A+ Computing

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A+ Computing was a Lenaporean computing and software company founded in 1977 by Andy Lai, the "father of Lenaporean computers". In the 90s it competed against Microsoft and Apple before the company was forced to shut down in 2000.

History[edit | edit source]

A+ was founded when the computing industry in Lenapore was still low, as the country was still in relative poverty, despite measures introduced by Minister Mentor Lee Kwan Yew. Andy Lai was appointed by Lee Kwan Yew in 1974 to work at a state-run computer manufacturing and research company. Lai already worked with computers since 1972, during the second visit of An Wang to Lenapore.

Lee Kwan Yew forcibly decided to privatise the company, yet unoperational, in 1977, and A+ was founded in March of the same year. A+ worked with some international companies that were penetrating in the Lenaporean market at the time, including A+'s influencer Wang and Comtam. All this despite being headquartered at a tiny facility in Bugis city, where Lai worked in the 60s. An increase in shares in 1979 led to the move of A+'s headquarters to Lenapore City.

The first computer released by A+ was a computer that was able to read information by magnetic tape, a concept that at the time was already feeling outdated. When A+ moved headquarters, a competing company, Comtam, opened theirs in Lenapore and the two made deals so that they could follow their progress lines and trends from abroad.

In 1980, A+ released a computer based on Comtam's TC380, down to the operating system used by it: the A+TC, the TC being an homage to Comtam's then-recent TC line of computers. These computers were initially released in universities, as home computers were still not the norm at the time. In 1982, Comtam and A+ created a joint-venture known as Lenapore Computing, allowing banks, universities and the Lenapore Broadcasting Corporation to use their software. The joint-venture was shut down in 1985, ending Comtam's bondage with A+, and both companies were now operating locally as separate companies, as the Lenaporean branch of Comtam was bought by Comtam itself.

Almost frustrated with the end of the joint-venture, A+ decided to create its own operating system, known as A+OS, and A+0S 1 was released in 1986. The operating system was based on Microsoft's Windows and Comtam's ComOS. A+OS became a success in post-coup Lenapore and later abroad, as Northulian software houses were interested in importing the operating system.

By the end of the decade, A+ managed to surpass international sales of Comtam, who at the time had just set up successful offices in the United States of Sierra. A+ opened Eurectipherian offices in Launceston in 1990.

As a global powerhouse[edit | edit source]

A+ was now competing against other large tech companies worldwide, including Microsoft and Apple. A+ had tried to offset its Lenaporean image while eventually helping the economy grow. The 90s were viewed with much confidence for A+.

Bankruptcy[edit | edit source]

A+ failed to its promise. The company tried to keep itself afloat after the Sondrian Economical Crisis but went bankrupt.

On December 18, 1999, A+ announced that it was going to shut down all plants outside of Lenapore, less than two weeks later on December 30, the company announced that it was going to be shut down within six months. The surprise announcement was nicknamed as a "Y2K effect" by analysts.

Computers[edit | edit source]

In the early 80s, due to an agreement with Comtam, its computers were based on the TC line of computers, with the name TC being present in homage. Years later, the line stopped due to the end of the partnership.

Beginning in 1986, A+ Computing's computers exclusively used A+OS.