Re: Which CPM systems are most popular?

On 2/26/25 3:16 PM, Captain Nemo wrote:

On Wed, 26 Feb 2025 11:31:04 -0600, John wrote:
 

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