NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] Re: IBM PC @ 30: Original review of the Personal Computer Model 5150
Let's be careful here ... yes, IBM published the BIOS listings but it was in
lieu of any other documentation. But it's unfair to say Apple was closed
because Apple didn't have an equivalent to the BIOS.
IBM didn't publish the listings of DOS any more than Apple published the
listings for its Basic interpreters and file system, Actually we could've
gotten the file system listings under NDA but I just reversed engineered
Woz's very clever disk file system to avoid being dependent upon Apple's
approval.
IBM was very much trying to follow Apple's pattern of openness including
encourage third parties to build board to add in.
[ I believe that history pretty much shows the real results.
IBM (whether enthusiastically or not) ended up allowing the PC
clone business to flourish, while Apple has (successfully, I believe)
managed to kill every significant Mac clone attempt that came down the
pipe, and that might have created cost savings to consumers of the
sort that have perpetually given PC-based systems a significant
bang-for-the-buck advantage over Apple systems. This isn't
to say that Macs aren't fine products, just that in my opinion
they've *always* been significantly overpriced, and that can be
traced pretty clearly to the lack of clone competition.
-- Lauren Weinstein
NNSquad Moderator ]
-----Original Message-----
From: nnsquad-bounces+nnsquad=bobf.frankston.com@nnsquad.org
[mailto:nnsquad-bounces+nnsquad=bobf.frankston.com@nnsquad.org] On Behalf Of
Lauren Weinstein
Sent: Friday, August 12, 2011 12:54
To: nnsquad@nnsquad.org
Subject: [ NNSquad ] IBM PC @ 30: Original review of the Personal Computer
Model 5150
IBM PC @ 30: Original review of the Personal Computer Model 5150
http://j.mp/nO5vOe (V3.co.uk)
It should not be forgotten that IBM's early publishing of the entire
BIOS source code to the PC -- as an appendix in the "gray" looseleaf
notebook -- (I still have that here, of course), permitted the
flowering of the entire third-party clone PC industry, in distinct
contrast to Apple's later methodology of litigating against anyone who
attempted to clone a Mac. It's interesting that Apple's "walled
garden" mentality in this respect was visible even way back then.
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein (lauren@vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org
Founder:
- Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org
- Global Coalition for Transparent Internet Performance:
http://www.gctip.org
- PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
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Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com