>>but even if they havent, someone other company would've done so.

This is a hypothetical statement and there are n different ways our world could have diverged. Better not to speculate on how things could have moved forward.

In any case, it didn't look it was a natural progression of technology before Windows became popular as the preferred OS for a personal computer.

>>> If it weren't for Bill Gates, we might not be having this conversation...

>> but even if they havent, someone other company would've done so.

> Better not to speculate on how things could have moved forward.

It is impossible not to speculate. The GGP is just speculating in the opposite direction as the GP. We simply must back our speculation with reasons. Personally, I like the GP's reasoning.

> I hate it when people give Bill Gates and Microsoft credit for whole computer and IT advancements.

Or maybe the original poster was saying this because he was typing his response on a Windows computer.

It's easy to make claims about branches of history that never occurred. It seems like an absurd scenario where computers weren't widely adopted, but it's not really so absurd if you think about it.