История персональных компьютеров

На бетаньюзе Robert X. Cringely (это псевдоним у него такой) публикует серию из глав книжки "Accidental Empires" про историю индустрии персональных компьютеров. Very interesting! Цитирую:

Along the way, personal computers themselves turned into a very big business. In 1990, $70 billion worth of personal computer hardware and software were sold worldwide. After automobiles, energy production, and illegal drugs, personal computers are the largest manufacturing industry in the world and one of the great success stories for American business.

And I’m here to tell you three things:

1. It all happened more or less by accident.

2. The people who made it happen were amateurs.

3. And for the most part they still are.

http://betanews.com/author/bobcringley/

Типа целая индустрия, притом богатейшая, рождена 1) в гаражах и 2) школотой. Так это реально или просто красивая байка? Читаем!