Re: VHS versus Betamax (was: Let's unite to destroy Microsoft!)

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#66782

From: chr... Christopher C. Wood
Date: Wed, 12 Feb 1997 00:00

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In article <5dqji5$n...@morgoth.sfu.ca>, rcou...@sfu.ca (Ryan John Cousineau) writes:
[ Assertion by Mark Sutton, supported by Michael Edelman, that IBM let
  other manufacturers clone the IBM PC... ]

|> Quick history lesson though: IBM didn't "let" anyone copy the
|> architecture for free. They, for reasons of cost, built a very open
|> platform with a BIOS that was relatively easy to reverse-engineer
|> (as opposed to the Apple II or Mac ROMs, the former being clearly
|> off-limits after a lawsuit or two, and the latter never really
|> being sucessfully cloned; I don't understand the reasons
|> precisely).

Nobody has thought that reverse-engineering Mac ROMs was worth the
effort.  They contain a lot of software, and would require a very
expensive effort to reverse engineer.  And then, when Apple updates
the OS, you'd have a lot of work to do to keep customer's happy.  I
would never think of buying a "Clone" of a Macintosh, if I couldn't
see how the machine would be supported in the future.

Recall that PC-DOS came from Microsoft, and they (eventually) started
selling the same version of the OS to anyone who would pay.  This was
never the case with the IBM PC.

Chris
-- 
Speaking only for myself, of course.
Chris Wood    chr...@lexis-nexis.com   ca...@CFAnet.com

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From: chr...@lexis-nexis.com (Christopher C. Wood)
Subject: Re: VHS versus Betamax (was: Let's unite to destroy Microsoft!)
Date: 1997/02/12
Message-ID: <5dso7t$5kt@mailgate.lexis-nexis.com>
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References: <32DB2690.3533@geocities.com> <KETIL-ytqrais4xp5.fsf@imr.no> <32FF2AD9.AB4F4AD@laitram.com> <3300C7E5.6575@pass.wayne.edu> <5dqji5$nhv@morgoth.sfu.ca>
Organization: LEXIS-NEXIS, Dayton OH
Newsgroups: comp.os.os2.advocacy,alt.fan.bill-gates,comp.sys.mac.advocacy,comp.os.linux.advocacy,comp.sys.acorn.misc,comp.os.ms-windows.nt,comp.os.linux.network,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games,comp.security.misc,rec.aviation.simulators,comp.sys.palmtops,alt.2600
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