Early in the PC revolution there were several companies making "almost" compatible PCs. For example the DEC Rainbow was one of these. Even IBM tried to go it al

Early in the PC revolution there were several companies making "almost" compatible PCs. For example the DEC Rainbow was one of these. Even IBM tried to go it alone with their incompatible PS/2 and Microchannel bus. These companies tried to make sure that PC/DOS software would run but that they owned the hardware market exclusively. They all failed--they were all rejected by the customers. Shortly thereafter the market was inundated with white box PCs. This change reduced the margins on PCs to such an extent that it remade the PC market again. The rise of Dell was part of this process. The only way to beat the local white box supplier was to have superior supply chain logistics which is what Dell brought to the market. By this time, the requirement for compatible hardware was so ingrained there wasn't even a discussion if it was possible to go off on your own--unless your name was Apple.