what was the least PC-Compatible "MS-DOS"
machine out there back before
"100% PC Compatible" was a thing?
One that I remember - heck, I actually have a system buried somewhere -
was the FTS Series 86.
The FTS-88 was a typical 1980-ish CP/M-86 machine running on an 8088
(although I have an 8086 processor card for it), built in monitor,
separate 8-inch disk drives that were always going wrong.
The replacement machine was the FTS-86. An 8086 machine in a more
typical early '80s case with two built in 5.25 inch diskettes and a
separate monitor. This ran a CP/M derivative called "Concurrent DOS".
Can't remember who provided it. The machine was billed as the
"non-compatible compatible".
What I do remember is that I brought home some disks from work (I was a
student on placement at IBM when my father got the FTS 86) and tried
running Lotus 1-2-3. It ran, even to plotting graphs as though it was
on an IBM with a Hercules card. We were impressed!
Honeywell bought FTS at around that time. They went on making the
machine, but gave it a different name. Microsystem Executive, or some
such meaningless sobriquet.
Philip.