How come Bill Gates always gets away with stealing everything from Macs?
Tuesday, March 4, 2008 by Praveen
Well,simply because Apple was hoodwinked by Microsoft.here's a bit of history...before 1983,all IBM machines,or PC's were pre-installed with MS-DOS,as per the agreement between Microsoft and IBM.but as early as 1978,Apple -specifically,Steve Jobs,has been working on "LISA",the first personal computer with a GUI - graphical user interface and a MOUSE.
***neither the mouse nor the gui was invented by Apple.both were the ideas and inventions of Mr.Douglas Engelbart in 1964.Appple was the only one who first incorporated the mouse into their system.Mr. Engelbart was also the inventor of the concept of GUI-the graphical user interface itself,or the "WIMP"- or "Windows,Icons,Menu,Pointing device".
LISA stood for - "Local Integrated Software Architecture".later he left the LISA project to join in the development of the Macintosh.it was the most advanced personal computer at that time,,for it's size it was already boasting of features such as - protected memory,multi-tasking,a built-in screensaver,expansion slots,higher resolution displays and others.the only problem was that the Motorola processor cannot handle the processing power demands of the OS.so in the end,the project was discontinued and the features of LISA were incorporated into the MACINTOSH.
That was way back in 1978...and when Mr.Gates got a peek of LISA and later the MACINTOSH,both with spectacular graphics of that time and period,he started COPYING the GUI and started developing his OS based on the Apple GUI.and on November 10,1983,the Windows 1.0 was announced,which was originally named "Interface Manager".the first shipments were made on November 1985,two years after the anouncement.in September of the same year,1985,Apple threatened Microsoft with a lawsuit.Bill Gates was warned of copyrights and patents infringements and theft of trade secrets.knowing full well that he will lose if the case goes to court,he and his lawyers,with Bill Neukom as head counsel,drew up an offer and a deal which they presented to Apple.
Apple,in all it's naivette,agreed,and a contract was drawn up.the hoodwink? - In the drawn up contract,the Licensing Agreement stated somehow THE INCLUSION OF APPLE FEATURES IN THE MS WINDOWS OS AND IN ALL FUTURE MICROSOFT SOFTWARE.in December 1987,Windows 2.0 was released,which really LOOKED LIKE A MAC.that was when Apple filed a lawsuit - 1988.but alas, as per the contract between Apple and Microsoft,the the former consented the latter the rights to use the Apple features.and so even as the case lasted for four years,Apple LOST.Microsoft INFRINGED on 170 of Apple copyrights,but the courts said that the LICENSING AGEEMENT gave Microsoft the rights to use ALL but NINE of the copyrights.and a further blow to Apple was that in 1993, a U.S. District court granted Microsoft motions to dismiss the LAST REMAINING copyright infringement claims by Apple.and the rest is history....from LISA to Windows 1.0/2.0/3.0/3.1... the OSX Aqua to Windows Vista Aero...OSX widgets to Vista gadgets...etc...so most of the features and enhancements on the gui on your computer,be it a windows pc or a mac,are APPLE PATENTS AND COPYRIGHTS,of which Microsoft is consented to use,as per the Licensing Agreement.
Apart from the Yalta Conference at the end of WW2...to the diversion of george bush from the al qaeda war to the war in iraq,the Microsoft deal with Apple was the one of the greatest hoodwinks in history.what were the Apple lawyers thinking?didn't they read the whole agreement with all the clauses and sub-clauses and the small prints?so...Bill Gates and Microsoft can COPY the MAC all they want...and there's nothing Apple nor Steve Jobs can do anything about it.unless of course Apple comes up with new ideas with new patents and copyrights....but if it benefits the majority,if it is for the good of many,then,i'm sure nobody is complaining,only the folks at Apple...who will ever want a text-based MS-DOS OS without Windows?BUT STILL...THE QUESTION OF PRINCIPLE.and to all of those people that keep saying that Microsoft or Bill Gates did not copy anything from Apple,well...i just wish they study a bit of computer history first.any computer history book will do.
***neither the mouse nor the gui was invented by Apple.both were the ideas and inventions of Mr.Douglas Engelbart in 1964.Appple was the only one who first incorporated the mouse into their system.Mr. Engelbart was also the inventor of the concept of GUI-the graphical user interface itself,or the "WIMP"- or "Windows,Icons,Menu,Pointing device".
LISA stood for - "Local Integrated Software Architecture".later he left the LISA project to join in the development of the Macintosh.it was the most advanced personal computer at that time,,for it's size it was already boasting of features such as - protected memory,multi-tasking,a built-in screensaver,expansion slots,higher resolution displays and others.the only problem was that the Motorola processor cannot handle the processing power demands of the OS.so in the end,the project was discontinued and the features of LISA were incorporated into the MACINTOSH.
That was way back in 1978...and when Mr.Gates got a peek of LISA and later the MACINTOSH,both with spectacular graphics of that time and period,he started COPYING the GUI and started developing his OS based on the Apple GUI.and on November 10,1983,the Windows 1.0 was announced,which was originally named "Interface Manager".the first shipments were made on November 1985,two years after the anouncement.in September of the same year,1985,Apple threatened Microsoft with a lawsuit.Bill Gates was warned of copyrights and patents infringements and theft of trade secrets.knowing full well that he will lose if the case goes to court,he and his lawyers,with Bill Neukom as head counsel,drew up an offer and a deal which they presented to Apple.
Apple,in all it's naivette,agreed,and a contract was drawn up.the hoodwink? - In the drawn up contract,the Licensing Agreement stated somehow THE INCLUSION OF APPLE FEATURES IN THE MS WINDOWS OS AND IN ALL FUTURE MICROSOFT SOFTWARE.in December 1987,Windows 2.0 was released,which really LOOKED LIKE A MAC.that was when Apple filed a lawsuit - 1988.but alas, as per the contract between Apple and Microsoft,the the former consented the latter the rights to use the Apple features.and so even as the case lasted for four years,Apple LOST.Microsoft INFRINGED on 170 of Apple copyrights,but the courts said that the LICENSING AGEEMENT gave Microsoft the rights to use ALL but NINE of the copyrights.and a further blow to Apple was that in 1993, a U.S. District court granted Microsoft motions to dismiss the LAST REMAINING copyright infringement claims by Apple.and the rest is history....from LISA to Windows 1.0/2.0/3.0/3.1... the OSX Aqua to Windows Vista Aero...OSX widgets to Vista gadgets...etc...so most of the features and enhancements on the gui on your computer,be it a windows pc or a mac,are APPLE PATENTS AND COPYRIGHTS,of which Microsoft is consented to use,as per the Licensing Agreement.
Apart from the Yalta Conference at the end of WW2...to the diversion of george bush from the al qaeda war to the war in iraq,the Microsoft deal with Apple was the one of the greatest hoodwinks in history.what were the Apple lawyers thinking?didn't they read the whole agreement with all the clauses and sub-clauses and the small prints?so...Bill Gates and Microsoft can COPY the MAC all they want...and there's nothing Apple nor Steve Jobs can do anything about it.unless of course Apple comes up with new ideas with new patents and copyrights....but if it benefits the majority,if it is for the good of many,then,i'm sure nobody is complaining,only the folks at Apple...who will ever want a text-based MS-DOS OS without Windows?BUT STILL...THE QUESTION OF PRINCIPLE.and to all of those people that keep saying that Microsoft or Bill Gates did not copy anything from Apple,well...i just wish they study a bit of computer history first.any computer history book will do.
