alternatehistory.com

Very rough. I do have background into how it all leads up, but this is more or less how it shakes out in a non-Windows/x86 dominated world. The key POD is further back, but butterflies result in no IBM clones and hence no MS-DOS dominance.

Commodore plays their hand better with a better CEO and merge with Sun. Apple plays their hand differently (sometimes better) with a different CEO. IBM chooses to build a larger non-Windows presence. Japanese companies get involved for various reasons: chip designers/fabrication, console systems, need for an OS that works with Kanji as Windows did but poorly, etc….

Feel free to tear it apart.

Company / OS / CPU

  • Sony & NeXT / NextStep / ENGINE & ElementEngine.
    Sony wants to develop computers, but considers Windows unacceptable in its Kanji performance. They therefore approach NeXT about semi-exclusively licensing NextStep for in the early '90s, and the struggling NeXT accepts as long as OpenStep remains independent. At the same time Sony has an idea for future advanced chip design, and approaches a number of Japanese companies, eventually lining up Toshiba and NEC to work on a new RISC design. Specifically built for media functions the ENGINE architecture is a high bandwidth streaming design with optional extended cache and coprocessor in order to better perform integer operations. It's similar to the Emotion Engine.
  • Toshiba / NextStep / ENGINE & ElementEngine.
    They join Sony in designing a new CPU architecture and also obtain a license for NextStep.
  • Hiatchi / NextStep / ENGINE & ElementEngine.
    Hitachi saw an opportunity to partner with Toshiba & Sony, save resources by not developing their planned SuperH design, and obtain an operating system.
  • Nintendo / none / ElementEngine.
    Nintendo is something of an outsider, relying on Sony technology for their consoles and returning the favour via the software needed for their games to run on NextStep/ElementEngine computers natively.


  • Apple / Pink / 68k --> PowerAlpha & x86
    Apple considers porting MacOS to Intel's x86, but decides against it. Instead they work with IBM, AMD, and Hitachi on the PowerAlpha architecture and port MacOS to that. Meanwhile they also develop Pink to run on both PowerAlpha and x86, as well as designing it to make it easy to switch to other chip architectures. As part of a wider strategic direction change they license Pink to their PowerAlpha partners as well as Compaq (via AMD). For use in the Newton they buy a controlling stake in ARM which also secures them a place at the chip design table.
  • IBM / Pink & Windows / x86 --> PowerAlpha & x86
    Bothered by their dependence on both Intel and Microsoft, IBM and Apple enter talks about licensing Apple's Pink to IBM and for IBM to develop a POWER derivative for the desktop/embedded market. IBM enters talks with several processor design companies in order to broaden the market for their new chip. AMD, having just bought DEC's chip design group to work on an internal x86 chip instead turns them towards IBM and POWER: AMD helps so much so it winds up being called PowerAlpha. NEC, in the early stages of working on their next-gen architecture, also joins in. In return both NEC and AMD get Apple Pink licences, although AMD (with Apple's permission) sells theirs to Compaq.
    Being a large diversified company IBM uses both Windows and Pink; POWER, PowerAlpha, and x86.
  • Panasonic / Pink / PowerAlpha
    With their purchase of Sega Panasonic becomes involved in this consortium, as part of a broader competition with Sony.
  • Sega / none / PowerAlpha
    Needing a CPU and with Hitachi moving closer with Nintendo & Sony essentially led Sega into relations with them. However at the beginning they are not otherwise involved and Sega console games do not natively play on Pink/PowerAlpha systems. With their purchase by Panasonic, Sega's games (in return for a Pink license) become playable on Pink PowerAlpha or x86 computers that can handle them. However Sega continues their porting tradition to Windows as it also uses x86.
  • AMD / none / Alpha & PowerAlpha & x86
    AMD is happy to have two different chips to work on, especially because they're close to IBM and (with ex-DEC designers) a major force in developing PowerAlpha. As with IBM and POWER, they retain the Alpha chip itself for servers and workstations.
  • Compaq / Windows & Pink / x86
    Compaq buys AMD's Pink license so they're not forced to rely on Microsoft's Windows. However they remain with Intel's x86, as Pink supports both x86 and PowerAlpha.
  • Sun Commodore / AmigaOS & SunOS --> Solaris / SPARC & 68k --> SPARC & SparcLite
    After buying Atari (to consolidate the low-end of the market) and Amiga (for their hardware design) in 1984 Commodore releases the highly successful Amiga computer in early '85, fighting the Apple Macintosh to a draw. With Jean-Louis Gassée taking over as CEO in 1985, Commodore aggressively moves on hardware and software—the Commodore 74 on the low-end and the Amiga on the higher end. By 1986, seeing the success of Nintendo, Gassée decides to release a new game console (the Atari 7800 having been cancelled) and make their computer line-up to run console games. The Atari 74 (1986), based on the C74 minus monitor and keyboard was quite successful, running a close third in America, and second in Europe (although non-existent in Japan). Commodore International, however, remained a fairly small company with uncertainity about their operating system and future CPU direction. Gassée entered into talks with Sun, who possess both a CPU in SPARC and an operating system in SunOS.
    Sun and Commodore merge, Jean-Louis Gassée takes over the Amiga, Solaris, and software development. Atari and Atari Studios operate in a fairly independent fashion, although they collabrate with the hardware teams of Sun Commodore as part of their work on the next-generation video game console. Sun works with Motorola on a desktop/embedded chip (SparcLite), they also put together a broader chip collaboration on the SPARC architecture with Fujitsu, Texas Instruments, and NEC.
    (Logo is the Commodore symbol with the word Sun in vertical letters in front of it.)
  • Atari / none / SparcLite
    Wholly owned subsidiary of Sun Commodore, Atari (like Nintendo) is basically at the periphery of the main grouping. All games for the Atari Panther (and later systems) run natively on Solaris/SparcLite computers that meet the performance requirements.
  • NEC / Solaris / SPARC & SparcLite
    They join in designing a new CPU architecture and also obtain a license for Solaris.
  • Fujitsu / Solaris / SPARC & SparcLite
    A long time SPARC user, Fujitsu secures a Solaris license in return for a formalized Sun-Fujitsu-TI-NEC partnership on the architecture.
  • Texas Instruments / Solaris / SPARC & SparcLite
    With a shorter price war between Atari and Commodore in '83, TI survives in the personal computer market with odds and ends. They languish without an OS and exit the market. However Sun Commodore offers them stake in SPARC (to join with Fujitsu & NEC on future design) in the early '90s as well as a license for Solaris.
  • Motorola / Solaris / 68k --> SparcLite
    Concerned about their own future CPU development, and with 68k hitting design limits, Motorola's close relationship with Commodore leads them to working with Sun when the two companies become Sun Commodore. Motorola also sees this as their opportunity to sell desktop computers, as Apple consistently refuses to license MacOS to them and by the time they change direction Motorola has jumped.
  • Others / Windows / x86
    Other computer manufactures use Windows and x86 from Intel or AMD. Dell and HP are the leading Windows-only vendors, with Compaq and IBM (both also using Pink) as the third and fourth of the big Windows vendors.


Intel and Windows, of course, remain big dogs but in this timeline a) IBM is fighting it out in the desktop space with PowerAlpha and has more support than with PowerPC particularly with clones b) the Japanese staffed up with odds and ends put together a credible association, and c) Texas Instruments decided to get back in the OS arena and their fabs and new close relationship with Sun and Fujitsu have brought a number of top chip designers to Sun.


On the PDA/smartphone front:
Apple goes ahead with the Newton, Sony buys Palm (because they were using it for ATL Clié), and Commodore picks up General Magic.

As IOTL Microsoft makes a Windows Mobile operating system.


There. Three allied consortiums based around a common CPU and OS design, plus a software vendor Microsoft (who, incidentally, makes their other programs such as Office for all platforms, Office is roughly as dominant as IOTL), plus Windows/x86 hardware companies, and so forth.


Essentially this should drive OS development, as it didn't OTL once Windows 95 came out until OS X started picking up in 2003 or so.

It should also broadly drive CPU development, with Intel not facing just AMD and Motorola/IBM for desktops. Intel will probably develop both server and embedded chips earlier as well.

Finally Newton plus Palm & General Magic with major resources should drive the pocket computer (PDA) market and perhaps lead to earlier cellular data networks and WiFi as well as generally better developed cell networks and perhaps even earlier broadband.


My main concern, then, is plausibility. If Windows is not dominant and propping up/propped up by Intel x86 are three separate CPU/OS groupings workable?

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ETA:
I've also given some thought to alternatives. Perhaps Sony designs computers based on consoles (i.e. Nintendo) and audio decks—which does let me call computers "decks" in the ATL, cyberpunk style—and from a purchase of Palm develops your home "deck" which resembles a PS3 + keyboard, attached to an iPhone kinda device.

Or Sony buys Commodore. Or Sun & Apple merge. Or Or Or. I've given this lots of thought, actually, and I'm still not sure.

ETA2: Oh, and Sony owns with the Minidisc. It's in the Nintendo CD (for the SNES), the Minidisc-II in the Ultra Nintendo (née N64), they rapidly take over disks and cassettes, locks out Zip/CD-R/CD-RW, is the de facto portable audio standard all the way until flash memory gets big (portable HDD = failure), and is just basically awesome. So much so that HD-MD with a 4 GB capacity is the ATL version of DVD (VMD), and Blu-MDs are this TL's version of Blu-Ray. Why? Because MDs were cool.

ETA3 (lots of edit tonight. Chalk up to the late hour, and being somewhat drunk):
Yes. The Minidisc has reasons behind its success in the ATL. But, overall, I just love them.
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