Re: [cobalt-users] RAQ2 Sendmail & Hotmail

[jk@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Jens Kristian Søgaard)]

Jeff Lasman <jblists@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:

> > Remember, Microsoft started out being a company reselling Unix
> > licenses... :-)

> Where did this piece of misinformation come from, Jens?

Well, if you really want to know, I'll tell you :-)

My source is the quite authoritative Andrew S. Tanenbaum, whom I
presume you already know (otherwise, read up on his debate with Linus
Torvalds on why Linux is obsolete). I quote his book, "Modern
Operating Systems" (a very commonly used text book in undergraduate
classes in Operating Systems):

        "At that time [approx. 1980], Microsoft was engaged in selling
        UNIX under license from AT&T Bell Labs"

This was _before_ the introduction of the IBM PC.

I know that the BASIC interpreter was even earlier, approx. 1975...

To quote Microsofts own homepage:

Microsoft Announces XENIX OS 

    8/25/80: Although the company grows by only two employees, sales
             more than triple. Microsoft announces Microsoft XENIX OS
             (enhanced version of the UNIX operating system), a
             portable operating system for 16-bit microprocessors. It
             is an interactive, multi-user, multi-tasking system that
             will run on Intel 8086, Zilog Z8000, Motorola M68000, and
             DEC PDP-11 series. All of Microsoft's existing system
             software (COBOL, PASCAL, BASIC and DBMS) will be adapted
             to run under the XENIX system, and all existing software
             written for UNIX OS will be compatible as well.


> The earliest copies had their own tape-drive operating system, and
> didn't require any kind of DOS or any other operating system for that
> matter.

Hmm, but didn't these microcomputers mostly run CP/M?

I remember using these damn things :-)


-- 
Jens Kristian Søgaard,
jk@xxxxxxxxxxxx -- http://www.jksoegaard.dk/
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