Wang Advert - April 1985
From Personal Computer World
Who says you can't get fired for buying IBM?
Robert Maxwell, owner of Oxford United FC, with some women in United kit, © Personal Computer World, November 1985Wang, founded in 1951 by Dr. An Wang and Dr. G.Y. Chu, was a US computer company based in Massachussetts, US, which, at its peak in the 1980s generated revenues of $3 billion before fizzling out, via various buy-outs, in 2008[1].
The company wasn't huge in the UK, but did have its machines selected for a DTI Office Automation scheme at the National Coal Board.
It also sponsored football team Oxford United for the 1985/86 season to the tune of £300,000[2].
Oxford United was owned by Robert Maxwell, who had recently walked away from a £12 million rescue of Sinclair.
Wang's Personal Computer had a slightly-better 8086 CPU compared to the IBM PC it was up against, but it wasn't compatible with the IBM at hardware level. This led to software compatibility issues and subsequently a lack of software.
Relatively few well-known packages were available, although Microsoft's MultiPlan was one of them.
Date created: 25 June 2015
Last updated: 11 December 2024
Sources
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