Hi Adam,
You wrote:
AM>PS If you don't like windows because it's owned by Microsoft, you can't
AM>like dos either. It's owned by Microsoft too. Dos was actually the
AM>software package that started Microsoft :)
. Ahem
Microsoft was around before MSDOS, they produced programming tools
such as BASIC, a FORTRAN commpiler, M80 & L80 (Assembler and linker
respectively) for 8080 CP/M machines, all of which I've used, though I
much preferred the Cromemco assembler (I've got a version here which
I've re-worked to remove the Cromemco specific calls) and PLINK.
Also Microsoft did not write MSDOS initially, it was written by Tim
Patterson for Seattle Computer Products as 86-DOS, and MS
licensed it from them in October 1980. They bought the rights outright
in July 1981, and released the first version in August 1981 (as PCDOS on
the IBM PC).
As a slightly on topic bit, Microsoft did not even write their own C
compiler for the PC initially, they licensed the Lattice compiler,
though they did later write their own.
George
 * SLMR 2.1a * Wastebasket: Something to throw things near.
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