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RE: This is really shocking isn't it?

wyliecoyoteuk — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 11:14:10 GMT

[quote][b]gn2 (05/08/2008)[/b][hr][quote][b]ricedg (05/08/2008)[/b][hr]
Now of course people think MS invented everything; truth is they invented very little, if anything at all.[/quote]

They didn't even invent the BSoD, but they have invested heavily in perfecting it.[/quote]

LOL.. I wonder if the BSOD screensaver could be an infringing application?

Yes, MS have borrowed heavily from other innovators, to add to the list above...
NT4 networking was based on NetBSD, IE on Mosaic (it's in the readme on both products)
Messenger on ICQ, (which preceeded it by 3 years) , MSN on AOL (and that was a big mistake), Active directory is just the MS version of LDAP, the win95 interface borrowed heavily from mac, etc,etc.and so on.

Most of the code base MS use has been bought, copied, or even stolen from other sources (or bought along with the company),and a lot of it just rebranded , in some cases without even checking the code for Copyright notices! MS have been sued for copyright theft almost as many times as Sony.

The difference is that open source plagiarism is more obvious. Closed source code, by it's nature has less obvious origins, which is why these claims are always vague and non specific.

I suppose the size of MS is a problem in itself. Innovation and big companies are not easy bedfellows, nor are MS alone in these practices.

Look at the Dyson-Hoover case, for example.

RE: This is really shocking isn't it?

gn2 — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 22:02:08 GMT

[quote][b]ricedg (05/08/2008)[/b][hr]
Now of course people think MS invented everything; truth is they invented very little, if anything at all.[/quote]

They didn't even invent the BSoD, but they have invested heavily in perfecting it.

RE: This is really shocking isn't it?

ricedg — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 21:54:28 GMT

Microsoft neither invented "Office" or Basic.
Indeed they were quite late to market with their Office products and it wasn't until they hit on the master marketing stroke of the cheap "Office Suite" that anyone really bothered with their products.

Word processing - Word Perfect or Word Star
Spreadsheets - Lotus 1-2-3 or Supercalc
Database - DBase
Presentations - I forget now, Symphony? :D
Problem is they were expensive - we're talking a grand for the lot - and when Office cost £300 you could put up with it not being "best of breed".
A bit like Open Office vs MS now.
The biter bit?

It also didn't help when the likes of Lotus didn't take Windows as seriously as they should have done.
Windows For Workgroups (then NT 4) was the killer app that they should be praised for.
Even then Netware was far superior for the network infrastructure and came up with Active Directory long before MS.
Shame they couldn't keep it up...
BTW MS threatened dire conseqences for anyone installing Novell AD on a Windows network, they were sh*t scared of it.
Now of course people think MS invented everything; truth is they invented very little, if anything at all.

RE: This is really shocking isn't it?

Spedley — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:17:58 GMT

I think it's very hard to get up in the morning without infringing a Microsoft patent.

I do give credit to Microsoft for some quality programs and ideas/implementations (look no further than Office and VBA) but as to open source steeling MS ideas?

IE, that integral part of all MS OSs since 1995? Yes, I could list more but that is pretty much my point, with 6 billion people on the planet it is certain that somebody has had the idea before you. I don't recall any true innovation from Microsoft, mostly pale and late immitations.

RE: This is really shocking isn't it?

boywander — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:10:10 GMT

Malc, so does a skilled workman who happens to be saddled with **** tools... though the point may not apply here. ;)

[quote]Some of these firms may build upon Microsoft ideas that we provide to them free or at low royalties in connection with our interoperability initiatives.[/quote]

[img]http://img116.exs.cx/img116/1231/z7shysterical.gif[/img]

RE: This is really shocking isn't it?

malc_wright — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 19:41:07 GMT

I guess with Vista doing so phenomenally well, people are looking at Open source, and for once Microsoft is acknowledging that it's hurting.

Of course it's unsporting of the opposition to proprietary locked down software to have created a development model which is better than a commercial vendor can afford, even if the vendor is as rich as Microsoft.

What did you expect them to cry 'Well done chaps jolly good show, play up, play up!'

Now what was the saying? I know a bad work man always blames their tools..

RE: This is really shocking isn't it?

bigdaddy — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 17:06:08 GMT

Very shocking.;)
Who could they mean?:D

This is really shocking isn't it?

wyliecoyoteuk — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 16:25:54 GMT

Apparently, only [url=http://uk.news.yahoo.com/vdunet/20080805/ttc-microsoft-warns-of-open-source-threa-6315470.html] Microsoft [/url] are capable of original ideas!

Well, they have to defend their business model, (and cover their *ss) I suppose.

Of course, it couldn't actually be that their marketing and development people are getting it wrong :)