.
I'm really happy that I started with the O1. Extensive O1 and CPM
documentation available, system simple enough to understand without
recursive rabbit-hole excursions. All Linux now on hardware that I
don't really understand but I do understand the basic principals it
all works on.
(I check in on c.o.cpm periodically to watch for other O1 fans.)

My first works "PC" (shared) was a "SuperBrain" - you could get a
floppy drive with Classic Adventure (Colossal Cave), IIRC. - Properly
it was used for SuperCalc spreadsheets.

For most popular, I'd guess Kaypro, then maybe the Osbourne.

But perhaps it was really the Apple 2 series with a CP/M card that was the
largest user base.

I have nothing to base this on but opinion, I'm afraid.

All my pals had Apples w/ said cards.

At work we had an Alspa CP/M based computer: Z80A @ 4MHz and 64K of RAM with
a "double density" (512K) 8" drive (or two which was also available).

That CP/M computer ran our business for many years with home-written CBASIC
programs doing all the work until the IBMClones came along.

I ported all our programs over and they ran just as well with CBASIC86.

Pureheart in Aptos

[John]

Post by Captain Nemo

Post by John
Every once in a while I see an Intertec Superbrain come to auction and
consider buying it. I was wondering what are the most popular, and the
most desirable (collectible?) CPM systems. I know the S-100 systems are
in a class by themselves. But I'm talking about the 'integrated
systems'. Like the Osbornes,Kaypros Superbrains, etc.
Does anyone track this sort of thing?

I've never seen a list based on popularity.
Osborne sold well, until they sunk their own company.
Kaypro also did well until MS-DOS did them in.
Eagle is another one people seem to like, but it seems that many of those
machines never made it into this era.
The problem is that CP/M machines were business machines. So even though
they sold well, they didn't sell at the level of the TRS-80, for example.
Also, the odds of us seeing one as kids was really low. I never saw a
Kaypro, for example, "in the wild" when I was a kid. I saw ads for them,
though.
I mention that last point because many of us collect the computers that we
remember from when we were kids - either we used them or lusted over them.

Also,for some reason the 'appliance computers' (home computers) of the
era repelled me. Apples, TRS80s,and Commodores to me were nothing but
expensive toys.

I naturally gravitated towards the 8080/Z80 realm of business focused
machines - which were descendants of the original 'hobby computers'.

I suppose I saw myself as more of a 'computer hobbyist' than a 'gamer'.
Even today, I'm more likely to have a soldering iron in hand than a game
controller.

-J

[Lawrence Woodman]

[SNIP]
The problem is that CP/M machines were business machines. So even
though they sold well, they didn't sell at the level of the TRS-80, for
example. Also, the odds of us seeing one as kids was really low. I
never saw a Kaypro, for example, "in the wild" when I was a kid. I saw
ads for them, though.
I mention that last point because many of us collect the computers that
we remember from when we were kids - either we used them or lusted over
them.

One possible exception to that, in Europe, was the Amstrad PCW which were
pretty common in schools and people's home offices. Although admittedly,
many of those were used more for Locoscript than for CP/M. My school had
a room of them and my grandfather had one as well. They were a great
CP/M machine and I would imagine that most people who used them remember
them quite fondly.

Lorry

---
XCCP: A Shell Extension for CP/M
https://techtinkering.com/articles/xccp-a-shell-extension-for-cpm/

[yeti]

For me it was just CP/M what I used. At home on TRS-80, later C128 and
after those emulations, some on micro-controllers, some on PCs. Not so
far ago a Z80-MBC2 joined my zoo, but launching an emulation just stays
faster. At work I used more diverse hardware, but I only cared about
which one, when I had to transfer files between them because finding a
compatible disk format instead of needing Kermit was like winning the
lottery.

My nostalgia is attached to CP/M, instead of to a specific machine.

[John]

Post by yeti
For me it was just CP/M what I used. At home on TRS-80, later C128 and
after those emulations, some on micro-controllers, some on PCs. Not so
far ago a Z80-MBC2 joined my zoo, but launching an emulation just stays
faster. At work I used more diverse hardware, but I only cared about
which one, when I had to transfer files between them because finding a
compatible disk format instead of needing Kermit was like winning the
lottery.
My nostalgia is attached to CP/M, instead of to a specific machine.

Good point. I've never used emulators for 'real work'. Only to
program/debug code to be eventually sent to a real vintage machine. It
keeps the hours down on the old hardware.

And I too recall the horrors of multiple disk formats! Sheesh, what a
pain. I usually just ended up compressing everything (I think with LBR
and SQUEEZE) and send it over via XMODEM to be received on a PC with
PROCOMM. The PC was my repository. I'd then download to whatever other
machine was the target.

-J

[dxf]

Every once in a while I see an Intertec Superbrain come to auction and consider buying it. I was wondering what are the most popular, and the most desirable (collectible?) CPM systems.  I know the S-100 systems are in a class by themselves.  But I'm talking about the 'integrated systems'.  Like the Osbornes,Kaypros Superbrains, etc.

I used a Bondwell-14 for years. The issue for any machines of
that vintage will be the condition of the hardware, drives etc.