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2022-08-26
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u<t0>
This was never proven, but it
became part of the folklore of the mid
80's. At the time, it seemed that
whenever Microsoft released a new
version of MS-DOS, applications from
other companies never worked right
again, while Microsoft's programs did
fine. Some years later, while
battleing Netscape in the "Browser
Wars", Microsoft removed most of
Netscape's source of revenue by
bundling Internet Explorer for free
with the Windows operating system.
Some people called this a normal
business strategy. Others argued that
Microsoft was brandishing its
monopolistic power.
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Softdisk Publishing launched a new
disk magazine in 1984 for the C-64.
A contest winner camed up with the
name LOADSTAR -- since LOAD"*",8,1
would load and run the issue. Of the
many different disk periodicals
Softdisk published, only LOADSTAR
continued for over 20 years, becoming
the longest running computer magazine
in history. (Someone needs to contact
Guinness Book of World Records, eh?)
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Commodore Business Machines
announced the C-128, which included
an 80 column screen, 128 KB of memory,
and extended BASIC 7.0. Also on-board
was a fully compatible C-64 and a Z-80
CP/M operating system.
Berkley Softworks introduced GEOS,
a Graphic User Interface operating
system for the C-64, giving it much of
the look and feel of Windows or the
Mac. However, full productivity had to
wait for disk and CPU accellerators
and larger disk capacities.
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In August, CBM purchased Amiga
Corporation. This was the beginning of
the end of manufacturer support for
the 8-bit computers.
It was also the last gasp of the
proprietary computer -- machines
designed to exploit particular ideas
and technology. Creativity in design
would soon gave way to compatibility.
And then the personal computer was
ready for the masses.
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History never stops. Though the
Mac made a valiant come-back, the IBM-
type PC, driven by Windows, has
totally dominated the home computer
market. Moore's Law -- that component
density (and thus, processing speed
and memory access) doubles every 18-
24 months -- has held true.
With the arrival of the Internet,
home computing has taken on a whole
new personality, with instant
information, obnoxious advertising,
and vicious viruses adding to the
world of cybernetics.
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