This is the story of how a handful of geeks and mavericks dragged the computer out of corporate back rooms and laboratories and into our living rooms and offices.
It is a tale not only of extraordinary innovation and vision but also of cunning business deals, boardroom tantrums and acrimonious lawsuits.
Matt Nicholson has been a computer journalist since 1983 and has edited a number of popular newsstand magazines, including PC Plus and What Micro .