Kevanf1 wrote:
... I know that there were earlier incarnations of the small form factor computer but for all intent and purpose the PC as we know it came about because of IBM's offerings. IBM first used a DOS for those PC's.
Well, actually, there was no material difference between IBM's PC and a dozen or more previous small computers. IBM had already taken a financial bath by ignoring DEC's, then others', rise to prominence with the minicomputer, and was looking for a way to avoid the same happening with the skyrocketing rise of the "home computer". "Home computers" were already being used in professional (especially scientific) workplaces, and IBM wanted to stem that tide, to keep from losing even more market share. The only reason we use the term PC is that IBM felt they couldn't use the term "home computer", so invented the term "personal comuter". There was no substantive difference between the IBM PC and many others, except that an inferior product had the IBM logo stamped prominently on the front panel. And of course, this doesn't even address the professionally oriented desktops put out by Hewlett-Packard and Tektronix in the '70's. John Perry (user of TRS-80 mod III, TRS-80 Color Computer, Amiga, and Atari PC's before the IBM PC came out) (two of them, plus the hp and Tek models, in NASA laboratories)