Prior to the lecture, I was unaware that software near the time of its invention was initially free to all. The creators wanted people to be able to access and use software so they didn’t put a price on their work until Bill Gates came on the scene. What he saw with software was consumer-product; supply and demand to which he came to the conclusion that if there was going to be money in software, why not have it all go to him. I think that although this very selfish of him because the ground work had already been set for him, one cannot deny that he is a hell of a businessman. Sure he had some great ideas within software but he used other people’s work and solely benefitted from it. When it came to ‘borrowing’ the idea of the mouse, mouse pointer, icons and windows, Doug Engelbart didn’t ask for any type of payment from either Apple or Microsoft. Instead Microsoft sued Apple because apparently it was their idea. How this lawsuit was able to stand in court baffles me. Why didn’t Engelbart stand up and tell both companies to get stuffed? Because he created these tools for computers to help build them into interactive machines, not for money or fame. Apple did the research and thought of interesting ideas that consumers would find helpful and fun whereas Microsoft stuck with word processing and basic accounting programs. In conclusion Microsoft sucks, Apple tries to take an interest in what its audience want, but still sucks so where are we left?
Until next time,
Live long and Prosper my friends
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