BeOS

What was it?
A high-tech alternative to the boring worlds of Windows and Mac OS. BeOS offered users a multi-tasking, graphically rich environment where they could access the power of a Unix-style command-line interface while enjoying a beautiful user interface and manipulate multimedia in a way Mac and Windows users could only dream of.

Why did it lose?
In the end, the power of Windows and Mac OS was too great. Despite quite substantial public and commercial interest, funding dried up. The CEO of BeOS even launched a lawsuit against Microsoft, claiming that it prevented BeOS from being bundled with computers from Dell.

Why should it have won?
Crucially, BeOS was modified to be an alternative OS for the PowerPC-based Apple Mac. This was a coup, because it meant that people who bought Macintosh computers were no longer tied to Mac OS, which in those pre-OS X days was starting to look a little tired. As time went on, support for Intel-based computers was added, meaning those stuck on Windows could jump ship too.

BeOS had amazing capabilities, including a 64-bit file system that could handle files of up to 1TB in size -- in those days the average hard disk was about around 10GB, so 1TB was pretty forward-thinking. Early BeOS demos showed the OS multi-tasking, running video and other applications without significant slow-downs. In 1995, BeOS was demoed at a computer expo playing eight MPEG clips at the same time, which would have required hardware decoders on any other OS.

BeOS was so fantastic that Gil Amelio, head of Apple Computer from 1994 to 1997, was keen to buy the operating system and use it as the next generation of Mac OS. Unfortunately, Be CEO Jean-Louis Gassée -- himself a former Apple employee -- is reputed to have wanted three times what Apple was offering, so Apple turned to a company called NeXT, set up by some nobody called Steve Jobs.

Our fantasy outcome
Captain Tech would have to go all Reservoir Dogs on Gassée and get him to cut the $400m price tag, which would make BeOS the operating system of choice for Apple Macs. It would also prevent Steve Jobs from returning to that company. In turn, this would put an end to all that silly iPod business and make MiniDisc the dominant force in portable music. It's a double win for the intrepid Captain.