CompuSource

CompuSource was incorporated in December 1982 and co-founded by Joel Ronning in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The computer's first product was a Apple II clone called the Orange Peel. Ronning commissioned original equipment manufacturer Orange Computers, out of Toronto, to manufacture the computer.{{sfn|Gross|1983a|p=8D}} It was able to run software for the Apple II but had slightly altered capabilities; as well, it used a custom ROM that was a clean-room design of Apple's BIOS for the Apple II.{{sfnm|1a1=Gross|1y=1983a|1p=8D|2a1=Staff writer|2y=1984b|2p=9B}}

Around 95 Orange Peel units worth US$76,000 were sold between late 1982 and early 1983,{{sfn|Gross|1983b|p=10B}} before the computer was the subject of a confiscation at the Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport in February 1983, when guards of the U.S. Customs Service seized four units from a cargo plane coming from Toronto. Executives of Apple had appealed to the Customs Service to look out for potential counterfeits of Apple's products in the years prior;{{sfn|Staff writer|1983a|p=2C}} almost 2,000 such counterfeits had been confiscated up to that point in total.{{sfn|Gross|1983a|p=8D}} Ronning stated that the Orange Peel did not contain any of Apple's copyrighted code nor infringed on Apple's trade dress, with an entirely different external appearance and detachable keyboard.{{sfnm|1a1=Gross|1y=1983a|1p=8D|2a1=Staff writer|2y=1983a|2p=2C}} Customs eventually cleared CompuSource of any wrongdoing in March 1984, calling the incident a mistake, but by that point Orange Computer had dissolved, and CompuSource moved on to another supplier. The company continued selling the remaining inventory of Orange Peels, at roughly $300,{{sfn|Staff writer|1984b|p=9B}} down from $795 in 1983 (both prices being a fraction of what Apple charged for their Apple IIs at the time).{{sfn|Gross|1983a|p=8D}}

Shortly after CompuSource lost its first appeal against Customs in August 1983, the company switched to a different supplier of hardware for their next family of clones. Called the Abacus, these computers were manufactured by General Fabrication Corporation of Forest Lake.{{sfn|Gross|1983b|p=5B}} The Abacus comprised both a standard desktop computer and a portable computer, the latter with a built-in 9-inch CRT monitor and keyboard. Both were compatible with software written for the Apple II and for CP/M; the company licensed Apple DOS 3.3 from Apple and CP/M 2.2 from Digital Research.{{sfn|Freiberger|1983|p=31}} Ronning was able to avoid charges of patent infringement by deviating from Apple's floppy controller card for the Disk II and schemes to generate artifact color on composite video signals.{{sfn|Gross|1983c|p=14B}}

Optional for both Abacus machines were a memory expansion card, a clone of the 80-Column Text Card, and an IBM PC compatibility card. The latter contained the circuitry needed to run software designed for the IBM PC running MS-DOS, including an Intel 8088 microprocessor. IBM compatibility was somewhat constricted by the Abacus' RAM ceiling of 192 KB.{{sfn|Freiberger|1983|p=31}} (CompuSource had been in negotiations with Microsoft to license MS-DOS for the computers but failed to get a contract by the computer's launch date.{{sfnm|1a1=Staff writer|1y=1983c|1p=53|2a1=Staff writer|2y=1984a|2p=30}}) The computers came with Compucalc, Compuword, and Compubase, spreadsheet, word processor, and database software respectively—all developed by ArtSci of Los Angeles—as well as three video games.{{sfnm|1a1=Staff writer|1y=1983b|1p=83|2a1=Freiberger|2y=1983|2p=31}}

The Abacus portables were introduced to market in January 1984, with the first 100 units delivered to 100 different dealers for inspection that month.{{sfn|Staff writer|1984a|p=30}} CompuSource achieved volume production around February, manufacturing around another 15,000 in the following months.{{sfnm|1a1=Staff writer|1y=1984a|1p=30|2a1=Staff writer|2y=1984b|2p=9B}} The Abacus portables were optioned with one or two floppy drives; a 10-MB hard disk option was planned for mid-1984.{{sfnm|1a1=Nadeau|1y=2002|1p=43|2a1=Staff writer|2y=1984a|2p=30}}

{{reflist}}

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• {{cite web | date=n.d. | url=https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_mn/cf57d514-b0d4-e011-a886-001ec94ffe7f | title=CompuSource Compatible Systems Inc. | publisher=OpenCorporates | archiveurl=https://archive.today/20230202033934/https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_mn/cf57d514-b0d4-e011-a886-001ec94ffe7f | archivedate=February 2, 2023 | ref={{sfnRef|OpenCorporates|n.d.}} }}
• {{cite journal | last=Freiberger | first=Paul | date=November 14, 1983 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wS8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA31 | title=Abacus will offer a 'portable Apple' | journal=InfoWorld | volume=5 | issue=46 | page=31 | via=Google Books}}
• {{cite journal | last=Gross | first=Steve | date=February 19, 1983a | url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117758413/customs-puts-lock-on-computer-look-alike/ | title=Customs puts lock on computer look-alikes | journal=Minneapolis Star and Tribune | page=8D | via=Newspapers.com}}
• {{cite journal | last=Gross | first=Steve | date=August 26, 1983b | url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117758080/computers-will-be-deported-but-firm-has/ | title=Computers will be deported, but firm has substitute | journal=Minneapolis Star and Tribune | page=5B, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117758093/computers-will-be-deported-but-firm-has/ 10B] | via=Newspapers.com}}
• {{cite journal | last=Gross | first=Steve | date=December 13, 1983c | url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117758216/3-local-makers-seek-niche-in-crowded-com/ | title=3 local makers seek niche in crowded computer field | journal=Minneapolis Star and Tribune | page=5B, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117758283/3-local-makers-seek-niche-in-crowded-com/ 14B] | via=Newspapers.com}}
• {{cite book | last=Nadeau | first=Michael | date=2002 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WXZNAAAACAAJ | title=Collectible Microcomputers | edition=Illustrated | series=Schiffer Book for Collectors | publisher=Schiffer Publishing | isbn=9780764316005 | via=Google Books}}
• {{cite journal | last=Staff writer | date=February 21, 1983a | url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117758053/computer-grab-is-case-of-apples-oranges/ | title=Computer grab is case of Apples, Oranges | journal=St. Cloud Times | page=2C | via=Newspapers.com}}
• {{cite journal | last=Staff writer | date=September 19, 1983b | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pmWoDGkrQJsC&pg=RA1-PA83 | title=Abacus Desktop Micro Out | journal=Computerworld | volume=XVII | issue=38 | page=83 | via=Google Books}}
• {{cite journal | last=Staff writer | date=October 10, 1983c | url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A522753/GPS?sid=wikipedia | title=CompuSource Debuts PC Line with Apple IIe-Compatible Portable | journal=Computer Systems News | issue=134 | page=53 | via=Gale}}
• {{cite journal | last=Staff writer | date=January 9, 1984a | url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A531755/GPS?sid=wikipedia | title=CompuSource to Ship First Abacus Portables | journal=Micro Marketworld | volume=6 | issue=23 | page=30 | via=Gale}}
• {{cite journal | last=Staff writer | date=March 22, 1984b | url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117758123/imports-can-be-risky-deal/ | title=Imports can be risky deal | journal=Minneapolis Star and Tribune | page=9B | via=Newspapers.com}}

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Category:American companies established in 1982

Category:Apple II clones

Category:Computer companies established in 1982

Category:Defunct companies based in Minneapolis

Category:Defunct computer companies of the United States

Category:Defunct computer hardware companies

Category:Defunct computer systems companies