The world of storage for personal computers has come a long way, especially now that smartphones are ubiquitous and everything is at the touch of our fingertips, with small external drives and unlimited storage available in the cloud. In 1993, Ivo Attias Adam developed the adambyte powerbox, “the limitless mobile storage solution for your PowerBook.” The powerbox was a travel storage component that could plug into the early PowerBook computers from that era. In creating the powerbox, Ivo was responding to the limited storage of the PowerBook laptop. The powerbox had a high performing hard drive, allowing PowerBook users to have sufficient data storage to execute multimedia and other sophisticated programs. The powerbox had the same footprint as the PowerBook, and would sit underneath the laptop and provide additional mobile storage that was as portable as the laptop itself. Powered by a standard PowerBook battery, the powerbox provided full data security and could operate for 2-3 hours between charges. Its integral charger could recharge both the powerbox and PowerBook batteries when connected through its jumper cable. Ivo worked in the world of computer storage for most of his 40-year career in electronics. Born in Alexandria, Egypt, he moved to Milano and became an Italian citizen at the age of 15. There, he began his electronics education at the ORT Technical Institute. His first job in Milano was repairing televisions, and throughout much of his life, he loved fixing electronics, taking apart computers and rebuilding them from various parts. At the age of 21, Ivo emigrated to Israel, studying Economics at Hebrew University and beginning his work in the electronics industry in a then-new company called Elbit, which today produces computer systems for the military. Ivo used to describe the early computers at Elbit in the 1960s like this: “A single computer was so big that it would fill an entire room!” Ivo’s career eventually moved him to Paris, France and then to the heart of Silicon Valley in California, where his work in companies such as Shugart and Maxtor focused on developing and selling computer storage systems. Ivo spoke six languages and worked in international sales for these companies. It was during his many business trips that he recognized the need for increased storage on his personal laptop. He wanted to deliver slideshows with more features during business meetings and have the ability to use his laptop on long plane flights without running out of battery. He developed the powerbox with this in mind. While adambyte as a company did not take off and the powerbox was never developed for sale beyond its prototypes, Ivo’s vision for mobile storage preceded the generation of portable external hard drives that became popular at the turn of the 21st century and the cloud storage we know today. Ivo was a true citizen of the world, a polyglot who lived in six countries on four continents and traveled extensively. But it was Italy that held a special place in his heart. He was fiercely proud of his Italian nationality and returned to Italy throughout his life to visit his parents and for work and pleasure.
In donating the powerbox prototypes to the All About Apple Museum, Ivo’s daughters have found the perfect permanent home for their Italian father’s creation.
