Fun_People Archive
17 Aug
Microsoft Innovation

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From: Peter Langston <psl>
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 98 15:31:03 -0700
To: Fun_People
Precedence: bulk
Subject: Microsoft Innovation

X-Lib-of-Cong-ISSN: 1098-7649
[No, this is not an article on oxymorons, even though the title would be  
perfect...  -psl]

From: Ken Alexander <kalex@eecs.umich.edu>

 "This is why we must be free to innovate without government interference",
 said Bill Gates, "just like how we came up with DOS before CP/M, windowing
 GUIs before Apple and Xerox, Word before Wordstar, Excel before Lotus,
 and NT before VMS and UNIX.  We also invented computer languages when we
 made MS BASIC and created the Internet when we devised the idea for MSN.
 And... hey, where'd my pen go?  Where's my pen?  Someone innovated my pen!!"

Ok, so I just made that quote up.  But unfortunately I didn't make up
this shameless piece of revisionism:
"Microsoft Says Internet Browser Idea Arose Long Before Netscape"
   http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ofnote/nyt806.htm

They appear to be exploiting the web-vs-internet confusion.
But as NeedToKnow (www.ntk.net) points out, even a timeline on MSNBC
   http://www.msnbc.com/news/118315.asp
contradicts their claims.

© 1998 Peter Langston