>BTW, the "compelling app" theory is that an OS or hardware will not be generally accepted until there is a compelling application using it. Examples: the Apple II was a hobbyists machine until VisiCalc. The IBM PC really boomed when Lotus 1-2-3 came out. CP/M was the compelling app for S-100 bus computers. Arguably, the compelling app for Windows was/is Office.
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Yep! Back in the early days, the question, "What computer should I buy?", was a preamble to a discussion regarding what the person wanted to do in terms of the software they ran, not one about CPUs and such.