3 ms·

Highly recommended (though the Gary Kildall bit is very short): - A movie: Pirates of Silicon Valley (https://youtu.be/BI-nzUIYIX4 https://youtu.be/BI-nzUIYIX4

by fizixer 11y ago

Highly recommended (though the Gary Kildall bit is very short): - A movie: Pirates of Silicon Valley (https://youtu.be/BI-nzUIYIX4 https://youtu.be/BI-nzUIYIX4) - A documentary: Triumph of the Nerds (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLudrw8Z7-gFa7Is4YZitOF7-AfLl2u8IA https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLudrw8Z7-gFa7Is4YZitO...) - Not involving Gary Kildall, but about open source, gnu, and linux: Revolution OS: (https://youtu.be/fxjElWL8igo https://youtu.be/fxjElWL8igo)

acomjean 11y ago
I too would highly recommend Trimuph of the Nerds Documentary (That Cringley Guy is involved in it). Lots of first hand accounts. Plus IBM Carols being sung! Triumph of the Nerds has some first person accounts from Jack Sams of IBM and Bill Gates and Balmer (of the whole IBM/ Digital Research negotiation (or lack thereoff). Its in part 2 (11 minutes in). Basically IBM wanting programming languages and an OS from Microsoft. MS didn't have an OS, so they sent IBM to Digital Research (Gary's Company). The deal to get CP/M fell through Microsoft said, we'll sell you (IBM) and OS too. Microsoft then bought the OS from a company across town. That os was basically adapted from CP/M (the author used the cp manual as a starting point)
- rmason 11y ago
  That's not exactly how it happened. IBM already knew about CP/M because it was already powering the non-Apple PC market. Knowing IBM's desire for an OS as well as Basic he sent Steve Balmer across town to license 86-DOS, aka Seatle DOS which became his offering MSDOS. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/86-DOS http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/86-DOS IBM eventually offered three different OS on the original IBM PC but Gates shrewdly made sure his was the lowest priced one and the rest is history.
  - flomo 11y ago
    If I recall the story correctly, there was some confusion because IBM saw "Microsoft CP/M" running on an Apple II. (MS licensed it from DR and sold it with their "Z80 SoftCard". The Apple II+SoftCard was supposedly the most popular CP/M machine.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulQ4CWBfR_g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulQ4CWBfR_g
    - acomjean 11y ago
      Thats it (according to Balmer, and Jack Sams who is the IBM exec that went to Digital Research to license it). IBM thought they could licence CP/M from microsoft. MS couldn't license CP/M and sent Jack to the Digital Research house. It was awkward. (Triumph of the Nerds Documentary episode 2 18 minutes in)
    - frik 11y ago
      Paul Allen (Microsoft co-founder) writes about the Z80 SoftCard and the early Microsoft history in his book "Idea Man": http://www.amazon.com/Idea-Man-Memoir-Cofounder-Microsoft/dp/1591845378/ http://www.amazon.com/Idea-Man-Memoir-Cofounder-Microsoft/dp...
pmelendez 11y ago
I second the recommendation although my least favourite was the Revolution OS; It just felt like a propaganda pamphlet to me but still was insighful and entertaining.

by fizixer 11y ago

acomjean 11y ago

I too would highly recommend Trimuph of the Nerds Documentary (That Cringley Guy is involved in it). Lots of first hand accounts. Plus IBM Carols being sung! Triumph of the Nerds has some first person accounts from Jack Sams of IBM and Bill Gates and Balmer (of the whole IBM/ Digital Research negotiation (or lack thereoff). Its in part 2 (11 minutes in). Basically IBM wanting programming languages and an OS from Microsoft. MS didn't have an OS, so they sent IBM to Digital Research (Gary's Company). The deal to get CP/M fell through Microsoft said, we'll sell you (IBM) and OS too. Microsoft then bought the OS from a company across town. That os was basically adapted from CP/M (the author used the cp manual as a starting point)

rmason 11y ago
That's not exactly how it happened. IBM already knew about CP/M because it was already powering the non-Apple PC market. Knowing IBM's desire for an OS as well as Basic he sent Steve Balmer across town to license 86-DOS, aka Seatle DOS which became his offering MSDOS. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/86-DOS http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/86-DOS IBM eventually offered three different OS on the original IBM PC but Gates shrewdly made sure his was the lowest priced one and the rest is history.
- flomo 11y ago
  If I recall the story correctly, there was some confusion because IBM saw "Microsoft CP/M" running on an Apple II. (MS licensed it from DR and sold it with their "Z80 SoftCard". The Apple II+SoftCard was supposedly the most popular CP/M machine.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulQ4CWBfR_g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulQ4CWBfR_g
  - acomjean 11y ago
    Thats it (according to Balmer, and Jack Sams who is the IBM exec that went to Digital Research to license it). IBM thought they could licence CP/M from microsoft. MS couldn't license CP/M and sent Jack to the Digital Research house. It was awkward. (Triumph of the Nerds Documentary episode 2 18 minutes in)
  - frik 11y ago
    Paul Allen (Microsoft co-founder) writes about the Z80 SoftCard and the early Microsoft history in his book "Idea Man": http://www.amazon.com/Idea-Man-Memoir-Cofounder-Microsoft/dp/1591845378/ http://www.amazon.com/Idea-Man-Memoir-Cofounder-Microsoft/dp...

pmelendez 11y ago

I second the recommendation although my least favourite was the Revolution OS; It just felt like a propaganda pamphlet to me but still was insighful and entertaining.