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I hate to sound too much like a capitalist, but, what's a stake is not just the outcome for the general public, the company has to survive too. The public gets to vote by either buying the product or boycotting it. It's a simple system and it works wonderfully. -brian >-----Original Message----- >From: Robin Kirkham [SMTP:Robin.Kirkham@mlb.dmt.csiro.au] >Sent: Thursday, January 22, 1998 12:38 AM >To: Brian Cuthie >Cc: crossgcc@cygnus.com; rms@santafe.edu >Subject: Re: FW: Results of "downloading compressed program images" request > > >On Wed, 21 Jan 1998, Brian Cuthie wrote: > >> Oh, right. This worked really well for IBM in the 1980's. >> >> Their problem was that they executed *exactly* the plan you espouse. >> They opened not only the hardware (I had a PC and still have the >> original IBM PC Technical Reference Manual), but also gave away the >> source to the ROM BIOS. Since the OS was available from a third party >> (Microsoft), they were all but out of the PC business within four years >> because of competition from clone makers. > >But was has the been the net outcome for the general population, and for >PC programmers? Just about everyone has that standardised, well-understood, >(reasonably) open computing platform on their desks and in their homes. > >Sounds to me like a good outcome on the whole, not a bad one. And one >that (eventually) has become a boon for free- and low-cost software. I think >it's doubtful that a closed, proprietory approach by IBM in launching the >PC would have had that welcome outcome. > >Robin Kirkham CSIRO Manufacturing Science and Technology >Project Engineer Locked Bag 9, Preston 3072, Australia >robin.kirkham@mlb.dmt.csiro.au Phone: +61 3 9662-7756 Fax: +61 3 9662-7851