A Different Computer Industry TL..

I've decided to develop a rough TL from my whole 'Different computer Industry' stuff.

There's multiple small PODs, but the primary ones are...
1984:
1. The IBM PCjr comes out with a slightly better keyboard and is priced just a touch better. It becomes a success (albeit a modest one), rather than a failure. With The PC, PC/XT, PC/AT, and PCjr all selling at least decently, IBM's Personal Computer business and its more 'unorthodox' tactics begin to dominate IBM, allowing them to be somewhat more competitive.

2. Apple's Macintosh is somewhat less successful, While it still makes a little money, it sells fewer units and is widely seen as being 'overblown'. OTOH, it still has enough of an effect to galvanize the process of GUI production.

1985:
3. Don Estridge, one of the important members of the PC development team, and who in no small part was responsible for the PC's success, doesn't die in a plane crash. Instead, he continues at IBM.

1985-6:
4. OS/2 is developed rather more competently than OTL. Its internals are slightly better, it comes with a built-in GUI (an upgraded MS-DOS Executive AKA Windows 1.0), and soon after its introduction a dedicated 386 version ('OS/2-386 1.1') is released - which can take full advantage of 8086 emulation and multitask MS-DOS Applications in a way that OS/2 versions prior to 2 really couldn't. OS/2-386 is far more successful than its 286-variant, and later OS/2s are developed mainly for the 386 processor, with MS-DOS 3.x and 4.x taking up the 8086 and 80286 market.

1986-7:
5. Motorola manages to solve problems with its 88000 series RISC processors earlier than it did OTL. This, in part, is responsible for RISC processors eventually becoming dominant, with PCs shifting over to Intel's "Pentium" series in the 1990s.

Some previews:
1. Major PC manufacturers include IBM, Epson, Compaq, HP, Apple, Dell, Gateway, TeleVideo, and Victor.

2. No anti-trust suit is brought against Microsoft, in part because Internet Explorer never exists, and in part because OS/2 and OS/3 never get more than 80-85% of the market, competing with, among others, AmigaOS and ClarisStep as well as the Unixen (from AIX to Solaris to Linux) and Planninen, plus BeOS in a few specialized systems.

3. The 'dynamic duo' of powerful non-PC manufacturers are Commodore and Acorn.

4. Nintendo, Sega, Atari, and Microsoft (and possibly even Apple?) are all making video game systems in the 2000s. No Sony Playstations, though.

5. ClarisStep is vaguely similar to Mac OS X but with an even more convoluted development path - its NeXTStep merged with ClarisOS, which in and of itself is kissing cousins both to MacOS and MS-DOS (for reasons which I'll go into later...).

Here's my first part, which I have completed. It runs from 1984 to 1987.


1984:
-Apple releases the Macintosh. After the initial hype, the machine proves itself to have excellent graphics capabilities but limited expansion, incompatibility with other computers, and mechanical problems (the lack of a fan among them) dampen the machine's sales. Although not a failure the way the Apple III or Lisa were, the Mac doesn't sell amazingly well. Steve Jobs is drummed out of the company, and Apple decides to focus on improving its Apple II line more (although the Mac 512 and 512ke do get introduced).

-IBM introduces the PCjr and PC/AT. Both sell fairly well, although the PCjr has some competition from increasingly good PC clones.

- Radio Shack introduces its PC-compatible models, the Model 2000 and, later, the Model 1000 (OTLs Tandy 1000).

-The beginning of a great computer crash. Many minor companies (Lanier, Jonos, Sequa, Osborne, Otrona, Teleram) went out of business, Xerox and Texas Instruments left the computer business, and NorthStar abandoned ordinary computers and concentrated on the then-new microcomputer network market.
Generally, computer companies that made at least semi-IBM-compatible machines did much better than those who made CP/M or proprietary ones. About the only bright spot for non-IBM computers are from a handful of super-cheap machines (like the Commodore 64), and a handful of quality machines from Morrow, Kaypro, and Epson - unlike OTL, Valdocs proves to be fairly successful. Also Radio Shack and Epson do well with ultra-portables.

-The Coleco Adam suffers greatly due to reliability issues. Although Coleco manages to fix most of them, its too late; Coleco is forced out of the market in 1985 (and barely prevents bankruptcy via the popular Cabbage Patch Kids dolls).

-Sinclair negotiates with Sears to sell the QL as the Sears QL, reaching American shores in early November. It only has scattered sales in the US, although its slightly more successful in Europe. However, overall the product is something of a failure, except for International Computer Ltd's One-Per-Desk version (which is a combination Computer / telecom terminal).

- HP releases the LaserJet printer series, which will go on to be highly recognized.

-Michael Dell establishes what will become Dell Computers.

1985:
-The first 80286-based IBM PC/AT clones hit the market.

-The Radio Shack Model 1000 proves to be an even bigger seller than the PCjr, establishing a separate '1000/jr' standard within the PC standard.

-DEC, Morrow, and TeleVideo, among others, stop marketing CP/M-based machines in favor of IBM compatible models.

-Commodore releases the Commodore 128 and the Amiga 1000. Atari releases the ST series.

-Microsoft releases the MS-DOS Executive (OTL's Windows 1.0), a limited windowing program set on top of MS-DOS. It is only mildly successful.

-Other graphical systems that come out 1985-6 include GEOS, DesqView, and GEM. Apple sues GEM over copyright infringement but fails.

-Microsoft and IBM begin to jointly work on a successor OS to MS-DOS. Unlike OTL, its a bit less of a kludge and will contain MS-DOS executive as a viewer. The biggest change is a planned version for the upcoming Intel 80386, whose 8086 emulation capability would improve multitasking MS-DOS programs.

-Olivetti acquires a controlling stake in Acorn Computers. This is as OTL, although it will lead to butterflies later.

-Steve Jobs starts NeXT, a company that focuses on the high-end workstation market.

-Gateway 2000 computers is found, advertising its 'out-of-the-way' origins in Iowa.

1986:

-Apple releases the IIGS, the last of the Apple II series, and the Macintosh SE, the last of the Macintoshes. They hint that something really big will be in store for 1987...

-Radio Shack begins to phase out the TRS-80 computers, leaving their PC models.

-Compaq introduces its Deskpro 386, the first 80386-based computer.

-IBM and Microsoft release OS/2 1.0. It can multitask OS/2 programs or run a single MS-DOS program. It uses a graphical interface derived from MS-DOS Executive.

-IBM begins to introduce its PS/2 series. In 1986, the first computers, the Models 25 and 30, are introduced, effectively replacing the PC, and XT. They use an AT-based architecture.

-IBM gets together with several major clone manufacturers and Intel to form a new architecture to replace the aging ISA. Together they release the EISA (Extended ISA). (Big change from OTL - IBM plays fair-er with the clone manufacturers). IBM holds the largest interest and receives the biggest share of royalties (although the terms are FAR, FAR les onerous than MCA's in OTL). This has the effect of making the PS/2 Series more popular than OTL (paradoxically).

-Kaypro introduces its first PC-compatible models. By 1988, no computer from a large-scale manufacturer is sold with CP/M (except the Commodore 128, which is dual-mode anyway and is dropped that year).

-Amstrand computers purchases Sinclair. (As OTL).

-NorthStar is declared bankrupt, and its assets are purchased by the then-forming Packard Bell corporation.

1987:

-Apple comes out with the Performa series, its first PC-market computers, using Intel 286 and 386 processors and based on the new EISA standard. They develop a Macintosh-based GUI placed on top of DR's DOS Plus (a CP/M-86 based system that's mostly MS-DOS compatible), use a new floppy drive that can read Macintosh, IIGS, and IBM 3.5" disks. The machine's superior graphics to other IBM-compatibles give it fairly swift sales, quickly killing off the Macintosh. (the systems look like OTLs Mac IIs).

-IBM increases its PS/2 lineup with EISA-based models, including the 286-based Models 50 and 60, and the 386-based Models 70 and 80. All pre-PS/2 models except the PC Convertible are dropped.

- IBM releases OS/2-386, which proves to be superior to the original OS/2, and unlike OS/2 1.0 is actually sold by clone manufacturers (its uses of the 386 allows for semi-reliable multitasking of MS-DOS applications, as well as advanced memory management). Microsoft announces that the last versions of MS-DOS will be the 4.0 series (which come with MS-DOS Executive bundled).

-Motorola manages to solve various problems with its 88000 series microprocessors ahead of OTL. They strike a deal with NeXT to sell the first 88000-based RISC workstations, which come out in late 1987.

-Packard Bell enters the PC-compatible server market, selling 386-based servers. They gain a reputation for low price but somewhat shoddy quality.

-Acorn launches the Archemides, a RISC-based computer system. It is not, at first, available in the US.

-Franklin computer goes out of business, in part due to declining sales of the Apple II series. At this point, the only non-PC apples being sold are the IIGSes.

Brands that crash/burn (go out of business or leave the computer market) in the 1984-7 period:

made at least 1 IBM-Compatible/semi-compatible model:
-Sequa
-Eagle
-Columbia
-Otrona
-Texas Instruments
-NorthStar
-Xerox

Other:
-Teleram
-Osborne
-Lanier
-Jonos
-Franklin
-Sinclair

Companies which survive in this TL but not OTL (because Peter McWilliams was fond of their products):
-TeleVideo
-Victor
-Morrow
-Kaypro

Important Product name-changes:
-Radio Shack Model 1000 (OTL Tandy 1000)
-Microsoft MS-DOS Executive (OTL MS Windows 1.0)

Some with more than simple changes:
- OS/2 (is better than OTL)
- Apple Performa (OTL Mac II design, but x86 architecture)
- EISA (comes out earlier and with some more MCA-like elements. However, its still ISA-compatible, and is this time a cooperation between IBM and the clone manufacturers).
-Packard Bell (buys up remnants of NorthStar and thus sells cheap but fairly crummy servers instead of home PCs).
-IBM PS/2 series (introduced slightly earlier, although the models are largely the same as OTL).
-NeXT workstations (start out straightaway with a RISC processor)

(bump)

Anyone have anything to say?

My only understanding of computer marketing is that Jobs got what he richly deserved for making the Apple incompatible with everything, and this was AFTER everyone saw what it did to Texas Instruments.

As to your timeline, Why doesn't Gates get more than 85% of the market, and why is there no internet explorer?

NapoleonXIV said:

My only understanding of computer marketing is that Jobs got what he richly deserved for making the Apple incompatible with everything, and this was AFTER everyone saw what it did to Texas Instruments.

As to your timeline, Why doesn't Gates get more than 85% of the market, and why is there no internet explorer?

Click to expand...

Because Microsoft isn't quite the company it becomes OTL. I kind-of extended Microsoft's early-80s perceptions forward to present - as a company primarily making OSes and software development packages, as well as a few other nifty things (like the Softcard). As a guess, Microsoft's IPO is merely 'a big success' rather than 'a monstrously HUGE success' in this TL. Thus, Microsoft doesn't extend itself into office software or browsers, or if it does its products prove to be small hits (like OTL Microsoft Multiplan) or failures (Microsoft Bob, anyone?). Gates focuses on wrangling OS/2 and later OS/3 from IBM, as well as on the development market (which will largely be MS vs. Borland, outside of the freebie tools - I'm wondering if Java is butterflied away entirely), nifty software (like Flight Simulator or Encarta), and a few aborted attempts to enter the productivity market (Multiplan, Project, and Bob). Essentially Microsoft doesn't become the new IBM. Word never exists or never becomes popular because WordStar and Wordperfect have largely sewed up that market, with a few alternative packages like Valdocs taking up the rest. Same for Excel with 1-2-3, SuperCalc, and Quattro, or for Access vs. dBASE, Paradox, and askSam.

The less successful Mac actually plays a part in this change, Microsoft never introduces Excel in 1985, and thus doesn't go further in office software.

Also, Microsoft never buys up Mosaic, so there goes IE.

As for dominating the market, its because there are more big, semi-compatible competitors (ClarisOS of the late 80s/early 90s, for example, is essentially a DOS Plus / DR-DOS 'kernel' with a MacOS shell and can thus run most MS-DOS programs). The 'Wintel' or this tl's 'OS/2/3tel' monopoly is less evident, despite Apple switching over to Intel chips. This is due to Commodore and Acorn remaining in business. Also, the IBM-PC standard has some turmoil during the switch-over to RISC chips.

The biggest software packages in 2006 will be:

Borland Office Pro: WordPerfect, Quattro Pro, Paradox, Sidekick, Present (favored by many 'clone' companies for bundling, like Compaq; also available for Commodore, Apple, and Acorn computers). This is the dominant package, holding half the overall market. Probably the best for Word Processing, second-best spreadsheet, probably third in everything else.

Lotus SmartSuite: Word Pro, 1-2-3, Approach, Organizer, Freelance (pushed by IBM, found on most IBM machines). Excellent Spreadsheet, Database, and Organization capabilities, but the other software is a touch long in the tooth.

ClarisWorks: ClarisWord, ClarisSheet, ClarisBase, ClarisPaint, ClarisDraw, ClarisTalk, and ClarisShow (names in some cases different from OTL). Claris is favored by Apple but also has versions for other platforms. Probably the best software for graphics (ClarisPaint, ClarisDraw, and ClarisShow are all top-notch), but ClarisWord and especially ClarisBase are inferior.

ValOffice: word processor, database, spreadsheet, web browser, web page editor, and e-mail/organization divisions. Smaller than others, favored mainly by Epson and a small number of primarily Asian IBM clones. Has an Acorn port, but not one that's been updated for awhile. Word Processor is good, internet software is pretty good, but the database and spreadsheet frankly suck and there's no real presentation package.

SuperOffice: WordStar, SuperCalc, SuperBase, SuperMail, and SuperShow. Basically the makers of WordStar and SuperCalc merged, and formed a new company. Not used much in IBM compatibles, but popular on Acorn and Commodore machines. Word Processor and Spreadsheet are pretty good, the rest aren't.

StarOffice: as OTL, Sun Microsystem's option. Runs on nearly everything, even Plan 9 -based or BeOS based systems. Popular on more obscure systems, about average in everything.

Databases are often in single-packages (as OTL); dBASE, askSam, Microsoft FoxPro, and many others are available outside of packages. Most of them can read each other's formats, and there are certain 'industry standards' - dBASE for databases, 1-2-3 for spreadsheets, and WordPerfect for word processing seem to be the biggest ones. Presentation software is a huge mess, though - there are no real standards, and the different systems often can't read each other or do a lousy job of it.

Will the Amiga die?!

Lol, I still have my old Amiga 500...

As long as Micro$oft dominates the OS market, they can always force office software, internet browsers, movie / music players, whatever you can think of, to become dominant too, simply by subsidizing deficitary software until the competition goes bankrupt / has lost. As they did IOTL (MSIE vs Netscape, MS Office vs Lotus, Media Player vs. Real Player, and so on).

Max Sinister said:

As long as Micro$oft dominates the OS market, they can always force office software, internet browsers, movie / music players, whatever you can think of, to become dominant too, simply by subsidizing deficitary software until the competition goes bankrupt / has lost. As they did IOTL (MSIE vs Netscape, MS Office vs Lotus, Media Player vs. Real Player, and so on).

Click to expand...

Well...
1. Microsoft does do that, but to a much lesser extent. Media Player is almost certain, MS bundles it in OS/3 alongside Paintbrush and Notepad and all the other tools. There's also a very basic office package built-in (as in OTL OS/2) but, like the OTL OS/2 package*, it is fairly miserable and nobody outside the home market (and relatively few inside the home market) bothers to use it. There might be a bundled browser, but MS might provide multiple options (as Windows does with Internet Providers), none of which happen to be Microsoft but did pay Microsoft some $$$ to be there.
*OS/2, starting around 2.0, came with spreadsheet and database software. Neither was terribly good, and saved things in incompatible formats. Later, a Word Processor was added. I might point out that Windows 3.x came with the 'Cardfile' database, that was very poor and almost almost nobody used. The Word Processor is a lot like a slightly more functional Write or Wordpad; ie something that people may use, but would rather have a 'real' word processor.

2. This could be a mildly ASB character change for Gates. His 'big computer vision-having' is somewhat reduced to more fickle attempts which, like Bob, fail. Rather, MS has two divisions: "Money-Making Slop" (OS, Software development, a few other tools like FoxPro), and "Neat Stuff" (Games and reference stuff - Microsoft Bookshelf and Encarta among them). Microsoft focuses more on multimedia than OTL - things like Media Player, Sound Recorder, etc. still make their way into OS/3, and Microsoft goes for more tools. I might even have them buy out Adobe or Corel... making them the dominant media software provider for non-Apple PCs and perhaps Acorn as well (Commodore and Apple have their own media software, superior in quality but less compatible).

Cyrrylia said:

Will the Amiga die?!

Lol, I still have my old Amiga 500...

Click to expand...

Nope. "Commodore Amiga" is this TL's "Apple Macintosh" in terms of survivability of a non-x86 platform. They switched to RISC processors in the 1990s, and still get their 5% or so of the market.

As for other brands...

Apple has 3 series: the Performa desktops, Quadra servers, and PowerBook laptops. (a lot like OTL early 90s, but no 'Macintosh').

IBM has: Aptiva budget computers, Optima top-end computers, Netfinity servers, and Thinkpad laptops

Dell, much like OTL, has Opteron, Inspiron, Dimension, and Latitude.

Compaq has Presario for budget. Deskpro for professional, and Systempro for servers. This applies both to desktops and laptops.

The sub-brand, a development of the mid-late 1980s (IBM PS/2, Apple Macintosh and Performa, Compaq Deskpro, Commodore Amiga), is now almost as important as the brand itself in certain circles (which is why some have stuck around since the 80s - people know what a 'Deskpro' is and trust it).

Nice job, danielb1... You don't see alternate computing timelines too often, so yours is very cool...

I've also fiddles with a timeline where Commodore becomes THE firm like OTL Microsoft. VERY sketchy stuff, I only wanted to do a quick CommodoreWank/AmigaWank/WorkBenchWank

Some snippets:

In my really sketchy ATL, Commodore starts with being a strictly hardware firm, but transforms itself successfully from hardware manufacturer to software manufacturer via Amiga WorkBench; IBM PC still takes over the hardware side.

Commodore makes all the popular stuff, first C64 and Amiga with WorkBenchOS, then ditches the hardware side and concentrates on making IBM-compatible WorkBench.

I set the POD somewhere in 1985 (too late?), when Commodore starts seriously to contemplate their business model; they make the decision to concentrate on software side in the longer term, and on shorter term make their own hardware/software IBM-compatible.

In OTL March 1986 Thomas J. Rattigan replaces Marshall F. Smith as Commodore's CEO. This happens in my ATL too, but Rattigan concentrates his attention in developing the IBM-compatibility of Commodore's hardware and software. he also looks up for the right software firms to buy...

Commodore ends up bying Microsoft (in 1987? again, too late?), and the nascent Windows is fused with WorkBench; WorkBench is made x86-compatible, its sells huge amounts, and it's basically a joyride since then.

1990: WorkBench 2.5
1992: WorkBench 2.8

Commodore also notices the nascent WWW early and buys Mosaic browser, bundling it with WorkBench. In 1995, radically reprogrammed WorkBench OS 1 a.k.a "SuperBall" with the Mosaic WWW browser creates a hysteria (like Win95 in OTL).

In 1997, Commodore releases WorkBench OS 2 a.k.a "CannonBall", with Mosaic renamed as WebSurfer.

In 1999 Commodore releases WorkBench Millennium OS (3), a.k.a "RollerBall" (after the huge hit sci-fi movie of the 1970s ).

2001: WorkBench OS 4 ”ThunderBall”

2003: WorkBench OS 5 ”BuckyBall”

Apple becomes Commodore's greatest rival, but loses it's market share by still binding hardware and software together.

Universities would use IBM PC (clones) and UNIX systems.

Atari would become the greatest gaming console firm it takes over the gaming console market from Sony and Nintendo in early/mid-1990s. Nintendo was the earlier king in 1980s and early 1990s; Sony has pretty much the fate of OTL Sega.

Linux becomes the backlash against the big and mighty corporate CWB (Commodore WorkBench) in early 1990s.

So, in my ATL 2006, Commodore would rule the software world with Workbench and related applications, IBM (clones) would still rule the hardware side, Atari would rule the gaming console market with Nintendo and Sony as its rivals (Nintendo being the greater threat), Linux would come out pretty much like OTL, but this time against Commodore WorkBench OS...

(All this might not be even remotely feasible, but again, I haven't researched this stuff too much.)

Hmm... the only large problem I see with that is Commodore buying Microsoft. Its possible, I guess, after Microsoft's IPO that Commodore buys a big chunk of it, bt I don't think that Bill Gates will be interested in selling outright. More likely Commodore buys out another company with an IBM-compatible GUI (DR with GEM is a decent one - they also made ProDOS/DR DOS, an improved CP/M-86 that was mostly MS-DOS compatible and might serve as the equivalent of AmigaDOS under AmigaOS or TOS part of Atari ST's TOS/GEM. It would also be a big coup, given that GEM was the GUI used on Atari STs). Of course, that leads to a problem with Microsoft and Windows...

The other thing is that early IBM PC compatibles were remarkably bad in graphics/sound capabilities in comparison to other computers (including 8-bits like Ataris, Apples, and Commodores whose MOS 6502 series processors were snails in comparison to even an 8088). For one thing, the CGA standard sucked, it wasn't until EGA and especially VGA that PCs could do anything like decent color graphics (even Monochrome graphics sucked the first couple of years). PCs also had very poor speakers. Of course, these were all rectified by the late 80s through various add-on cards, but that's a bit after 1985 (when such machines as the Atari ST, Commodore Amiga, and even the Macintosh ran rings around the PCs in graphics - admittedly in the Mac's case it was monochrome graphics). Commodore could have developed its own systems, but they might not fly in the general market. Or would they? its possible that a Commodore graphics or sound card would work (I know for awhile Commodore owned chipmaker MOS).

Finally, a bit of an update. 1988-1990 stuff...

1988:
-Commodore drops the 128, leaving the Commodore 64 as the only non-Amiga Commodore on the market.

-Acorn computer starts selling Archemides computers in the US. They do capture a small market, especially among people who appreciate its features. However, its success isn't as much as in Europe.

-MS-DOS 4.0 is introduced. Minor upgrades to OS/2 are developed, including OS/2 1.1 (for 286 processors) and OS/2-386 1.2. OS/2's 286 incarnations largely fail in the market due to slow operations and unreliability in executing MS-DOS programs; most 16-bit x86 computers are sold with MS-DOS.

-In the largest acquisition deal so far in computer history, Apple Computer merges with Digital Research Corporation. In a complex deal, Apple's and DR's software divisions are spun off into a separate but related company, Claris. The planned DR DOS 5.0 is integrated as the kernel of the new ClarisOS (which will be released in 1989 along with the first second-generation Apple PCs). Given the availability of Concurrent DOS and Multiuser DOS, Claris starts a program on a possible multiuser network version of ClarisOS.

-Microsoft and IBM begin development of the OS/2 2.x series (to be released in 1991). There are several changes being considered; one is a new file system to be known as HPFS that eliminates the old 8.3 char filename limit (which Epson's semi-compatible IFAT - improved FAT- system already does), as well as introducing limited networking features. There will also be a vastly improved GUI, resembling more OTL Windows 3.x than the current GUI (which resembles OTL Windows 2.x). All versions will require a 386 processor or above.

1989:
-Intel introduces the 80486 processor. Compaq, Apple, and IBM quickly begin to market new processor upgrades (Compaq for the its Deskpros, Apple for its Performas and its soon-to-be-introduced Quadra series, and IBM for the top-end PS/2s, especially the new Model 75 (OTL Model 70 w/486 upgrade and 4 megs of RAM standard). Given the power of the 25 and 33 mHz processors with built-in math capabilities, few 486 computers come with MS-DOS; OS/2 is used by Compaq and IBM while Apple uses ClarisOS.

-The video game system market as of 1989 is like this:
Nintendo gets the NES through as the hit in 1985, but Atari reacts slightly quicker in re-introducing the 7800. As of 1989, its Nintendo vs. Atari but Sega is planning to get in...
Atari releases the 9900, an upgraded 7800 with double the memory and improved graphics. It allows Atari to briefly recapture the market, of course the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis are on the way...

-A small wave of low-end Japanese PC clones is released. The 'sushi boxes' don't quite capture the market, but their presence on the low end hurts the remaining non-PC cheapies - Apple IIGSes and Atari STs especially suffer from the plethora of 8086 computers with 512kb RAM, EGA graphics, and MS-DOS 4.01. They also undercut the IBM PS/2 Models 25 and 30 (though the 30 has 640k RAM standard) and the Commodore Amiga 500.
Some of the computers are actually Korean - one example being the Hyundai PC-100, cheaper than anything but a Commodore 64 but suffering from widespread derision in many respects (it had only 256k RAM, an 8088 processor, MCGA graphics, and a single 360k floppy drive - making it wildly obsolete, despite its $349 price tag). Suprisingly, the Hyundai PCs were suprisingly reliable, and the higher-end PC-500 (with more advanced features - the top-end model had 640k of RAM and outpriced 512k Japanese models) was somewhat successful.

1990:
-MS-DOS 4.1, the last official Microsoft-developed version of MS-DOS, is released.

-Intel begins to plan out a transition to a new RISC-based processor. For the time being, improved 386 and 486 products (like the DX2 and DX4) are in the making. They meet with IBM and Compaq to discuss a possible platform for systems.

-The WordPerfect corporation merges with Borland. The new, combined company is called 'Borland' but actual control is more even. The combination of WordPerfect's stellar word processor with Borland Quattro Pro and Paradox leads to the creation of a popular software package.

-Atari introduces the Lynx, a compact and portable handheld player. Atari initially captures the market, but Nintendo's Game Boy, while less technically capable, has a longer battery life and soon draws even (both are later than OTL).

-Commodore creates a re-tooled Commodore 64 with a top-loading cartridge slot, membrane keyboard, included joystick, and some expandability removed and markets it as the 'Commodore 64 Games System'.
Unlike the OTL system, it has a keyboard (albeit a very cheap membrane one), and is nearly 100% compatible with old 64 games (and unlike most systems, it can accept a disk drive and is theoretically an actual computer). It isn't a huge success, and trails Atari and Nintendo, but it does hold third place for a year (until Sega smashes ahead with the Genesis).

-There's a second video game system phase going on; the Atari vs. Nintendo price war (with Sega, Commodore, Turbografx, and soon Apple) forming the beginnings of the second golden age of video games. What is happening is the old computer system chips are becoming cheap. An NES uses the same MOS 6502 as the old Apple IIs did, after all, the Atari 9900 uses an upgraded version (the 8502), and the upcoming Super Nintendo and Apple IIgame both use the IIGS' WDG 65816.

As of 1990 and the Eighth edition of 'The Computer Book', the various computer brands:
IBM-compatible:
IBM - PS/2 series (Models 25, 30, 30/286, 45p, 50, 55SX, 60, 65p, 70, 75, 80)
Apple - Performa series, Quadra series, PowerBook series
Compaq - Deskpro series, Presario series, Portable series
Epson - QX-200 series, QX-250 series
Radio Shack - 2000 series, 3000 series
TeleVideo
Victor
Morrow
Hewlett-Packard
Kaypro - Kaypro/86, Kaypro/286, Kaypro/386
Hyundai - PC-500
Packard Bell
Acer
Dell
Gateway 2000
AST
Sanyo


Motorola 680x0 series:
Atari - ST series
Commdore Amiga - 500, 1000, 2000, 3000

RISC-based:
Acorn Archemides

Other:
Apple - IIgs (WDG 65816)
Commodore - 64 (MOS 6510)
Radio Shack - Model 100 (Intel 80C85 - to be phased out soon)

Some bits on the various systems of this world.

MS-DOS 4.1 is the last version of MS-DOS. Its a lot like OTLs MS-DOS 4.x series, except a little less problematic and with "Microsoft MS-DOS Shell", which is halfway in between OTLs DOS Shell and MS-DOS Executive (this world's Windows 1.0). Its basically a menu-driven, mouse-or-keyboard compatible windowing system with a simple "File Manager" interface and a few built-in tools like Notepad and Paintbrush (it can't be more, as it is often seen on systems with 512k of RAM or less). There's no 386-based tools like EMM386 that work with extended or upper memory; the only use for higher memory is with RAM Drives. It uses, like OTL, a version of FAT-16 allowing hard disk partitions of up to around 512 megabytes. Epson's compatible Epson-DOS has IFAT, which allows for long file names and has some database-like features but is otherwise similar.

OS/2 1.x's GUI looks like OTLs Windows 2.x; sort of halfway between DOS Shell and Windows 3.x. There's also an OS/2 command prompt and an MS-DOS prompt (used to simulate a DOS computer). The 386 versions can run the DOS prompts in a Window and can, if the computer has enough memory, even run multiple copies at once. It still uses the same FAT-16 file system of MS-DOS 4.x, with the 8.3 filename limit and 512 megabyte partitions (not that anyone cares much; 120 megabyte hard disks are still on the high end in 1990; most 'standard' computers like a PS/2 Model 50 ship with a 40 or 50 megabyte model). OS/2's 1.x series is compatible with up to 16 megabytes of RAM, like ClarisOS and unlike MS-DOS.

1991 will see the release of OS/2 2.0. Its GUI looks a lot like Windows 3.0. It is for 386 or better processors, and requires at least 2 megabytes of RAM (though you'll really want at least 4, preferably 8). It can use FAT or HPFS file systems, HPFS having some networking capability and also allows for 64-character file names. Its DOS capability is similar to 1.x-386 versions, but a bit better. More hardware is supported, although it isn't exactly 'plug-and-play'. HPFS, as of 1991, supports hard disk partitions of a whopping 64 gigabytes, and OS/2 supports an even more whopping 4 gigabytes of RAM (given that the biggest hard disks are still in the hundreds of megabytes, and few computers have even 16 megabytes of RAM, that's a lot - no future version of OS/2 changes that a bit). The system crawls very badly on a minimum-spec 16 mHz 386SX with 2 megabytes of RAM; but its quite fast on a 33 mHz 486 with 8 megabytes.

ClarisOS outwardly resembles Macintosh System 6, except that you can switch over to a DOS-like command prompt (which is really DR-DOS). Its filesystem is roughly FAT-like but has many features of OTLs HFS and other Mac file systems, like long file names. A multiuser version is available, and is quickly replacing the short-lived A/UX.

The Atari ST uses TOS, an operating system using GEM as a GUI. Unlike OTL, Apple doesn't successfully sue DR over GEM (and they merged instead), and thus TOS is a more functional system than OTL. On the other hand, Claris is refusing to update GEM any further, so the Atari corporation is looking towards swapping GEM with GEOS or DesqView (which IBM is dropping with the success of OS/2), developing their own GUI, or possibly dropping out altogether.

UNIX systems are out there and, as OTL, a young Finnish college student named Linus Torvalds is looking into writing an open-source UNIX-like system...

One of the best original timelines I've read in awhile. Keep it up!

Will Nintendo survive this brave new world? (Big SNES fan btw )

wallwriter said:

One of the best original timelines I've read in awhile. Keep it up!

Will Nintendo survive this brave new world? (Big SNES fan btw )

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Yes. Nintendo won't do much worse than OTL. There's quite a bit more competition, though, especially in the 1990s which are the second computer game boom. I was thinking about there being as many as 6 major video game manufacturers in the mid-1990s:

Nintendo: with the Super Nintendo, Super Nintendo CD (from Sony, thus no PlayStation), Nintendo 64, and Game Boys
Sega; Genesis, Saturn, Game Gear, and Nomad
Atari: Jaguar, Puma, 7800/9900, and Lynx
Commodore: Amiga 32CD
Apple: Pippin, IIgame
Turbografx: Turbografx-16, Turbografx-32

Sometime in the late 1990s or early 2000s, there's a medium-size crash, Turbografx goes out of business (maybe their corpse is bought by Microsoft who uses it as a basis for an alt-xBox), and Commodore and Apple leave the Game market (though Apple may return).

For some reason (namely a brain fart by me), real 16-bit game systems like the Genesis and Super Nintendo came about a year later than OTL.

The Nintendo 64 will be CD-based; think N64 graphics and controller with a Playstation's CD drive. The Wii-equivalent might even have the PS3's Blu-Ray, although I don't know. Man, that would be a cool system, expensive though...

The "Atari Puma" of about 1997 is essentially everything about the Jaguar doubled - 32 bit processor with 64-bit main graphics and some 128-bit bits, about double the memory, etc. The 32-bit revolution is spread out more in this TL, the early efforts didn't fail so badly - Atari Jaguar in 1993, Amiga 32CD in 1994, the Sega Saturn and Turbografx-32 of 1995, the Nintendo 64 and Apple Pippin of 1996, and last the Atari Puma of 1997.

As for games? I'm not sure. Super Mario Bros, Legend of Zelda, Sonic the Hedghog, Doom, and SimCity all exist as OTL. Some games won't be; the Jaguar will have better games than OTL, for example (I'm thinking SimCity 2000 will have an Atari Jaguar version, if nothing else). Pokemon may or may not be big, I dunno. Possibly different Japanese stuff comes here instead.

danielb1 said:

As for games? I'm not sure. Super Mario Bros, Legend of Zelda, Sonic the Hedghog, Doom, and SimCity all exist as OTL. Some games won't be; the Jaguar will have better games than OTL, for example (I'm thinking SimCity 2000 will have an Atari Jaguar version, if nothing else). Pokemon may or may not be big, I dunno. Possibly different Japanese stuff comes here instead.

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Have one of the ATL platforms take games from a different national heritage, like European adventure games / "interactive movies", or something a bit more left field.

Justin Pickard said:

Have one of the ATL platforms take games from a different national heritage, like European adventure games / "interactive movies", or something a bit more left field.

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Possible. In OTL the Amiga 32CD sold much better in Europe than in the US, for example. Also, a lot of those early CD-based game systems had slow CD-ROM drives; perfect for media-rich but slow-playing games like Myst. So, I'd expect games like that to do well on that system - I can see Myst and its brethren being flagship games for the 32CD and the CD-based versions of the Super Nintendo and Genesis.

danielb1 said:

Possible. In OTL the Amiga 32CD sold much better in Europe than in the US, for example. Also, a lot of those early CD-based game systems had slow CD-ROM drives; perfect for media-rich but slow-playing games like Myst. So, I'd expect games like that to do well on that system - I can see Myst and its brethren being flagship games for the 32CD and the CD-based versions of the Super Nintendo and Genesis.

Click to expand...

Cool. Really enjoying this, btw, even though I probably only understand about half of it.

Justin Pickard said:

Cool. Really enjoying this, btw, even though I probably only understand about half of it.

Click to expand...

Heck, I'm not sure if I understand everything that well.

One mistake I made: in OTL Microsoft was already calling its proposed GUI "Windows" in late 1983, before my 1984 multiPOD.

I guess a slight modification would be that "Windows" is the stand-alone product, and "MS-DOS Executive" is just the stripped-out version that becomes MS-DOS 4.x's shell (or that is simply DOS Shell and "MS-DOS Executive" is, as OTL, the equivalent of File Manager or Program Manager).

Another, possible mistake: In OTL Apple II sold the IIe well into the 1990s, even after the IIGS was cancelled; there isn't an especially compelling reason it would be too different in this TL (other than, perhaps, Apple making cheaper PC-based products - but that would affect the IIGS even more). I could handwave this and say the IIe was just taken out of US computer stores and it was still sold for educational purposes and in foreign markets.

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One thing that's fascinated me is the possibility of cheap computers for the Third World. Maybe Commodore makes a deal to build 64s in India? The 64 lasted as long as it did because it was so cheap to make and sell - by the time it was cancelled in OTL, the disk drive was more expensive than the computer!

Another thing thats got me wondering: low-end kit computers. OTL, the only one of real fame (after the very early models like the Altair) was Yugoslavia's Galaksija. Could more of these kits be sold? Perhaps alt-politics can effect the computer market; Yugoslavia not collapsing (and maybe becoming a unified democracy, difficult though that might be!) might make the Galaksija and possible successors more famous and widespread as a hobby that future Computer Engineers would go gaga over.