If you were around in the 1980s, then you probably knew about the KayPro computer. For a while, it was the most popular, “transportable” CP/M system available.
The KayPro was created as a rival to the Osborne computer, which also used the CP/M operating system.
I never did meet Andy Kay, but as the editor of a local computer magazine, I toured the KayPro facilities and saw a sneak-peek of their IBM PC compatible system in the late 1980s. Alas, that computer was too late to market and so KayPro didn’t see the same success with that model as they did their earlier efforts.
One thing I’ll always remember KayPro for was the Leading Edge word processor. It was very popular, and one of the first word processors to feature automatic backup. I found the software box’s photo of Abraham Lincoln odd, but yet I still remember it after all these years.
Mr. Kay also invented a voltage meter, but to me he’ll be remembered as one of the pioneers from the early days of the microcomputer.
