From the Columbia Curiousity Bureau: Made in Columbia

 

I probably would have scrolled right by this photo on Bluesky had it not been for the words that accompanied it.

I had friends who owned ‘em, and friends who worked at Columbia Data Products. Proudly built in Columbia, Maryland!

Say what?

Here comes a journey down the rabbit hole…

Columbia Data Products was founded in 1976 by William Diaz. According to Wikipedia:

CDP introduced the MPC 1600 "Multi Personal Computer", designed by David Howse, in June 1982. It was an exact functional copy of the IBM Personal Computer model 5150 except for the BIOS which was clean room designed. 

From what I can tell, Columbia Data Products was located here, at 8990 Route 108.

Image from a prior real estate listing 

Except their own advert lists it here, at 9150 Rumsey Road:

The advert:

When was the last time you saw foresight and cunning together in an advertisement?

Here’s an ad all the way from London. 

I did not know anything about this. Did you? The Columbia Data Products computer was legitimately a “really big deal” for its time. The Smithsonian owns one (although it is not currently on display.)

Image from the Smithsonian Institution website: American History 

You will find them photographed and discussed on vintage computer websites and forums. Heck, here’s an entire video about them.

Columbia Data Products VP Portable: The Forgotten Pioneer of IBM Compatible Portables*

From a 1982 article in the Washington Post, 

“If we can get 1 or 2 percent of the worldwide market, we would be extremely successful,” said William Diaz, 40, Columbia's president. 

In 1983, an article in the Christian Science Monitor covering the Las Vegas Computer Show, notes a change in the atmosphere:

''The people have improved,'' ventures William Diaz, the dapper president of Columbia Data Systems, which makes a line of personal computers. ''At the first meeting, the people had beards, long-hair, ponytails. You seldom saw someone in a three-piece suit.''

Now, just the opposite is true. The computer hobbyists and programmers with their casual dress and technical knowledge have faded from the scene. Now three-piece suits, particularly gray and charcoal pin-stripe, dominate. Business and sales men and women have taken over.

By 1984 IBM had responded to competition by releasing their first portable PC. (It weighed thirty pounds.)  In that same year Columbia Data Systems’ upgraded desktop model MPC 1600-4 received a favorable review in PC Magazine. 

And yet…

In 1985 Columbia Data Products filed for Chapter 11 protection. They had been mowed down by all the competition that their own innovation had sparked. 

Today I spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to find photographs of William Diaz and David Howse. I can assure you that the implementation of AI made that all the more difficult. As of now, I’ve turned up no photos nor any stories about the humans behind the machines. 

Did you know about Columbia Data Products? Did you ever use one of these pioneering personal computers?

Let me know.

Village Green/Town² Comments

*Truth in advertising: I’ve watched very little of this. I just thought it was worth noting.