Best computer brand of all time!

[alexkerhead]

Please choose one option, if your favorite is not in here, please choose the best in your opinion from the list.

 

[Erik]

An interesting question, but since you said "of all time" I have to vote IBM. From the 1880 census on forward they have been a dominant player often setting the pace in information technology. Nobody else can lay that claim.

 

[tgunner]

I voted IBM, the world would not be as it is now if it hadn't been for their early main-frames, and later PC's, which also sparked a generation of IBM-clones, bringing us to where we are now.

 

[alexkerhead]

Interesting outcome so far, keep voting folks. ^_^

 

[CP/M User]

alexkerhead wrote:

> Please choose one option, if your favorite is not in
> here, please choose the best in your opinion from the
> list.

I'd have to say my ol' faitful Amstrad - though I'm appauled
you've got IBM, Atari/Inforgrammes & Commodore in your list &
left Amstrad off - the only thing I could list there is an
Texas Instruments (I like their 99/4a machine).

CP/M User.

 

[NathanAllan]

An interesting question, but since you said "of all time" I have to vote IBM. From the 1880 census on forward they have been a dominant player often setting the pace in information technology. Nobody else can lay that claim.

For me it was a toss up with apple, commodore and atari, and atari won cause of the Falcon and the ST's. I'll give IBM plenty of points, but if it weren't for the competetion that my Big Three gave them they may have done things differently.

 

[creepingnet]

IBM definatley, they changed the industry to what it is now, and their computers have alwasy been rather well made and very reliable.

 

[atari2600a]

An interesting question, but since you said "of all time" I have to vote IBM. From the 1880 census on forward they have been a dominant player often setting the pace in information technology. Nobody else can lay that claim.

Sure it's not because your father worked there?

I voted for Atari. Hooray Atari 800!

 

[alexkerhead]

alexkerhead wrote:

> Please choose one option, if your favorite is not in
> here, please choose the best in your opinion from the
> list.

I'd have to say my ol' faitful Amstrad - though I'm appauled
you've got IBM, Atari/Inforgrammes & Commodore in your list &
left Amstrad off - the only thing I could list there is an
Texas Instruments (I like their 99/4a machine).

CP/M User.

I could only choose 10 brands(10 poll options), and Amstrad was not popular enough to be in the list.

 

[spencersamueldodson]

I say Apple, but with Silicon Graphics, Inc. coming in 2nd.

 

[CP/M User]

alexkerhead wrote:

> I could only choose 10 brands(10 poll options), and
> Amstrad was not popular enough to be in the list.

Perhaps the results are somewhat bias - well it's guess it's
not as bad as running your favourite machine studies on a site
which is purely based around a particular.

Amstrad were perhaps better known for their PCW based machines
in the US, CPCs were produced there - which is where the
problem is. I mean to run a survey about any machine could be
a big problem because in different parts of the world -
slightly different machines are found.

I don't see Atari as popular -anymore-. I'm heading this
boycott due to their treatment towards myself & their machines
as well as their honesty to do business.

CP/M User.

 

[alexkerhead]

alexkerhead wrote:

> I could only choose 10 brands(10 poll options), and
> Amstrad was not popular enough to be in the list.

Perhaps the results are somewhat bias - well it's guess it's
not as bad as running your favourite machine studies on a site
which is purely based around a particular.

Amstrad were perhaps better known for their PCW based machines
in the US, CPCs were produced there - which is where the
problem is. I mean to run a survey about any machine could be
a big problem because in different parts of the world -
slightly different machines are found.

I don't see Atari as popular -anymore-. I'm heading this
boycott due to their treatment towards myself & their machines
as well as their honesty to do business.

CP/M User.

Do you argue about everything?
Point: Amstrad isn't popular enough WORLDWIDE to add to a poll like this, they didn't leave any legacy or have any large fan following. The brands I chose DO HAVE LARGE FAN FOLLOWINGS.
I am not being biased, I don't have a MITS, IMSAI, or atari, but they are still in the list because of their huge fan following.
Amstrad lacks worldwide praise and legacy. Just like Acorn Computers, they made tons of units, but they left no legacy and have little fan following.

 

[dongfeng]

I voted IBM, their influence in the 1980's took the world where it is now in regard to IT. If there was a second vote allowed on the poll I'd put Apple.

Regarding Amstrad, I love my CPC6128, but I don't think Amstrad where influencial or innovative enough to take my vote from any of the others.

 

[CP/M User]

alexkerhead wrote:

> Do you argue about everything?

Yeah unfortunately since I've been learning about "being fair"
over the last couple of years this topic seems to stand out.

> Point: Amstrad isn't popular enough WORLDWIDE to add
> to a poll like this, they didn't leave any legacy or
> have any large fan following. The brands I chose DO
> HAVE LARGE FAN FOLLOWINGS.

True, however this topic has been called "Best computer brand
of all time!"

> I am not being biased, I don't have a MITS, IMSAI, or
> atari, but they are still in the list because of
> their huge fan following.

Fraid so - I refer you to the name of the topic. Plus to the
limited selection.

> Amstrad lacks worldwide praise and legacy. Just like
> Acorn Computers, they made tons of units, but they
> left no legacy and have little fan following.

I disagree strongly on the point that Amstrad had little fan
following, upto this day those CPC based machines have had a
following - just like your Commodores - sure Commodore might
of sold more on the world market, though while lots of people
have moved on - people do that as well.

My dispute with this topic is the name of the topic - I mean
it could be renamed to "Best Computer Brand in the US" - that
way at least you exclude the machines from other regions -
still maybe bias - but at least it's reduced. The other way -
which would involve some dramatic changes to the Forum (lots
of work otherwise) is having it under Regional Discussions (I
mean that's what your emphasising) - but to change it you'd
have to post it in the 5 US regions that are currently there -
no you'd have to setup a new area which would cover the entire
US & have the regions put into that like this:-

Regional Discussions
|
|-> US
|---|
|---|->North
|---|->South
|---|->East
|---|->West

Or whatever their called!

The other fair way concerns the Poll - it's limited like you
said - to 10 Computer Manufacturers - not exactly fair. The
best way - if you really wanted the World to have it's say on
it, is to create a tally system & have people saying what
their favourite system of all time. After a certain period you
close your poll & tally up the votes. Anyone could say
anything they want that way - seems fair! :-D

Also I'd hate to say this to you, but consider the fact that
one of those other systems wasn't released anywhere but the US
- well maybe not in this case - though I wouldn't want to say
that all those machines were sold here in Oz. or the mother
country - UK.

I'm not trying to make you look silly - or pick on your
country, I just feel with a little bit more planning it could
be fair.

CP/M User.

 

[creepingnet]

I said IBM for the following reasons (did not have time to post, just upgraded Windows today).

- Started making office tools in teh 1880's, so they'd been in the industry awhile, making other now collectable items for IBM officianados even back then.

- Created the UNIVAC or something like it if I recall, one of those huge analog vaccum tube powered computers that took up a whole room and made that room hot as the tropics

- Made their biggest and still undenyable impact with the IBM PC 5150 in 1981, which everybody started to clone and copy to some extent in the 80's, it lead to what the computers are now....

- Because of said PC, Microsoft became the great monopoly it is today, with the most popular operating system, Microsoft Windows XP, which was based off NT, which used bits of a joint project with IBM called OS/2

- Even now still continue to be a popular choice for Servers, I've seen plenty of them in use in passing, the IBM RS/6000 is still very popular in some places, as was the IBM 370 mainframe.

Just that much alone is enough for consideration to me.

 

[mbbrutman]

The IBM employee votes for IBM. The list of contributions to computing for over a 100 years is impossible by anybody to match, except probably for the people who invented numbers and index cards.

That being said, the poll might be more interesting if it were worded differently. There are popular computer brands, innovative computer brands, etc. If you just say 'the best of all time' then IBM has to win .. it's not much of a poll.

If the arena is personal computers, perhaps the poll options would be:

- Best overall personal computer.
- Most innovative personal computer.
- Most market impact.
- The 'ahead of it's time' award. (Which is not a good thing.)
- etc.

A poll like that leaves room for discussion ..

 

[carlsson]

But can you say that IBM all since 1880 has worked with (forerunners) to computer technology, or did they enter this new field of technology somewhere in the 1950's or so? For being so leading in the field of computing, it took them a surprisingly long time to enter the personal computer segment. Smaller, younger companies as Altair, Apple, Atari, Commodore, Texas Instruments etc were more brave in that respect. Perhaps they didn't have as much to lose if personal/home computing would become a flop as a big, well-reputated company as IBM.

 

[bbcmicro]

just like Acorn Computers, they made tons of units, but they left no legacy and have little fan following.

Being honestly unbaised, that applies worldwide, but BBCs, RISC-PCs, Archimedes and Electrons have a huge following in the UK.

If this thread was entitled "Which computer brand was the most revolutionary", or "Had the biggest impact" I would have voted IBM, or maybe Altair if the choice was given, or IMSAI. As this is for the best computer brand, and I assume that is meant to mean the quality of their machines, I voted Apple.

 

[mbbrutman]

Smaller, younger companies as Altair, Apple, Atari, Commodore, Texas Instruments etc were more brave in that respect. Perhaps they didn't have as much to lose if personal/home computing would become a flop as a big, well-reputated company as IBM.

More brave? No. The 'B' in IBM stands for 'business', and most of those early personal computers were not suitable for business use. IBM wasn't in the market because it was a hobbyist market, not a business market. The Apple ][ came to closest to being usable for business with an 80 column card and Visicalc. Word processing was nearly non-existant back then because of the limited memory sizes, but spreadsheets were a very good use of the available hardware.

IBM entered the market after Apple showed the potential for a personal computer to be used in a business environment. The design of the PC reflects that; it was physically larger, better constructed, and the hardware/software architecture was better thought out, reflecting IBM's design expertise on other larger systems. The PC wasn't introduced as a home hobbyist machine - it was introduced as a business tool. Home adoption came later.

Here is yet another innovation from IBM that affected personal computers greatly .. the floppy disk.

 

[Erik]

Additional IBM introduced their first PC in 1975, about the same time MITS was rolling out ads for the Altair.

Sure, the IBM unit cost a lot more, but it was also far more capable than anything released by anyone else for several more years.

Look up the IBM 5100 when you've got a chance. . .