FC: Bill Gates: Open source software only exists 'cuz of Microsoft

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

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Date: Thu, 8 Nov 2001 17:43:07 -0500 (EST)
Message-Id: <200111082243.RAA03265 () out-of-band media mit edu>
From: Lenny Foner <foner () media mit edu>
To: declan () well com
Subject: Any more spin, and I'm going to throw up
  http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/134363780_microsoft08.html

  Gates also took some credit for the genesis of open-source software. He said
  Microsoft made it possible by standardizing computers: "Really, the 
reason you
  see open source there at all is because we came in and said there should 
be a
  platform that's identical with millions and millions of machines," he said.

[Surely we don't have to point out that open-source software originated
LOOOONNNNGGG before computers were smaller than the size of rooms,
yes?  At any number of government and research labs and universities,
right?  Well, maybe lots of people need to -keep- pointing this out.]




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