Corvus Systems
| Company type | Public (from 1981) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Computer hardware, computer software |
| Founded | 1979 |
| Founder | Michael D'Addio, Mark Hahn |
| Defunct | 1987 |
| Headquarters | San Jose, California , United States |
Area served | Primarily Apple II ecosystem, also IBM PC, Macintosh, DEC Rainbow, Atari 8-bit, S-100 bus systems |
| Products | Hard disk drives, data backup technologies, networking equipment (Omninet), Corvus Concept computer systems |
Corvus Systems was established in 1979 in San Jose, California, by entrepreneurs Michael D'Addio and Mark Hahn. The firm focused on developing hardware, software, and complete personal computer systems, playing a pioneering role in early PC advancements such as hard disk drives, data backup technologies, and networking equipment—mainly targeting the Apple II ecosystem. Their premier offering, the Corvus Omninet network, facilitated shared storage and backup capabilities within classrooms while also supporting electronic mail, effectively serving the needs of primary and secondary education sectors.
The company went public in 1981 on the NASDAQ stock exchange. In 1985, Corvus expanded its operations by acquiring Onyx & IMI, a hard disk manufacturer critical to its product portfolio. Although the company experienced moderate stock market performance during its initial public phase, it faced significant changes after the founders left in 1985 amid strategic moves into the highly competitive PC clone market. By 1986, Corvus ceased its hardware production activities.
Due to fierce competition and technological trends favoring Ethernet over Omninet for local area networking, Corvus filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1987. That same year witnessed the departure of several senior executives. The company’s business approach struggled to sustain itself within the crowded PC clone industry, ultimately leading to its decline despite its early contributions and innovations.
Disk drives and backup
Corvus adapted Apple DOS for the Apple II platform to enable compatibility with their 10 MB Winchester hard disk drives, significantly enhancing storage capacity and performance compared to the standard 140 KB floppy disks. Initially marketed to Apple engineers, these drives were produced by IMI based in Cupertino, California. Corvus supplied both hardware and software interfaces compatible with Apple II, TRS-80, Atari 8-bit, and S-100 bus systems, later extending support to platforms such as DEC Rainbow, Corvus Concept, IBM PC, and Macintosh. The 5 MB and 10 MB drives were physically large and priced around $5,000. Many units were sold individually before being networked via Omninet to enable economical resource sharing across offices or educational environments.
Some models featured a tape backup option named "Mirror," which utilized VCR technology to back up data at an approximate rate of one megabyte per minute onto tapes with a capacity of up to 73 MB. Although Corvus held a patent for this technology, it was adopted by other manufacturers as well. A subsequent Omninet tape backup product called The Bank employed proprietary media comparable in size to modern Digital Linear Tape (DLT). Both the Corvus File Server and The Bank were housed in compact white plastic enclosures.
Networking
In 1980, Corvus launched Omninet, recognized as the first commercially viable local area network (LAN). While Ethernet networks at that time operated at speeds of 3 Mbit/s using expensive and bulky thick coaxial cables, Omninet delivered 1 Mbit/s over twisted pair wiring with an affordable $400 expansion card that users could install themselves on Apple II and IBM PC/XT computers. Despite initial doubts regarding the reliability of twisted pair cabling, Omninet’s architecture anticipated future LAN developments.
Omninet included devices such as the "Utility Server," which enabled sharing of one parallel printer and two serial ports across the network. Powered internally by a Zilog Z80 processor with 64 kB of RAM, it booted from the File Server and could be converted into an economical diskless word processing terminal running WordStar software. Each Omninet installation supported up to 64 devices configured via DIP switches; these included file servers, tape backup units, user workstations, and Utility Servers.
Corvus Concept
Introduced in April 1982, the Corvus Concept was a pizza-box style computer powered by a Motorola 68000 processor, notable for its distinctive 15" rotatable full-page display with a resolution of 720×560 pixels. The screen could seamlessly switch between portrait and landscape orientations without the need to reboot. The system came standard with 256 kB of memory, which could be expanded to 1 MB at an additional cost of $995; unofficial modifications allowed memory upgrades up to 4 MB.
Although it featured advanced hardware and a text-driven user interface utilizing context-sensitive function keys shown on-screen, the Concept faced commercial challenges largely due to its incompatibility with the earlier established IBM PC platform. Its operating system, called CCOS, operated through prompt-based full-sentence commands and offered features such as wildcard file matching, pipelines, and script-like "Exec files."
Available software included various Unix versions (which were incompatible with Concept-specific applications), UCSD p-System supporting Pascal compilers, FORTRAN, an integrated BASIC interpreter for diskless booting, and a limited CP/M emulator. The motherboard was designed for easy access via a sliding mechanism to facilitate upgrades; expansion capabilities included four Apple II-compatible slots and external Fujitsu floppy drives (5.25" read-only at 140 kB and 8" at 250 kB). Additionally, the system incorporated an Omninet port enabling network booting or local storage.
In 1984, the base configuration—comprising the monitor, keyboard, and Edword word processor—was priced at $3,995. Adding floppy drives cost $750 extra, while hard disk options ranged from $2,195 for 6 MB to $3,995 for 20 MB capacity. A comprehensive software package offering spreadsheet, graphing, word processing, and communications tools was available for $495. Network hardware was priced at $495 per workstation. Unix workstation models started at $4,295 for single-user setups and went up to $5,995 for systems supporting eight users. The Concept found adoption among OEMs providing turnkey solutions in sectors such as oil exploration (notably Oklahoma Seismic Corporation Mira) and publishing (KeyText Systems BookWare).