This article from PC Magazine imagines a world where Apple never existed. I’m not sure if it would be quite as bleak as this, but the author Lyod Case, explains his opinion on the matter:

You might wonder how this rather bleak scenario might exist if Apple had never come to pass. Despite not being a Mac user, it’s my belief that Apple acted as a catalyst for the industry. Prior to Apple, there were a host of home computers and business-oriented PCs, either running proprietary operating systems or some variant of CP/M. But even CP/M machines often couldn’t talk to each other.

Had there never been an Apple, the IBM PC may never have emerged, which then set off the tidal wave of innovation + standardization that allows us to have cheap PC technology today. Apple has had a tremendous impact, both directly through its suberb industrial design and efforts to simplify technology, and indirectly, by stimulating competition that eventually resulted in the PC ecosystem we have today. What do you think?

Obviously, a lot of us here have a slight bias, what with being dedicated fans and all – but what do you think? Is the depiction in this article accurate – or would someone else have come along and done the innovating in Apple’s place?