Here's something to consider.

On Sun, 13 Sep 1998, Sam Ismail wrote: Color graphics was only part of the equation, and a pretty small part. The Apple ][ was the first mass-produced high-quality high-availability micro. If you looks at any successful product, you'll generally find that it did *several* things right. So, start with the fact that on paper, that Apple had specs that met or exceeded just about anything else available. Then add the price, then the fact that it looked good (don't underestimate that), then the fact that the fit-and-finish surpassed anything else out there (ask Toyota how important that is), and perhaps most importantly, add the Apple dealer network. Most of the people buying Apples weren't hobbyists who read BYTE, they were yuppies who bumped into an Apple store. The only other machine that was comparable at the time was the TRS-80 available at Radio Shack (I remember it being a failrly rare event to see a PET at a computer store, compared to those two). Color bitmapped graphics certainly helped the Apple when compared to te TRS-80, but the Apple was just so damn *pretty* compared to the rest. Of course, this is where the HP connection comes in: "Jobs thought the cigar boxes [housing the home-made computers] that sat on the ... desk tops during Homebrew meetings were as elegant as fly traps. The angular, blue and black sheet-metal case that housed Processor Technology's Sol struck him as clumsy and industrial ... A plastic case was generally considered a needless expense compared to the cheaper and more pliable sheet metal. Hobbyists, so the arguments went, didn't care as much for appearance as they did for substance. Jobs wanted to model the case for the Apple after those Hewlett-Packard used for its calculators. He admired their sleek, fresh lines, their hardy finish, and the way they looked at home on a table or desk." -- Michael Moritz, THE LITTLE KINGDOM, p. 186. -- Doug