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Re: The IBM PC's slavish devotion to the Apple II
Bill Garber wrote:
I'm sorry, but maybe my true point was misconstrued
by my lashing out at something that I know too can't be
avoided. All I am trying to say is that isn't it possible that
the IBM had all the same designs as the Apple II, but they
waited until they were to a higher level before their final
release into the mainstream? Couldn't it be that Apple
was in such a rush to get their machine onto the market
that they rushed it out with lesser options and features?
Neither of the previous two sentences, however, are true to the record.
The II was as good as Woz could make it given the resources available
(his pocket, and the state of the technology at the time)
IBM's design work was done VERY quickly (for IBM), starting, as I
recall, in 1980. The release date was in August of 1981. Since they were
creating a computer for the business market (such as it was) they had
the monochrome display (VERY good indeed, no one had a display as crisp
and clean as IBM's), and a CPU/OS that that was similar enough to the
8080/CP/M standard that it was very easy to port and improve the best
business software of the day (give Gates some credit here, according to
some sources IBM wanted to use the Z-80 and he talked them into the
8086/8088)
Why have the opinion that IBM "copied" them with a few
minor improvements? Give it a little thought. When I asked
that he check his sources, that means to quote someplace
where I and others can go to look up his data and agree rather
than simply tell us what he thinks he knows.
For a start, read the Byte issues of the day. There are many other
sources online. Read about CP/M, read about the origins of the PC. Read
IBM's documentation's supplied for the PC and compare to the the docs
Apple supplied.
Any smart
journalist would.
No. Anyone writing an academic paper would.
Roy
And I did not TELL him to go elsewhere,
I merely stated that a better place for such an array of
historical data might be better compiled on a website, such
as Steven Weyrich has compiled. Please don't try to say that
because I sell Apple II hardware that I am biased. There were
many times I wanted to quit the Apple II scene and go on to
bigger and better ventures that could bring me some capitol,
but I stay with it, WHY?, because I believe in the Apple II.
I think they are a great little computer with more potential
than a little bit, but they had their day. One day the new
"COSMOTRONIC TRANSMITTAL ARRAY BUTTON"
will take over as the greatest computer system around.
BTW, that is fictional, it doesn't exist. It will be worn
on the lapel and control everything you come into contact
with, what then. Will someone say that the iMac and P4
were it's predecessor. Doubt that. Anyway, as long as this
post is, it'll never stop the technology war between Apple
and MS, sorry M$, so I will drop it and go back to being
the mild-mannered Apple II hard drive maker I was before.
Thanks for listening once more,
Bill @ GarberStreet Enterprises
http://garberstreet.netfirms.com
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