If IBM made toasters...
They would want one big toaster where people bring bread to be submitted for
overnight toasting. IBM would claim a worldwide market for five, maybe six
toasters.
If Xerox made toasters...
You could toast one-sided or double-sided. Successive slices would get
lighter and lighter. The toaster would jam your bread for you.
If Radio Shack made toasters...
The staff would sell you a toaster, but not know anything about it. Or you
could buy all the parts to build your own toaster.
If Hewlett-Packard made toasters...
They would market the Reverse Polish Toaster, which takes in toast and gives
you regular bread.
If Sony made toasters...
The Toast Man, which would be barely larger than the single piece of bread it
is meant to toast, can be conveniently attached to your belt.
And, of course:
If Microsoft made toasters... Every time you bought a loaf of bread, you
would have to buy a toaster. You wouldn't have to take the toaster, but
you'd still have to pay for it anyway.
Toaster '95 would weigh 15,000 pounds (hence requiring a reinforced steel
countertop), draw enough electricity to power a small city, take up 95% of
the space in your kitchen, would claim to be the first toaster that lets you
control how light or dark you want your toast to be, and would secretly
interrogate your other appliances to find out who made them.
Everyone would hate Microsoft toasters, but nonetheless would buy them since
most of the good bread only works with their toasters.
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