Ranging over many topics, it may come across as a series of essays rather than a normal guide. So be it. I’m not going to cheat you of helpful facts that most readers won’t care about or that are far removed from the main thrusts of the chapters. You may be desperate for this very material. And items at the ends of the chapters will refer you to “Backup: More Tales and Tips from the Jungle.” “Backup” follows my main book.
BREAK OUT OF THE USERS-GUIDE GHETTO.
You already have. The Silicon Jungle is for owners and prospective owners of Radio Shacks, Apples, IBMs—all kinds of machines.
Do buy a guide for your model of computer or your pet software program; this book isn’t a replacement.
It offers, however, more detachment than a guide touting the virtues of a single machine. I’ll write about the computer I own—yes, I have my biases—but it’ll be as an example, not as the final answer. Frankly, for graphics work alone, my Kaypro II would not suffice. The screen isn’t good enough. The Kaypro’s electronic brain just is not very visually inclined, and all in all, I’d be far better off doing charts with an Apple Macintosh.
Many good paths wind through the Silicon Jungle.
■ ■ ■
There’s no doubt—the computer business is a jungle. While I was writing this book, Osborne Computers filed for bankruptcy under Chapter XI. “I’m just devastated,” said Adam Osborne. The previous year, his firm had sold 110,000 portable computers listing at $1,795.
I, too, was sorry he’d failed. Osborne’s was the first company to produce a bargain-priced business computer with good, free software thrown in. If his company hadn’t revived itself under new management, the industry would have offered buyers that much less choice.
Part of Osborne’s problem were his marketing blunders. Also, however, an arch rival, Kaypro, had come out with a better machine. I bought one.