Microsoft and Unix/Linux (Myths and IP)

[Paul King]

On 25 Dec 2006 at 20:44, Rick Tomaschuk wrote:

> More on (moron??) IP and Linux. From:
> http://lxer.com/module/forums/t/24323/
> 
> All the best for the holidays!!
> RickT
> 

The last part was interesting. To quote:

> | * Microsoft was first with graphical user interface
> |
> | * Microsoft designed BASIC Language
> |
> | * Microsoft designed visual basic
> |

The link supposedly regferring to the source seems to be down. Who invented VB 
if not MS? Curious.

> All the Myth About Microsoft:
>
> ,---[Quote]
> | * Microsoft invented DOS
> |

True, if you really do mean DOS (before MS was "born", Gates designed QDOS 
("Quick-and Dirty OS") which IBM rejected, and which later formed the first 
product MS put out. Isn't that how the story went? Was IBM-DOS first?

If you mean that MS invented "the operating system", well, I don't know who 
seriously believes that, unless they have no interest in computers, and 
carelessly conjectured that they did.

> | * Microsoft designed the first spreadsheet - Excel
> |
> | * Microsoft designed the first word processor
> |

I agree. In fact, when they ascended to dominance, they were still inferior 
products. It might only be seen now as "superior" because all similar products 
have been pushed out of the market or marginalized.

> | * First with Internet browser

It is surprising that nearly nobody knows that NCSA Mosaic was the first 
browser, used towaerd the late 1980s.

I wonder how many people think the Internet is "owned" by Microsoft?
Probably the same numher of people who think the World-Wide Web and the 
Internet are one and the same.

Paul King

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