23 Dec
2013
23 Dec
'13
2:26 p.m.
On Mon, Dec 23, 2013 at 2:03 PM, ben <bfranchuk at jetnet.ab.ca> wrote:
On 12/23/2013 10:00 AM, BE Arnold wrote:
Good video does not describe what you could get in a PC in 1981, or
even 1985. Games didn't drive PCs at home until much, much later.
Why did microcomputers die off?
My guess is that only the IBM PC offered a computer with more than 64Kb of
memory, and good VIDEO display and a *NAME BRAND* and software
other than just games. OS/9 level 2 on the 6809 was the only other
offering that even came close to usable computing system.
Sadly, nobody cared if the OS was usable. They only cared about what
apps/games were for it. Once Dad could bring home the word processor
or spreadsheet program from work and use it at home, that was a
tipping point for DOS in the home, not games. Not until sound cards
and EGA/VGA were common. Yes, there were games in the CGA days. They
sucked. Nobody looked at a CGA display and shouted for joy.
Have microcomputers really died off?
There is a lot of NEW projects for the 6502 and Z80 as well as the 8086.
As a percentage of the industry? Absolutely. How many stores can you
walk into and buy an 8-bit or even 16-bit general purpose computer?
How many stores carry 32-bit or 64-bit Windows or MacOS machines?
-ethan