On Sun, 07 Dec 2003 06:31:42 +1100, bob parker wrote: > On Sun, 7 Dec 2003 05:17, Paul Morgan wrote: >> On Sun, 07 Dec 2003 03:49:12 +1100, bob parker wrote: >> > On Sat, 6 Dec 2003 09:12, Tom wrote: >> >> On Fri, Dec 05, 2003 at 04:32:47PM -0500, Paul Morgan wrote: >> >> > Good point. And just because Bill Gates et. al have become hard-nosed >> >> > businessmen, it does not mean they are immoral. >> >> >> >> Microsoft played the exact same role in its origins v. IBM as Linux is >> >> now playing to Microsoft; the upstart, force for freedom. The PC was a >> >> freedom revolution against the glass house. >> > >> > IBM invented the PC not Microsoft. IBM made the decision to have open >> > standards so that third parties could and did manufacture components and >> > of course the entire assembly itself. Microsoft did not even create >> > MSDOS, they bought it. Sure the PC was a force for freedom, but the >> > credit goes to IBM, all Microsoft have ever done is to constrain that >> > freedom. >> > >> >> That's one of the things that makes me feel squirelly and uncomfortable >> >> about open source; you always have to consider "who gains by this and >> >> what's their motivation". Any philosophy which cannot account for basic >> >> facts must have foundational weaknesses. >> > >> > Like thinking that Microsoft created the PC for instance? >> >> Thinking that IBM invented the personal computer is not much smarter than >> thinking that Microsoft did. > I never said they did invented the personal computer, just the PC. > It is their product and they own the trade mark of it. > Moreover they wrote open standards so that 3rd parties could build hardware > for it. That was what commoditised the desktop computer and consequently > started the revolution. > >> >> Ever heard of the Altair? Or the Apple I and II, the TRS-80 or Commodore >> Pet? > > Sure but they are not PCs and as brilliant as they were in their day, they > were still closed standards. >> >> IBM did popularize the term "PC", but they sure as heck didn't invent the >> personal computer. And, because they'd bought the rights to the Intel >> 8086, and because of the sheer economic power and brand recognition of >> IBM, we all got stuck with the dreadful Intel segmented memory >> architecture. > > Sigh! Yeah I used to program Alpha Micros, built on the Motorola 6800, then > 68000 chips. I'd much rather they went with them.
Yes, we're talking at cross purposes, and I apologize for my opening remark. On rereading it, I realized that I was much less than polite. I was thinking exactly the same about the Motorola chips. I did some work on an Altos using the Moltorolas and running Unix. Using a pre-DB2/SQL relational database. *sigh* the good old days :) -- ....................paul "The number of UNIX installations has grown to 10, with more expected." (The UNIX Programmer's Manual, 2nd Edition, June 1972) -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
