Transcriber’s Note:
Foonotes have been resequenced to be unique within the text. They have been collected at the end of the text, and are linked for ease of reference.
Minor errors, attributable to the printer, have been corrected. Please see the transcriber’s [note] at the end of this text for details regarding the handling of any textual issues encountered during its preparation.
The cover image has been created, based on title page information, and is added to the public domain.
“David Rothman’s SILICON JUNGLE is an aphrodisiac for anyone interested in the computer revolution. There is a real sense of self-liberation for the reader, in whose mind the dawn lights up the incredible, awful, wonderful reach of the little computer chip.”
William F. Buckley, Jr.
“Everything you’ve always wanted to know about computers but were afraid to ask for fear of not getting a straight answer in plain English. David Rothman is Indiana Jones, guiding us through the hype, hardware, software, and confusing jargon of THE SILICON JUNGLE.”
Bettina Gregory
ABC News Correspondent
and IBM PCXT owner
“David Rothman’s SILICON JUNGLE is an inspired, fast-paced, often maniacal view of today’s microcomputer scene. While laced with hard facts, Rothman’s anecdotal style makes the book fun reading. The perfect book for the newcomer to the scene and the old-timer lost in the jungle.”
John C. Dvorak
Technology columnist,
The San Francisco Examiner
and InfoWorld
“THE SILICON JUNGLE has proved helpful in both my business and personal use of computers. It is down-to-earth, easy to understand, and has made me and my computers better friends.”
Ellen R. Gordon, President
Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc.
“THE SILICON JUNGLE is an insightful book that provides a foundation for dealing with the complicated world of personal computers.”
Chris Christiansen
Senior Analyst
The Yankee Group
“Of all the books about computers, THE SILICON JUNGLE is the best I’ve seen.... Fun to read and Instructional as well. David Rothman not only blazes a sure path through the jungle, but he has told us almost everything there is to tell about the computer world at this point—and told it very well.”
Jerald F. Terhorst
Ford Motor Executive
DAVID H. ROTHMAN
The
SILICON
JUNGLE
BALLANTINE BOOKS · NEW YORK
Copyright © 1985 David H. Rothman
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United[United] States by Ballantine Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 85-90645
ISBN 0-345-32063-8
Manufactured in the United States of America
First Edition: July 1985
WITH LOVE
TO
HARRY AND HORTENSE ROTHMAN
Special thanks to Michael Canyes, Mack Truslow,
David Fay Smith, Don Carrol, Robert B. Wyatt, Richard McCoy,
Frank Lavena, Pat Ehresmann, Ruth Aley and Berenice Hoffman