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RE: Then Everything Must Be Free
The PC made it mainstream not because of Microsoft's DOS, rather it made it mainstream because IBM released all the specifications for it. Anybody could write anything for it and build anything for it. Apple and Amiga products struggled against that because they were so proprietary.
I beg to differ. Yeah, Apple struggled but it wasn't because of cloning wars...Apple has always had a loyal following because it's maintained the integrity of its product. Apples struggles were in most part due to Microsoft DOS...no matter what the clone was, DOS was on it, like a parasite and no other programmers had any input. Now that may sound like double talk because Apple was stingy with its software but I contest that was only because of the direction that the industry had already taken. And the other part of the challenges that Apple had was poor marketing. (I know they're saying thank goodness for Steve Jobs now) Microsoft was an absolute factor in the complete disabling of the software industry as it was once known, and the introduction of mediocre utilities (VB, DOS, etc. etc. etc.) and it will be the demise of Microsoft (as it is now known) that will reverse its crippling effects
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RE: Then Everything Must Be Free
and when I say "Apple-like" I mean companies that develop hardware and software in-house. (Obviously, I know that their hardware comes from a lot of different places but I referring to the structure more then the actual commodities.)
I think the industry would grind to an ugly halt ... well, more like become cripplingly insane. Just take a look at open source device driver development. Back in the day, the problem was sound cards. Today it's making wireless drivers. If the industry had its software more tied to the hardware, I think interoperability would suffer massively. Many innovations wouldn't get past niche audiences or even be created because it would be cost prohibitive for a manufacturer to gamble programmer time on making their equipment work in different software environments and electrical environments.
The PC made it mainstream not because of Microsoft's DOS, rather it made it mainstream because IBM released all the specifications for it. Anybody could write anything for it and build anything for it. Apple and Amiga products struggled against that because they were so proprietary.
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