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========================================================================= Date: Wed, 9 Dec 1998 17:12:31 -0800
Reply-To: "CYHIST Community Memory: Discussion list on the History of
Cyberspace" <CYHIST@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU> Sender: "CYHIST Community Memory: Discussion list on the History of
Cyberspace" <CYHIST@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU> From: Bob Bickford <rab@WELL.COM>
Subject: MS Basic (was Re: Earliest "free software")
In-Reply-To: <199812090558.VAA01983@smtp.well.com> Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
______________________________________________________________________
Community Memory: Discussion List on the History of Cyberspace ______________________________________________________________________
I was an electronics hobbyist in the 1970s (I also worked in radio broadcast; I mention that as evidence that I'm not a complete idiot) and was absolutely fascinated with these newfangled personal computer kit things, even though I couldn't afford one. Like many others on this list, I ravenously devoured the few available magazines, went to every user group meeting I could get to, and so on.
In those days, the ethic was very much one of shared exploration, and obviously as adventurers in an unknown and sometimes hostile territory, everybody was very much in favor of helping eachother. Yes, many did believe that software ought to be shared freely, but at the same time we didn't believe in ripping people off. Gates was perceived as having ripped people off, by using taxpayer-financed computer time to develop his version of BASIC and then trying to sell it in a community that was very skeptical of the idea of mass-marketed software in the first place. (I was ambivalent myself.)
Sure, lots of people responded in the most immature way possible, by stealing copies of the software. I can't claim any great virtue here, as I never had opportunity, or hardware to run it on, so I can't say that I resisted temptation. But I do recall conversations with friends and user-group members in that timeframe where we all seemed to agree on two things: Gates shouldn't be selling his BASIC, and people shouldn't be stealing it. We all thought that people should use other available BASICs, and improve the free ones to the point where Gates would become irrelevant. (I still recall how people read parts of his letter aloud in as horrible a whiny voice as they could manage.) I think that people were hoping for some kind of software nirvana where everything is shared.
Of course, history developed otherwise, and by a combination of pure luck (the IBM deal) and a developing business sense, Gates is now the richest guy on the planet. It could have happened to a number of the other active hobbyist - developer types in that timeframe, of course. Lots of us went on to make our careers based on software development, but very very few ever get rich from it. It's just another (albeit very enjoyable!) career.
--
Robert Bickford rab@daft.com
"Professional Wild-Eyed Visionary"
.
______________________________________________________________________
Reply-To: "CYHIST Community Memory: Discussion list on the History of
Cyberspace" <CYHIST@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU> Sender: "CYHIST Community Memory: Discussion list on the History of
Cyberspace" <CYHIST@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU> From: Bob Bickford <rab@WELL.COM>
Subject: MS Basic (was Re: Earliest "free software")
In-Reply-To: <199812090558.VAA01983@smtp.well.com> Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
______________________________________________________________________
Community Memory: Discussion List on the History of Cyberspace ______________________________________________________________________
I was an electronics hobbyist in the 1970s (I also worked in radio broadcast; I mention that as evidence that I'm not a complete idiot) and was absolutely fascinated with these newfangled personal computer kit things, even though I couldn't afford one. Like many others on this list, I ravenously devoured the few available magazines, went to every user group meeting I could get to, and so on.
In those days, the ethic was very much one of shared exploration, and obviously as adventurers in an unknown and sometimes hostile territory, everybody was very much in favor of helping eachother. Yes, many did believe that software ought to be shared freely, but at the same time we didn't believe in ripping people off. Gates was perceived as having ripped people off, by using taxpayer-financed computer time to develop his version of BASIC and then trying to sell it in a community that was very skeptical of the idea of mass-marketed software in the first place. (I was ambivalent myself.)
Sure, lots of people responded in the most immature way possible, by stealing copies of the software. I can't claim any great virtue here, as I never had opportunity, or hardware to run it on, so I can't say that I resisted temptation. But I do recall conversations with friends and user-group members in that timeframe where we all seemed to agree on two things: Gates shouldn't be selling his BASIC, and people shouldn't be stealing it. We all thought that people should use other available BASICs, and improve the free ones to the point where Gates would become irrelevant. (I still recall how people read parts of his letter aloud in as horrible a whiny voice as they could manage.) I think that people were hoping for some kind of software nirvana where everything is shared.
Of course, history developed otherwise, and by a combination of pure luck (the IBM deal) and a developing business sense, Gates is now the richest guy on the planet. It could have happened to a number of the other active hobbyist - developer types in that timeframe, of course. Lots of us went on to make our careers based on software development, but very very few ever get rich from it. It's just another (albeit very enjoyable!) career.
--
Robert Bickford rab@daft.com
"Professional Wild-Eyed Visionary"
.
______________________________________________________________________
