[sionnsar]

For all the problems with Microsoft, just think that most of us wouldn’t even have a computer if Microsoft hadn’t made it easy for us.

There were plenty of home computers before Microsoft. My first commercially-built computer was a CP/M machine -- an O/S that ran on different hardware platforms. CP/M-86 lost out to DOS, though, and that's where Microsoft really got its boost.

[wolfpat]

That’s true. Those computers were okay if you wanted to learn to program a computer, or if you wanted to hire someone to do software for your specific business. Otherwise they were worthless to the home user.

My first computer was a TRS-80 Model I with 4K of RAM and no disc drive. It didn’t take me long to realize I didn’t want to be a computer programmer.

[MarkL]

There were plenty of home computers before Microsoft. My first commercially-built computer was a CP/M machine -- an O/S that ran on different hardware platforms. CP/M-86 lost out to DOS, though, and that's where Microsoft really got its boost.

I disagree. "Home computers" at the time were for hobbyists, NOT what are today's "home users." They were for people who loved technology, wanted to program, business owners, or people who wanted to game. There were some serious parallels between the sort of person who bought a home computer and amateur radio operators.

I wonder if another company would have "stepped up" had Microsoft not come along. But I can say, with all certainty, that it was Microsoft that turned computers into what are for all intents and purposes, small home appliances, that you can pick up just about anywhere, and usable by "the masses."

Mark