From: Ad 

Richard.Steiner{at}FidoNet.no-ip.info wrote:
> On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 17:06:52 -0500 in OSDEBATE,
> Adam spake unto us, saying:
>
>  A> IBM created most of the fundamental "IP" in the world
of computing
>  A> including the "non-destructive cursor".
>
> Yes and no.  They may have the most patents, they might be the largest
> surviving creator of IP in the computing world, and their IP might be
> dominant in today's market, but many of the smaller players back in the
> 1960's and 1970's (especially Sperry UNIVAC, Cray, Burroughs, and also
> Control Data) were fairly innovative in their own right in both the
> hardware and software areas.
>
>  A> If IBM had been able & willing to "enforce it's
IP" there'd still
>  A> only be IBM.
>
> In some large industries it has *never* been "only IBM" -- a
surprising
> percentage of the mainframe transaction systems in the airline industry
> (for example) are still Unisys Clearpath mainframe boxes using TIP or
> HVTIP, and while those numbers are shrinking, at least two of the major
> carriers (UAL and NWA) still have a lot of stuff on those boxes.
>
> Disclaimer: I used to work for Unisys, and I've worked on Unisys 2200
> mainframes in the airline industry for 18+ years, so my view is likely
> somewhat biased.  But I know what I've seen in the trenches, and it
> ain't always IBM.  :-)
>
> --
>  -Rich Steiner >>>---> http://www.visi.com/~rsteiner
>>>---> Mableton, GA USA
>     Mainframe/Unix bit twiddler by day, OS/2+Linux+DOS hobbyist by night.
>        WARNING: I've seen FIELDATA FORTRAN V and I know how to use it!
>                    The Theorem Theorem: If If, Then Then.
>
> --- slrn/0.9.8.0 (OS/2)

I don't dispute the input & achievements of the Sperry's Unisys,
Buroroughs et al.....however (a) not many of them are still in business in
their own right & (b) it was the sheer breadth of the IBM patents &
copyrights which allowed them a necklock on the entire IT industry.

If IBM had taken Balmer''s recent approach wrt "monetizing IP" MS
would not exist.

Adam

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