[Sussex] Some more thoughts on the Microsoft/Novel deal

[Steven Dobson]

Nico

On Sat, 2006-11-18 at 19:48 +0000, Nico Kadel-Garcia wrote:
> Microsoft also has a long, long history of intellectual property
> theft, such as DOS, the Windows interface, and David Cutler and his
> software team at DEC, hired away to create NT and leading to some
> fascinating out of court settlements. An agreement not to sue about
> such violations is of much more benefit to Microsoft. 

From the history I remember:

1). Microsoft didn't steal DOS they got a software license from the
author of QDOS [Quick and Dirty Operating System] for $50,000, made a
few simple changes and then sold it to IBM for their new PC.  The fact
that Gates retained the rights to sell the same OS to clone manufactures
is just very good business.

2). A GUI (Windows) interface was first developed by Xerox as R&D and
they were showing that research to all.  Both Gates and Jobs visited
Palo Alto.  Sure Jobs gave Gates a preview of the new Apple GUI
interface while it was still being developed.  I'm not sure the dates of
those visits but I'm pretty sure that Gates did not steal any code from
Apple.

3). Cutler and his team were unhappy at DEC - that is way Microsoft was
able to hire them away.  The fact that there was some court action is
more to do with some draconian US labour laws than it is from anything
we would consider wrong here in the EU.

I would agree to you that Microsoft has shown little original
creativity;  but I don't like the term "intellectual property theft".
It implies that you agree with the concept of owning an idea.  I think
that one should own (via copyright) a given realisation of an idea but
not the idea itself.

With out the ability to take an idea, improve it, modify it and come up
with something new is fundamental to the development of mankind.
Alexander Graham Bell did not invent either the microphone, speaker or
the electrical patch panel, but the telephone is probably the most
important use those devices have ever be put to.

Steve

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