How would the computer world be different if IBM handled the PC like their typical in-house projects with secret schematics and custom chips (or renumbered standard chips with non-standard pinouts)?
The PC would have died as it was expensive. Other companies like Acorn Computers (Ironic that the IBM was code named ‘Acorn’) now produces the ARM chip which is used in most hand held devices like cell phones. There would have still been massive competition but I think the market would have stagnated for a number of years. However, we might have had some great breakthroughs in technology instead of the same-old PC we’ve had. I love the PC but what might have been otherwise?
They tried something like that in the late 1980’s with the PS/2 with a proprietary bus. It was up there with the PC Junior in product blunders.