On Thu, 23 Sep 2004 07:31:36 -0700, Hallam-Baker, Phillip wrote
It was not as important as people claim. If the IBM O/S had not been
licensable the clone makers would have been forced to choose a
different platform. Chuck Peddle already had a start up that was
building the ACT Sirius. Osborne was a player, Commodore and Apple
were both looking to make the jump to 16 bits.
Also, cloning wasn't limited to the PC platform, though it was the most
commonly cloned. Some people may remember the Laser 128, which was an Apple
//e clone.