[Roboprog]

I remember using (sharing!) an XT (8088? 8086???) at work in 1985. One good thing about the 386 in 1986 was that it made the price of 286 (AT/clone) systems come down. I almost never saw an XT after 1986. We started seeing quite a few more clones (Compaq, etc) about that time, as well.

Which is of course a big tangent off of "why/whence command.com & .BAT files" :-)

OS/2 and Windows were a big deal in virtualizing memory use in PC land, with widespread Linux use still "a few years" in the future. (and effective adoption of NextStep even further out)

[brudgers]

I think the 80386SX was also a factor in lower 80286 prices after the 386DX came out. Those systems were really popular.

When I bought the Amiga 500 in 1988, 8088 Turbo machines were still the entry level clone system. My vague recollection of the consumer and small business market was that that obtained for a couple of more years.