---
title: "From the Editor’s Desk: Has This Happened Before?"
type: "article"
slug: "from-the-editors-desk-has-this-happened-before"
url: "http://localhost/article/from-the-editors-desk-has-this-happened-before/"
markdown_url: "http://localhost/article/from-the-editors-desk-has-this-happened-before.md"
published_at: "2026-03-13T13:05:38+00:00"
modified_at: "2026-03-13T13:05:39+00:00"
featured_image:
  url: "http://localhost/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/20230809-041332.jpg"
excerpt: "Editorial comparing IBM's new PS-1 home computer line ($999, department-store sold, built-in modem, Microsoft software bundle) to the original Timex/Sinclair marketing strategy, drawing parallels between the two approaches to bringing affordable computing to mass-market retail channels."
category:
  - name: "The Hacker"
    slug: "the-hacker"
    taxonomy: "category"
    url: "http://localhost/category/periodicals/the-hacker/"
post_tag:
  - name: "Editorial"
    slug: "editorial"
    taxonomy: "post_tag"
    url: "http://localhost/tag/editorial/"
indiv:
  - name: "Steve Sawchuk"
    slug: "steve-sawchuk"
    taxonomy: "indiv"
    url: "http://localhost/indiv/steve-sawchuk/"
publication_r:
  id: 39271
  title: "The Hacker"
  type: "periodical"
  url: "http://localhost/periodical/the-hacker/"
authors_r:
  - name: "Steve Sawchuk"
    slug: "steve-sawchuk"
    taxonomy: "indiv"
    url: "http://localhost/indiv/steve-sawchuk/"
issues_articles:
  - id: 50254
    title: "The Hacker Jul 1990"
    type: "issue"
    url: "http://localhost/issue/the-hacker-jul-1990-2/"
pages: "8"
pubdate: "Jul 1990"
archive_link: false
---

# From the Editor’s Desk: Has This Happened Before?

Editorial comparing IBM’s new PS-1 home computer line ($999, department-store sold, built-in modem, Microsoft software bundle) to the original Timex/Sinclair marketing strategy, drawing parallels between the two approaches to bringing affordable computing to mass-market retail channels.