NYTimes: A Tale of the Tape From the Days When Microsoft Was Still Micro Soft

Sep 18, 2000, 13:13 (4 Talkback[s])

"As Microsoft celebrates its 25th anniversary this month, the company is unlikely to call attention to another formative event 25 years ago: the day someone stole Bill Gates's software."

"But the heist, now shrouded in equal parts mystery and industry folklore, gave an early glimpse of the hard-nosed approach Mr. Gates, Microsoft's chairman, has long taken to the software business. And the fierce debate that the theft ignited a quarter-century ago remains relevant today, as the industry engages in a war of words and lawsuits over whether computer software and digital information should be bought and sold or freely shared...."

"[Software created by Gates and Paul Allen] also almost immediately set off an ideological debate among the community of computer hobbyists and hackers: should software be a freely shared utility or a commercial product? The issue created a deep and lasting chasm in the computer world that is spreading to virtually every aspect of today's information economy - including video games and digitally rendered music and movies."

Registration required.

Complete Story

Related Stories:

• Community: Mandrake's Gael Duval Responds to Bill Gates regarding Linux and Open Source(Sep 18, 2000)
• Australian IT: Your Say: Gates and Linux(Sep 13, 2000)
• VNU Net: Linux is big rival, says Microsoft(Sep 13, 2000)
• Rant Mode Equals One -- Linux Today: "Microsoft can't compete"(Sep 12, 2000)
• Australian IT: `Linux can't compete'(Sep 12, 2000)
• Seattle Times: Microsoft adjusting its course after a triumphant quarter-century(Sep 04, 2000)
• Red Herring: Bill Gates Unplugged [Interview](Aug 03, 2000)
• IT-Director: EC to Microsoft: We just don't trust you(Jul 10, 2000)
• NY Times: Fearing Control by Microsoft, China Backs the Linux System(Jul 08, 2000)