Summary of 'Amateur Hour' Chapter Four of Accidental Empires, Robert X Cringely In the early 1970's Personal Computer Software wasn't possible because there wasn't any hardware available on which it could be used. What made this possible was the appearance of the MITS Altair 8800 computer, which in turn was made possible thanks to Intel's invention of the microprocessor. It wasn't until then, in 1974, that Bill Gates was able to convert from minicomputers to microcomputers. This …showed first 75 words of 1182 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1182 total…in. The development of VisiCalc on the Apple II had no technical merit, only the fact that this was what Fylstra had loaned to Bricklin and Frankston. However, since the program was at first only available on the Apple II meant that it boosted the platforms sales and brought life back into what seemed the end of the personal computer revolution. [N.B. All quotes in this essay are taken from the book Accidental Empires.]