> I honestly think it was less any type of Wintel conspiracy and more that platforms have network effects. True. I've always regarded "Wintel" as more descript

> I honestly think it was less any type of Wintel conspiracy and more that platforms have network effects. True. I've always regarded "Wintel" as more descriptive than accusatory. It's just a handy shorthand to refer to one specific monoculture. > Between Palladium not working out and Microsoft actually making Windows NT for some RISC ISA's, there wasn't actually an Intel/Microsoft conspiracy to dominate the industry together. Right. They both happened to rise and converge, and it's humanity's need to see patterns which turns that into a conspiracy to take over the world. They both owe IBM a huge debt, and IBM did what it did with no intention of being knocked down by the companies it did business with.