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The Microcomputer Industry Association was a U.S. trade association for computer retailers and businesses across the computer industry. In a 1987 report, the Chicago-based organization described as “ABCD: The Microcomputer Industry Association” represented dealers alongside manufacturers, software publishers, distributors, and service companies. CompTIA’s published timeline includes the association’s name in the organization’s historical lineage.
What did the Microcomputer Industry Association do?
It represented computer dealers and related industry businesses. The Washington Post reported in 1987 that the association also established a code of ethics for member retailers, indicating that its work included promoting standards for how participating stores conducted business. The Washington Post’s May 24, 1987 article provides a contemporary account.
What did ABCD stand for?
The initials originally stood for Association of Better Computer Dealers, according to the 1987 Washington Post report. As the organization came to represent businesses beyond dealers, it continued using ABCD with the name “The Microcomputer Industry Association.”
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How large was the association?
The 1987 Washington Post article reported that ABCD represented computer dealers in 46 states and 70 manufacturers, software publishers, distributors, and service companies. These are figures from that year’s report, not current membership totals.
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How is it connected to CompTIA?
CompTIA’s historical timeline traces the organization from its 1982 founding as the Association of Better Computer Dealers, through the Microcomputer Industry Association name, to the later Computing Technology Industry Association name. The timeline establishes a broad historical name lineage; it does not, by itself, document the exact legal dates or mechanics of each transition. CompTIA’s “Our Journey” timeline, reproduced in a 2024 presentation, shows the sequence.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the name means in context
“Microcomputer Industry Association” refers here to the historical trade association identified as ABCD, not necessarily to any other group that may have used a similar name. The available historical accounts establish its retailer-and-industry constituency and its place in CompTIA’s broad organizational history, but do not establish that every similarly named organization was the same entity.
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