That is explained nicely in The Innovator's Dilemma http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disruptive_technology http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disruptive_technology. The

That is explained nicely in The Innovator's Dilemma http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disruptive_technology http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disruptive_technology. The personal computer wasn't powerful enough to compete against the computers made by large companies and didn't have a big enough (profitable enough) market to interest large companies. Big companies asked their existing customers what they wanted and they all said "bigger, faster computers." None of them wanted smaller, less capable computers. Woz built the personal computer to scratch his own itch, but it created a new market, a market the big companies didn't have a clue existed (even Woz was surprised). Big companies are entirely rational in this... they are maximizing their profits and listening to their customers. What they miss is new customers, niche markets that grow into major markets, resegmented markets...