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The Model I TRS-80 (1977-1981) was the inexpensive computer of the proletariat. Schools and the well-off went with the Apple II. Then Radio Shack came out wit

by pravda 14y ago

The Model I TRS-80 (1977-1981) was the inexpensive computer of the proletariat. Schools and the well-off went with the Apple II. Then Radio Shack came out with the later TRS-80 models (as pictured) attempting to move into the business market. Never got traction. The IBM PC was the serious business computer. I don't think you could say it was superseded by the Mac. The Mac was for artist types and relatively expensive. Then the PC clones came along and the Mac was marginalized.

ido 14y ago
The IBM PC was the serious business computer. I don't think you could say it was superseded by the Mac. The Mac was for artist types and relatively expensive. Yes, I think that is a serious overstatement. I've never even seen a mac before I got my first job when I was 18 (in 2001) but everyone had PCs (I/my parents had a clone since 1987).
- bane 14y ago
  It's not surprising as I don't think Macs have ever owned more than about 10% of the market.
kator 14y ago
The IBM PC was the serious business computer. IBM PC's lost of TRS-80 Model 16's all the time until ethernet came along. Remember multi-user SMB customers needed to have multiple people working on the same systems. IBM PC's were stand alone for quite some time. We had many "bake offs" between Model 16's and a couple of IBM PC's with arcnet or other hodge-podge solutions and win most of the time. When you have an office with 8 people in it and 4 people need to get into A/R and several need access to G/L for financials the TRS-80 Model 16's with Xenix (UNIX) were great solutions. I don't say this as a FanBoi I say it as someone who was there and sold and supported them for a long time. What Tandy failed to do was understand the shift in the market to networked systems and they died almost over night when IBM PC's became more affordable AND networked with reasonable software allowing multiple people to work on the same stuff.
wyclif 14y ago
This is exactly spot on. I was of that generation and I remember it fondly. The only people we knew who had Apple IIs were rich kids. This was just a fact; at that time it was too early for there to be any real fanboyism yet. We couldn't even afford PCs. So it was TRS-80 and Commodore 64 for us all the way (my paper route money financed the TRS-80, the Commodore, Atari, &c. were generous Christmas gifts).

by pravda 14y ago

ido 14y ago

The IBM PC was the serious business computer. I don't think you could say it was superseded by the Mac. The Mac was for artist types and relatively expensive. Yes, I think that is a serious overstatement. I've never even seen a mac before I got my first job when I was 18 (in 2001) but everyone had PCs (I/my parents had a clone since 1987).

bane 14y ago
It's not surprising as I don't think Macs have ever owned more than about 10% of the market.

kator 14y ago

The IBM PC was the serious business computer. IBM PC's lost of TRS-80 Model 16's all the time until ethernet came along. Remember multi-user SMB customers needed to have multiple people working on the same systems. IBM PC's were stand alone for quite some time. We had many "bake offs" between Model 16's and a couple of IBM PC's with arcnet or other hodge-podge solutions and win most of the time. When you have an office with 8 people in it and 4 people need to get into A/R and several need access to G/L for financials the TRS-80 Model 16's with Xenix (UNIX) were great solutions. I don't say this as a FanBoi I say it as someone who was there and sold and supported them for a long time. What Tandy failed to do was understand the shift in the market to networked systems and they died almost over night when IBM PC's became more affordable AND networked with reasonable software allowing multiple people to work on the same stuff.

wyclif 14y ago

This is exactly spot on. I was of that generation and I remember it fondly. The only people we knew who had Apple IIs were rich kids. This was just a fact; at that time it was too early for there to be any real fanboyism yet. We couldn't even afford PCs. So it was TRS-80 and Commodore 64 for us all the way (my paper route money financed the TRS-80, the Commodore, Atari, &c. were generous Christmas gifts).