14.002 9. The Computer Wars Chronicles: ISSUE 74/ : Report from the Computer Wars
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This article is from the Apple II Csa2 FAQ, by Jeff Hurlburt with numerous contributions by others.
14.002 9. The Computer Wars Chronicles: ISSUE 74/ : Report from the Computer Wars
When the great wheel of the small computing universe takes a major turn,
wobbles, and settles into a new plane, there are bound to be many users who
will doubt the evidence of their senses. ("Did the earth tremble? Did the stars
shift? WHAT happened?!") Hence, the 'last minute' decision to compress this
month's reviews and issue the "Report'".
Report from the Computer Wars
I. Tsunami
What promised just last summer to be a PC wave has become a rolling
tsunami. One minute you're strolling down a city street, considerately stepping
over and around islands of PC hardware; the next, you're running for your life
in the shadow of a churning skyscraper-high wall of machines and circuit
boards. Something important has happened in Computerville; a milestone has been
reached. When? Sometime between last fall and this spring. What? Nothing less
than the end of Computer Wars I!
II. Myth
During some fifteen years of competition among names like Altair,
Southwest Technical, Imsai, (Ohio Scientific, Tandy, Atari, Apple, Commodore,
...), it became an article of faith that the outcome would be THE dominant
computer maker. Presumably, the manufacturer of the best machines would attract
the overwhelming majority of users and that would be that.
Much to the delight of TRS-80, Apple II, and Atari 800 makers, the
Microcomputer Club soon gave way to product-specific groups of true believers
determined to expand membership and win immortality ("II Forever!", etc.) for
their machines. It was entertaining; but, of course, it was mainly hype.
Even were users willing and able to flit from machine to machine like
butterflies, no major manufacturer was particularly attracted to anything so
intangible as Computer Wars "victory". The corporations (believe it or not)
were aiming to maximize profits, not user numbers! Both Apple and Commodore
built up large, enthusiastic home user bases, then neglected them in favor of
the lower volume, higher profit business market. So much for "winning the
world".
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