@jalefkowit @cstanhope There was also the fact that the growing use of high-level languages like C finally made it possible to have "portable" programs. This came up during the "Chronicles" episode I covered on the RT. Even the IBM rep made a point of promising compilers to make the transition to the new platform smoother. Sure, it didn't help the RT in the end, but clearly the old way of throwing away the old software, as you put, was no longer gonna fly in the business market.