> ... the absolutely huge role they [Microsoft] played in bring about the world we take for granted today. It's entirely not clear what would have happened if

> ... the absolutely huge role they [Microsoft] played in bring about the world we take for granted today. It's entirely not clear what would have happened if Microsoft / Bill had not brokered that highly dubious original deal -- if, say, CP/M or even *nix had won that war. My personal take is that we'd be ahead of where we are now. And I certainly don't think that we're at some kind of manifest destiny today. Consider this discussion on HN from a couple of years ago around this very subject: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9667498 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9667498