Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!helios.ee.lbl.gov!pasteur!ucbvax!decwrl!purdue!i.cc.purdue.edu!j.cc.purdue.edu!pur-ee!uiucdcs!uxc.cso.uiuc.edu!clio!berger From: berger@clio.las.uiuc.edu Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc Subject: Re: GATHER and say NO to MCA! Message-ID: <16800312@clio> Date: 27 Jun 88 20:24:00 GMT References: <42900016@uicsrd.csrd.uiuc.edu> Lines: 22 Nf-ID: #R:uicsrd.csrd.uiuc.edu:42900016:clio:16800312:000:1035 Nf-From: clio.las.uiuc.edu!berger Jun 27 15:24:00 1988 I'm amazed to see somebody try to make a case for AVOIDING standards in this day and age. The worst problem with the original PC architecture was that IBM's extraordinarily slow implementation of basic ms-dos features forced software writers to put hardware-specific code into their programs. This turned all the superior low-cost competitors to the PC into orphans and doomed them to a premature death. Unfortunately, the vast majority of PC type software on the market still carries large amounts of hardware-specific code, necessitating hardware- compatible clones. The taiwanese manufacturers are capable these days of engineering a functional competitor for the PS-2 line, but how will they convince all the software publishers to make generic versions of the programs they've been selling with hardware-specific code for 5 or more years? Mike Berger Department of Statistics Science, Technology, and Society University of Illinois berger@clio.las.uiuc.edu {ihnp4 | convex | pur-ee}!uiucuxc!clio!berger