SI
SI
discoversearch

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor.  We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community.  If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.
Politics : Formerly About Applied Materials
AMAT 268.79+4.6%3:59 PM EST
 Public ReplyPrvt ReplyMark as Last ReadFilePrevious 10Next 10PreviousNext  
To: Cary Salsberg who wrote (49820)7/26/2001 1:02:51 PM
From: Mark Marcellus  Read Replies (1) of 70976
 
Give me a break! The morons at IBM didn't understand the implications of the operating system after 50 years in the business and allowed MSFT to supply the OS for the IBM PC.

Not quite. The morons at IBM didn't understand the importance of the PC market, and they underestimated Bill Gates. (Plus there were internal turf issues which, more than anything, contributed to their failures over the next few years). They understood full well the importance of the OS. That's why they went with a proprietary OS with a closed (and supposedly impregnable) BIOS. If they hadn't understood the implications of the OS, they would have simply gone with an open UNIX standard and been done with it.

You can say what you like about Gates, but he understood the landscape at a time when just about every other player in the business had their head up their ass. He knew he didn't need a superior OS, he just needed an OS which worked on a basic level, and for which he had control of the source code and the licensing. He scrambled to get into the IBM PC with what he had (or could steal), while others who could have beaten him out stood by and let it happen. I find it hard to blame him for that.
Report TOU ViolationShare This Post
 Public ReplyPrvt ReplyMark as Last ReadFilePrevious 10Next 10PreviousNext  

HomeMailHotSubjectMarksPeopleMarksKeepersSettings
Terms Of UseContact UsCopyright/IP PolicyPrivacy PolicyAbout UsFAQAdvertise on SI
© 2026 Knight Sac Media.  Data provided by Twelve Data, Alpha Vantage, and CityFALCON News