Fat file patent

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

From: Bob Webster <bob () upperspace com>

<snip>

Patent

Compact flash cards (and other flash cards) are really handy in cameras and 
computers, because you can treat them like little hard drives. Or big hard 
drives, if you consider half a billion a big number. You can plug in a 
compact flash card and read or write just like a hard drive. This is 
because it uses a standard format, the FAT or FAT32 format.

FAT stands for (or stood for once) File Access Table. It's a standard 
layout for a file directory and pointers to the files. Microsoft started 
using the FAT format for hard and floppy drives with MSDOS. It's a pretty 
simple format, with several similarities to CP/M and Unix formats.

Now Microsoft has decided they own FAT. They are going to start charging 
manufacturers about $0.25 for each compact flash card sold. Well, those 
that use the FAT file format, which amounts to almost every card being 
sold. Our PC12 uses a nonstandard compact flash card to record engine data. 
I guess that saved us 25 cents in the purchase of the airplane.

        http://www.microsoft.com/mscorp/ip/tech/fat.asp


From ms site djf


FAT File System Technology and Patent License

December 3, 2003
RELATED RESOURCES
   * 
<http://www.microsoft.com/mscorp/ip/tech//mscorp/ip/tech/fathist.asp>Learn 
More About the FAT File System

Most operating systems store computer files by dividing the file into 
smaller pieces and storing those pieces in separate clusters of a hard 
disk, floppy disk, or flash memory card. The FAT file system allows an 
operating system to keep track of the location and sequence of each piece 
of a file, and also allows the operating system to identify which clusters 
are unassigned and available for new files. When a computer user wants to 
read a file, the FAT file system also reassembles each piece of the file 
into one unit for viewing.

The first FAT file system was developed by Microsoft in 1976. That system 
was based on the BASIC programming language and allowed programs and data 
to be stored on a floppy disk. Since that time, the FAT file system has 
been improved upon multiple times to take advantage of advances in computer 
technology, and to further refine and enrich the FAT file system itself.

Today, the FAT File system has become the ubiquitous format used for 
interchange of media between computers, and, since the advent of 
inexpensive, removable flash memory, also between digital devices. The FAT 
file system is now supported by a wide variety of operating systems running 
on all sizes of computers, from servers to personal digital assistants. In 
addition, many digital devices such as still and video cameras, audio 
recorders, video game systems, scanners, and printers make use of FAT file 
system technology.

Microsoft is offering to license its FAT file system specification and 
associated intellectual property. With this license, other companies have 
the opportunity to standardize the FAT file system implementation in their 
products, and to improve file system compatibility across a range of 
computing and consumer electronics devices.



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