Date: Fri, 10 Jun 2005 13:55:59 -0400
From: "Michael Walsh" <MJW at press.jhu.edu>
To: <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Darwin...was, Re: Better than politics!

> macbuccfo at msn.com 6/10/2005 1:40:47 PM >>>
>
>>From: "Michael Walsh" <MJW at press.jhu.edu>
>>>>To: <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>
>>Subject: [WSFA] Darwin...was, Re: Better than politics!
>>Date: Fri, 10 Jun 2005 10:48:42 -0400
>>
>> > kfl at KeithLynch.net 6/9/2005 9:43:21 PM >>>
>>
>>snippage
>>
>> >I like Charlie Stross's theory that Windows is a plot to save
mankind
>> >from emergent AI by retarding progress and by causing the best
>> >minds
>> >to be repelled by computers and work in some other field.  It
makes
>> >more sense than any other theory for how anything so awful ever
>> >caught on.
>>
>>Darwin.
>>
>>Microsoft was far better at marketing themselves than any
competitor.
>>
>>My immediate thought is that Microsoft was very very clever in
having
>>their software bundled with IBM machines, and with the open
architecture
>>of the IBM-PC, DOS, then Windows. became the default "standard",
mainly
>>with those folks who wanted to, so to speak, putthe key in the
ignition
>>and drive away. (None of this manual transmission stuff...)
>>
>>My 2 cents worth.
>>
>>mjw
>>
>It is worse than that. When IBM decided to develop the desktop style
>machines, the got really, really lazy and had some fast talkers
develop the
>operating system. It's name - DOS, as in MS DOS. We have IBM to blame
for
>Microsoft.

Here's a history of MS-DOS: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS-DOS .

I recall a book (later TV/cable special) about the rise of Microsoft
and Apple.  If I recall correctly, Gates sold IBM on MS-DOS before he
had the rights to QDOS.  Note quite vaporware, but...

mjw

>
>Bob MacIntosh
>