Stupid CP/M question

Hmm, that's a possibility I hadn't considered. It has potential, since they certainly had creativity. (I'm not sure if they still do, sadly.) The disadvantage is that they always want to do things their way, and they always assume their way is right. I'm mostly thinking of their calculators. The old ones are unparalleled, but the newer ones didn't evolve as much as they could have (IMO -- I've become disappointed at the HP48) and in some ways are very conservative. They tend to have a fantastic lifetime (for example, some people's 10C/11C/ 12C/15C/16C models are STILL using the original batteries, and of course the things are rugged like nothing else) but the flip side is that when that lifetime starts to come to an end, you may not be able to get a new unit or even spare parts. I've always gotten the impression that their PC clones were a little wierd. Many people say their version of UNIX is uniquely gross. (I'm sure some people find it uniquely lovely, too.) So, in your hypothetical universe, I would hope to see a less-haughty version of HP. Perhaps that would be an effect of entering the PC market in 1980, being flooded with customers, and realizing that their previous methods wouldn't work very well. Perhaps it would be a cause -- only a more flexible HP could enter the computer market, even in your world. Or perhaps it wouldn't be a problem at all, because (by now) HP would be the standard, with parts readily available. Or perhaps I just wish they would re-produce some of their old calcs or make hardware and firmware info and revision histories available to emulator writers. :) Or at least come out with a worthy successor to the HP48. -- Derek