Other World Computing
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| Private Company | |
| Founded | 1988 |
| Headquarters | |
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Key people
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Larry O'Connor, founder and CEO |
| Website | www |
Other World Computing (OWC) is a US-based computer hardware company and online store for Mac upgrades and accessories located at MacSales.com that was founded in 1988.
In 1988, at age 14, Larry O'Connor began LRO Enterprises, a printer ribbon re-inking business, in his family's barn. A year later, LRO Enterprises reorganized into LRO Computer Sales and began selling computer memory chips via America Online. The company moved into its first facility in and hired its first employees.
In 1992, LRO Computer Sales shifted focus to computers by offering hard drives to its customers. In 1993, LRO Computer Sales incorporated in the state of Illinois under the name New Concepts Development Corporation (NCDC). The company then moved into a 2,500-square-foot office space, which expanded to about 6,500-square feet over the next eight years. In 1994, O'Connor renamed LRO Computers Sales "Other World Computing" (OWC), which operates doing business as NCDC. OWC shipped its first OWC-branded acceleration products in 1995 followed by the introduction of the Mercury G3 ZIF upgrade line in 1999.
OWC expanded and introduced the Mercury Classic Elite line of external storage and offered an iPod case. OWC announced a portable FireWire drive and a FireWire/USB combination product in 2003.
In 2003, OWC released a line of external storage products; the Mercury Extreme product line with a G4/1.33 GHz processor upgrade, the fastest Macintosh processor to that date; an extra high-capacity NuPower replacement battery compatible with PowerBook G3 FireWire (2000/Pismo) and PowerBook G3 Lombard (1999/Bronze Keyboard) models; and the OWC Neptune line of external 7200RPM FireWire storage solutions. OWC launched FasterMac.net, a Macintosh-only Internet access service that provided dialup access throughout the U.S. specifically for Macintosh computer users in 2003.
In 2004, the company also began offering an iPod battery replacement program and introduced the miniStack line of drives to complement Apple's Mac mini. In 2006, OWC introduced the first Dual-HD external FireWire drive RAID available up to 1.5 TB and became the first third party company with memory modules and upgrade kits for the Intel-based Mac Pro that met Apple specifications and first to introduce a Quad Interface external hard drive combining FireWire 800, FireWire 400, USB 2.0, and eSATA connection options in one product – the OWC Mercury Elite-AL Pro Quad Interface.
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