North Star Computers
American computer company existing between 1976 and 1984 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
North Star Computers Inc. (later styled as NorthStar) was an American computer company based in Berkeley, California existing between June 1976[1] and 1989. Originally a mail order business for IMSAI computers, it soon developed into a major player in the early microcomputer market, becoming first known for their low-cost floppy disk system for S-100 bus machines, and later for their own S-100 bus computers running either the CP/M operating system or North Star's own proprietary operating system, NSDOS. North Star BASIC was a common dialect of the popular BASIC programming language. They later expanded their lineup with dual-CPU machines able to run MS-DOS, and a server version running either DOS or Novell NetWare.
Industry | Computer industry |
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Founded | 1976; 48 years ago (1976) |
Founders |
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Defunct | 1989; 35 years ago (1989) |
Headquarters | , |
Products |
While initially successful, North Star's sales suffered from the company's adherence to hard sector floppy drives which made software difficult to port onto North Star machines. It was no longer a significant factor in the industry by the time less-expensive CP/M computers with built-in displays (and soft-sectored drives), such as the Osborne and the Kaypro, were released. Sales slowed during the growth of the PC market.