The Morrow Pivot II, released in May 1985, was a portable
personal computer
A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or tec ...
100% compatible with IBM PC Software. It was designed by Norman Towson and Micheal Stolowitz, and manufactured by
Morrow Designs
Morrow is a word meaning "the next day" in literary English. It also means "morning" in archaic English
Morrow may also refer to:
Places in the United States and Canada United States
*Morrow, Arkansas
*Morrow, Georgia
* Morrow, Louisiana
*Morrow ...
- based on the Pivot designed by Vadem Corp. With one drive, 256 KB RAM, and a monochrome backlit
LCD
A liquid-crystal display (LCD) is a flat-panel display or other electronically modulated optical device that uses the light-modulating properties of liquid crystals combined with polarizers. Liquid crystals do not emit light directly but in ...
, the Pivot II had a list price of US$1,995.
The Morrow Pivot II included one or two 5-1/4" floppy drives. This machine was in a vertical configuration with a fold down
keyboard
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Musi ...
. This was called a "lunch box" style unlike the typical laptop today. The only external component was a single
AC adapter
An AC adapter or AC/DC adapter is a type of external power supply, often enclosed in a case similar to an AC plug. Other common names include wall wart, power brick, wall charger, and power adapter. Adapters for battery-powered equipment may ...
. It would have been a little top heavy except for the large Panasonic camcorder battery loaded into its base.
The Pivot II design was licensed to
Zenith Data Systems
Zenith Data Systems (ZDS) was a division of Zenith Electronics founded in 1979 after Zenith acquired the Heath Company, which had entered the personal computer market in 1977. Headquartered in Benton Harbor, Michigan, Zenith sold personal compu ...
for $2M and sold as the
Zenith Z-171
The zenith (, ) is an imaginary point directly "above" a particular location, on the celestial sphere. "Above" means in the vertical direction (plumb line) opposite to the gravity direction at that location (nadir). The zenith is the "highest" ...
; Zenith sold over $500M to the US government, many to the
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory ta ...
. The IBM-compatible Pivot was Morrow's first non-Z80 machine. While modern laptops don't share its design, it was arguably the most practical machine until desktops embraced 3-1/2" floppies. Robert Dilworth went from being General Manager of Morrow Designs to being CEO of Zenith Data Systems for years as part of Zenith's paying him to talk George Morrow into licensing the Pivot to them.
Osborne Computer Corporation
The Osborne Computer Corporation (OCC) was a pioneering maker of portable computers. It was located in the Silicon Valley of the southern San Francisco Bay Area in California.George Morrow