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Probably because it was aimed at business and IBM knew many of their customers would like to use something besides BASIC. So a separate minimal OS and developm
by digisign 5y ago
Probably because it was aimed at business and IBM knew many of their customers would like to use something besides BASIC. So a separate minimal OS and development environments made more sense.
- indymike 5y agoIBM didn't know what to do (no one really did), so you could boot to DOS or you could boot to PC-BASIC. The PC even supported boot to BASIC and load from cassette like a $300 home computer. Crazy times.
- digisign 5y agoIBM had been established for decades before the PC, also the PC in general was established for years before their entry. I think they knew what to do. It was a bit of a gamble, sure. And you can make the argument they guessed wrong. But the success of the PC and subsequent crushing of the rest of the industry was incredibly successful. The flexible design did catch on, simultaneously a blessing and a curse to IBM.