IMHO, Paul Thurrott's piece is just another part of Microsoft's
propaganda campaign. It is an interesting example of how to twist
history though. Not entirely "the way it was," either. For
example, far from there being all this serious CP/M competition
back then, it was IBM's market dominance and the fact that the
IBM PC shipped with PC-DOS (IBM's brand of MS-DOS) on board that
gave Microsoft their big break. The others didn't really have a
chance.
True, MS had their share of blind luck (especially when IBM
handed this monkey the keys to the banana plantation--note this
is how you get 500-lb gorrillas), and it's also true that Gates
was shrewd enough to take advantage of opportunities (lots of
competitors then didn't see what seems so obvious now, and now
they are forgotten history.)
Even though competitors made mistakes, competing directly against
an agressive monopoly like Microsoft is like playing snakes and
ladders... with greased rungs. Mistakes come easier that way.
What bugs me about this article is that it tries to paint
Microsoft as some sort of Horatio Alger--poor but honest, one
against long odds, excuse us, but it's just everyone else just
keeps falling on their swords... I don't buy it.
It's still a free country, and praise be we can all say what we
like in public, but I couldn't let Thurrott's piece pass as
"history." It's just a spin on history.
- Bill Thoen
-----
> This is a an article from Windows 2000 Magazine by Paul Thurrott (News
> Editor). I found it quite interesting and sharing it with the list.
>
> Although it's easy to attribute much of Microsoft's success over the
> years to shady business practices, the company wasn't always in a
> position of power, and its early success was an interesting mix of
> savvy maneuvering and sheer luck. Throughout Microsoft's history, the
... etc.
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