History
Early in its life, the Amiga was strong in entertainment and graphics software but lacked general productivity software such as word processors, spreadsheets and database software. These are the areas where the de facto business standard IBM PC excelled. Commodore's intent was to let the Amiga take advantage of PC compatibility to shore up its weakness in this category of software.
The Sidecar was developed by Commodore Germany, as all of the Commodore PC-architecture based development was performed in that department.
The Sidecar was relatively expensive and it required a non-trivial amount of desktop space compared to the Amiga 1000 by itself. The device was also taller than the Amiga 1000, which made it seem even further disconnected to the main system, aesthetically.
Besides the high price and the aesthetic issues, other factors contributed to the lack of adoption of the Sidecar. Newer Amiga models like the Amiga 2000 provided internal expansion slots, with the optional Bridgeboard expansion card replacing the functionality of the Sidecar, but without the need for a bulky external chassis. The popular Amiga 500 could not be used with the Sidecar at all, due to the expansion slot on the A500 residing on the left side of the chassis, as opposed to the right side on the A1000. Also, decent business and productivity software began to be released for AmigaOS, reducing the need to run MS-DOS applications on the Amiga. Simultaneously, the ever-decreasing cost of IBM PC compatible hardware, along with that platform's growing entertainment and graphics software base, began to make the PC a viable competitor in areas where the Amiga had typically held an edge.
Read more about this topic: Amiga Sidecar
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Certainly there is not the fight recorded in Concord history, at least, if in the history of America, that will bear a moment’s comparison with this, whether for the numbers engaged in it, or for the patriotism and heroism displayed.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“History is not what you thought. It is what you can remember. All other history defeats itself.
In Beverly Hills ... they don’t throw their garbage away. They make it into television shows.
Idealism is the despot of thought, just as politics is the despot of will.”
—Mikhail Bakunin (1814–1876)
“If man is reduced to being nothing but a character in history, he has no other choice but to subside into the sound and fury of a completely irrational history or to endow history with the form of human reason.”
—Albert Camus (1913–1960)