Re: The apple 2, the PC, and the clones

[mjmahon@aol.com (Michael J. Mahon)]

Roy replied:

>Michael J. Mahon wrote:
>
>> Roy replied:
>> 
>> 
>>>IBM did create the PC standard, as Apple created the II standard. 
>>>Bruce's statement is nonsense. Who created the PC slots? Who wrote the 
>>>PC BIOS? Who created a machine that first used the "off the shelf" chips 
>>>in exactly the way the PC did? Yeah, IBM. All the early so-called 
>>>"compatibles" (some of which weren't very, and the first to truly hold 
>>>that title was the first "clone" - Compaq) tried to copy the PC design 
>>>that IBM created.
>>>
>> 
>> Yes, they created the first version.  But the "PC standard" is not
>> a constant--it has evolved very substantially in the last two decades.
>> And assuredly, IBM did not create the PC as we know it today.
>> 
>> IBM tried to change the PC bus to the Microchannel architecture
>> and the already-teeming clone industry, led by Compaq, headed
>> them off at the pass.  (Of course, IBM helped by imposing a license
>> fee on the use of the new bus.)
>> 
>> Compaq and a few others then led the charge to an open (unlicensed)
>> bus, the EISA bus, which, though a reasonably robust design, was
>> more costly than the market could justify except at the high (read,
>> low-volume) end.  Ultimately, the 16-bit ISA bus prevailed in "phase 2"
>> of the PC bus wars.
>> 
>> More recently, Intel and Microsoft have led the PC hardware
>> standardization effort--with PCI (in its various bandwidth flavors),
>> AGP, USB, and beyond.  IBM has not been a leading player in
>> PC definition since the AT.  You may recall that Compaq was
>> the first vendor to offer a 386-based PC, as well.
>> 
>> So, sure, IBM invented the PC, the XT, and the AT, but since
>> then, the invention has been elsewhere.
>> 
>> -michael
>
>
>No argument here Michael. But I would make the point that even today's 
>standard can still run Lotus 123 if you have a 5.25" disk drive, and if 
>you have at least one ISA slot, you could use (but why?) a CGA card, for 
>instance, or a 300 baud modem card. So, today's standard is a superset 
>of the standard IBM set.

I think we're in agreement.  I think I made the point earlier in this (or
another?) thread that the key to extending a standard is supersetting
it--if you don't run the lion's share of the market's programs, then the
market doesn't buy your box, and you failed to extend.

Of course, now the idea is to leave behind the "features" of the original
that are holding back further evolution--like the ISA bus, the serial and
parallel ports, etc.  And I hear that 5.25" drives are not even being
manufactured anymore (though it seems hard to believe)!

-michael

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