4 ms·
Wasn't the turning point when the IBM PC spec was reverse engineered which allowed for clones?
by adsr 15y ago
Wasn't the turning point when the IBM PC spec was reverse engineered which allowed for clones?
- beagle3 15y agoThe IBM PC spec was included with the IBM PC (or sold for $100 or so). Schematics, BIOS source code, everything. IBM was meticulously documenting everything, and that was actually common and expected at the time (e.g. I had the same info about my ZX Spectrum; I remember the same info was available for the Apple][ and C-64 at the time). A defining moment was when the "clean room" approach to implementing a BIOS was certified non infringing by courts. Clones were available (as in, 5 years or so) before that moment, but the BIOSes had a cloud of copyright uncertainty.