Leading Edge Products
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Leading Edge Products, Inc., was a computer manufacturer in the 1980s and the 1990s. It was based in Canton, Massachusetts.
History
Leading Edge was founded in 1980 by Thomas Shane and Michael Shane. At the outset, they were a PC peripherals company selling
Products
Hardware
The first known computer to be produced by Leading Edge is the Model M, released in 1982. By 1986 it sold for $1695 (US) with a monitor and two floppy drives. It used an Intel 8088-2 processor, running at a maximum of 7.16 MHz on an 8 bit bus, compared to 6 MHz for the IBM PC-AT on a 16 bit bus. The 'M' stands for Mitsubishi, their parts provider.[4]
They began producing the Leading Edge Model D in June, 1985, when they began to use Daewoo parts. That model was described as "the quality is good and the price is right." It was a Consumer Reports "Best Buy." It was IBM compatible, using the same Intel 8088 16 bit processor as the IBM PC, with two floppy disc drives, 256K of RAM, and an amber monitor. The machine sold for $1495 (US).[5] They sold 125,000 in the first 13 months, then reduced the price to $1295 (US).[6]
When IBM started supplying 20 MB hard drives as standard for its newer PC-XT's, Leading Edge supplied a 30 meg hard drive standard.
In 1993, Leading Edge marketed the WinPro Series of computers. These computers had then an
In 1994, Leading Edge marketed the Wintower 486 Multimedia PC, with 66 MHz processor, 8 MB ram, 340 MB hard drive, 2 floppies, CD ROM, modem, sound card and monitor for a "street price" of $2600 (US).[9]
Software
One of the programs offered on Leading Edge computers was the Leading Edge Word Processor. It was described as easy to use, created automatic backup copies, and loaded in 256 K of RAM, described as a "large" amount.[citation needed] With the program in memory, both floppy drives were available for storage. It was introduced in 1983, and sold in 1984 for $100. (U.S.)[10] LEWP, as it was called, was a very easy to use word processor that had features that were bred into newer systems later. It automatically fixed transpositions on the run, a feature not seen in more sophisticated contemporary word processing programs.
In 1984, Leading Edge also released an innovative database application called Nutshell (developed by a company called Nashoba Systems and distributed by Leading Edge). Nutshell was an earlier form of a program later released as
References
- ^ "Deal by Daewoo," New York Times, June 1, 1989, pg. D4
- ^ Steve Lohr, "Frustrated users sue PC maker over busy signals on "help" line," New York Times, 6 February 1996, pg. D10
- ^ [1] David O. Dabney, "Power Down:Apple Buys Its Own Clones," Weeklywire.com, 15 September 1997, refers to " the now defunct Leading Edge PC clone company"
- ^ Peter H. Lewis, "Peripherals: Leading Edge: One name, two computers," New York Times, March 18, 1986, pg. C5
- ^ "A thrifty and practical computer from Korea," New York Times, July 16, 1985, pg. C4
- ^ Nicholas D. Kristof, "Low-priced cars and electronics from South Korea flooding the U.S.," New York Times, 31 August 1986, pg. A1
- ^ Eric Sandberg Diment, "Race for hard drive horsepower heats up," New York Times, 9 September 1986, pg. C4
- ^ L.R. Shannon, "A powerful XT clone," New York Times, March 17, 1988, pg. C9
- ^ "Not on the cutting edge - Leading Edge Products' WinTower 486 multimedia PC - Hardware Review - Evaluation Home Office Computing - Find Articles". Archived from the original on 2006-08-25. Retrieved 2006-10-31. Angela Gunn, "Not on the cutting edge - Leading Edge Products' WinTower 486 multimedia PC - Hardware Review - Evaluation," Home Office Computing, July, 1994. retrieved 31 October 2006
- ^ "Word processing," New York Times, 28 October 1984, pg. AS 24.
- Compute! Issue 86, July 1987. IBM Compatibles - The Universe Expands refers to Leading Edge as a "young and aggressive" company.
External links
- Mirror of Leading Edge's old BBS at the Wayback Machine (archived October 12, 1999)