Forgot your password?
Chyist Dec 7, 1998 I
Document Actions
========================================================================= Date: Mon, 7 Dec 1998 08:57:36 -0600
Reply-To: kyle@rtoads.com
Sender: "CYHIST Community Memory: Discussion list on the History of
Cyberspace" <CYHIST@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU> Comments: Authenticated sender is <kyle@mail.swcp.com>
From: Kyle Silfer <kyle@RTOADS.COM>
Organization: Reign of Toads
Subject: Re: Earliest "free software"
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT
______________________________________________________________________
Community Memory: Discussion List on the History of Cyberspace ______________________________________________________________________
Peter D. Junger writes:
>I would very much like to see that [Gates] letter again. I hope that someone can post a URL where it can be found or that you, or someone else, will post a copy to this list. I think that that primal whine is an important document in understanding the peculiar consequences of allowing the functionality of computer programs to be protected by copyright.
The particular irony of the Gates letter is that BASIC was (and is) a public domain language. Microsoft's proprietary version of something that was already free does indeed indicate a major demarcation between the hacker ethic and the copyright crackdown ethic that now dominates commercial software. It demonstrates the parasitic roots of Microsoft--taking from the free software community and providing nothing in return.
./k
[Reign of Toads 87196-0498 USA ] ==oo==
[http://www.rtoads.com/hypertoad/ ] ==oo==
[info@rtoads.com; subject: "subscribe" ] ==oo==
______________________________________________________________________
Reply-To: kyle@rtoads.com
Sender: "CYHIST Community Memory: Discussion list on the History of
Cyberspace" <CYHIST@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU> Comments: Authenticated sender is <kyle@mail.swcp.com>
From: Kyle Silfer <kyle@RTOADS.COM>
Organization: Reign of Toads
Subject: Re: Earliest "free software"
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT
______________________________________________________________________
Community Memory: Discussion List on the History of Cyberspace ______________________________________________________________________
Peter D. Junger writes:
>I would very much like to see that [Gates] letter again. I hope that someone can post a URL where it can be found or that you, or someone else, will post a copy to this list. I think that that primal whine is an important document in understanding the peculiar consequences of allowing the functionality of computer programs to be protected by copyright.
The particular irony of the Gates letter is that BASIC was (and is) a public domain language. Microsoft's proprietary version of something that was already free does indeed indicate a major demarcation between the hacker ethic and the copyright crackdown ethic that now dominates commercial software. It demonstrates the parasitic roots of Microsoft--taking from the free software community and providing nothing in return.
./k
[Reign of Toads 87196-0498 USA ] ==oo==
[http://www.rtoads.com/hypertoad/ ] ==oo==
[info@rtoads.com; subject: "subscribe" ] ==oo==
______________________________________________________________________
