>>We thought that was true when the TRS-80, Commodore, Apple II were the darlings of the acne set.

The acne set? LOL.

The IBM had key advantages over these home machines that were expensive, so everybody did not have their own- and it was impractical to bring them to work every day. It made much better sense for work to have a PC in the cubicle/office. Few of us had exposure to computers except via work so there were general "computer training" and other issues to be managed by the employer.

>>I follow the small to mid-sized corporate market and most of our clients are too busy worrying about a customer or a key supplier who went bankrupt to deal with gadgets.

Agreed- but I don't agree with the definition of gadget. Many of these "gadgets" have dual processors and capabilities that outstrip relatively new business machines out there. They're also portable, meaning anybody with a mobile workforce suddenly has a very cost-effective opportunity to distinguish themselves, just as trutype invoices were a big distinguishing/impressive factor until everybody else got it too.

>>I like Deep Throat's advice:
>>"Follow the money!"

Yep. Let's not forget Gorko's epitaph either: "things will change". Or the parrot in the old Pirate adventure: "tides be a-changing, matey."

;-)