2 ms·

Their publication of BIOS source allowed for successful "clean room" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_Technologies#History http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoe

• joezydeco 15y ago
  The publication of the API allowed for clean room engineering of BIOS clones, but the publication of the IBM BIOS source was a defensive move to taint the pool of engineers that would be trying to write clones.
  • beagle3 15y ago
    The publication of the source code was not a defensive move. It predated the clones - it was a time in which it was customary to include schematics with manuals (I still have an "XT Technical Reference" at home which includes full schematics and commented bios source code.
    • joezydeco 15y ago
      Sure. Apple did it too. I still have the original ][+ Monitor ROM listing somewhere. Apple listed theirs to aid hobbyists. Did IBM do the same? I would think to IBM it had more to do with copyright than aiding hackers.
      • beagle3 15y ago
        They didn't do it to aid hobbyists or hackers per se. It was just standard practice at the time. Televisions, radio receivers, amplifiers, washing machines -- almost everything came with schematics. Also, at the time, IBM did not consider the PC a "serious" business - they just did the minimum possible to not lose out on a possible new market. The original PC (PC-g) and even the PC-XT were basically not much more than Intel's reference 8086 / 8088 design with not a lot of modifications -- I don't think anyone at the time (1982) thought there was much IP there anyway.