On Jun 3, 2007, at 7:54 AM, Fred (FL) wrote:
And Bill Gates empire was launched, and IBM got
its first DOS contract from Gates - and IBM's PC was
launched. And in 1981 - the whole PC world,
as we now know it was started. CP/M was also
on the runway - but big blue, killed it at the
gate. Supposedly Gates bought the guts of DOS
or PC BASIC, from a college friend, for a
pittance.
It's important to remember the history correctly. In 1981, Microsoft
was a dominant supplier of microcomputer BASIC. IBM was already going
to talk to them about that.
IBM also wanted CP/M, and Gates assured them he could deliver that,
too. What he ended up doing was buying QDOS from Seattle Softworks
(for a pittance, really), and then re-working it into PCDOS. The rest
is history.
Had nothing to do with the Osborne
Computer Inc. company. They just happened to
be one of several companies; Heath, Osborne,
..... - who at that time ran under CP/M. So
I'd call it the Gates effect.
The Osborne Effect came later. It happened when Osborne pre-announced
a PC-compatible portable computer. Once they did that, all sales of
their CP/M portable virtually stopped. The reduction in sales
bankrupted the company before they could finish and ship their PC-
compatible design.
Of course, the wikipedia entry indicates that perhaps the role of the
pre-announcement was overstated: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Osborne_effect
Bill Coleman, AA4LR, PP-ASEL Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Quote: "Not within a thousand years will man ever fly!"
-- Wilbur Wright, 1901
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