While cleaning out a closet over the weekend, I ran across a magazine that I'd long ago tucked away: the premier issue of PC Computing. Since I was feeling nostalgic (and welcomed any excuse to take a break from spring cleaning), I sat down to glance through this relict of August 1988.

What were things like in the PC industry a decade ago? Well, the lead feature of the issue, "IBM versus Apple," asked the question, "How does IBM's PS/2 Model 80 stack up against the Apple Macintosh II?" The conclusion, which even then was a familiar refrain, was that "the Mac is still better with graphics, the Model 80 is still better at business." But the gap had narrowed enough, the article opined, "to make the choice... tougher than ever."

What caught my eye was the article's "What the systems cost" sidebar. For comparable systems (16-MHz CPU, 1MB of RAM, 40MB hard disk), the IBM PS/2 Model 80 retailed for $6,995 while the Mac II was a more affordable $5,598. But that was just for the base system; adding a video card, color monitor, and 8MB of memory to the Mac II pushed the price to $10,641, while purchasing PC-DOS 3.3, a math coprocessor, 4MB of RAM, and a 12-inch color monitor for the Model 80 brought the price to $11,185.

Another lead feature asked, "Is DOS Dead?" John Dvorak's cynical conclusion was that "the days of DOS are numbered." It was "being kept alive as a patched-up and bloated living-dead zombie," he said, "because of the alternatives -- there are none."

The strongest competitor for burying DOS looked to be OS/2, which in 1988 was "a joint effort by IBM Corp. and Microsoft Corp.," with Microsoft being the chief OS/2 evangelist. "One thing is for sure: Microsoft wants somehow to move everyone into OS/2," said Dvorak. He argued, though, that it was an uphill battle because OS/2 "requires a megabyte (or two) of RAM and costs hundreds of dollars." Windows was mentioned in the article just once, as in "The failure of TopView, Windows, Unix, and the long-forgotten CP/M-86 and USCD p-System.."

What else was happening in 1988? One big news item was the first of the PS/2 clones announced by Tandy, Dell, and Kaypro. The Internet isn't mentioned in the premier issue of PC Computing. In fact, two separate features bemoaned the difficulty of getting a public e-mail account and the challenge of "linking all the various Ôislands of communication.'"

Yes, personal computing has come a long way in the past ten years. And it will go even further in the next ten.

Since I'm into nostalgia: Our own premier issue was June 1994, so this marks the end of my fourth year as editor-in-chief of Computing Japan. With the June 1998 issue, we'll be embarking on our fifth full year of publication. I'd like to thank all the Computing Japan team -- readers, advertisers, and staff members (current and former) -- for your support. We couldn't have made it this far without you!

WM. Auckerman