On Tuesday 05 May 2009 09:10 am, Vasta, Stephen wrote: > 3) SCO (a Microsoft Company) tried to corner the at-home UNIX > market with a stolen version of AT&T System III . . .
When I ran SCO products way back when, on 386 architecture, I don't believe they were a "Microsoft Company" (though I believe if you look beyond the stock ownership they most likely now are). They had many M$ agreements in place, but I don't think you could reasonably call them a Microsoft Company. My opinion. > Beer-budget Bill Gates lifted (did not create) the > first Microsoft OS (a derivative of CP/M) running on a beer-budget > chip (Intel 8085) in his garage. Are you referring to the 8086? The 8085 was entirely 8-bit, inside and out, and used the suffix "5" because it required only a +5v power supply. I think calling MS DOS a derivative of CP/M is a bit of oversimplification. My memories and outlook are based on my own work on CP/M Plus (also called CP/M 3) for Lobo Systems: http://oldcomputers.net/lobomax80.html and my business relationship with Gary Kildall at that time (I was a V.P. of Lobo Systems, in charge of software development). This article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Kildall has some real problems, but Bill Gates' recollection is correct as I remember discussions with Gary years after the fact. This article: http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Gary_Kildall is much more in keeping with my memory, though I remember (perhaps a false memory) that Gary said he was out sailing that day. This article also mentions that Gary went Sailing, not Flying. http://hubpages.com/hub/IBM-80-vs-Microsoft-08-an-alternative-History-of-Computing Perhaps Bill Godbout or Jerry Pournelle would care to comment. I can't find current address information on either of them. (Unfortunately Wikipedia doesn't consider personal recollection acceptable when editing articles.) Jeff -- Jeff Lasman, Nobaloney Internet Services P.O. Box 52200, Riverside, CA 92517 Our jplists address used on lists is for list email only voice: +1 951 643-5345, or see: "http://www.nobaloney.net/contactus.html";
