Micro$haft To Charge For Use Of FAT File System

[Don_G]

The greedy bastards now want to charge a hefty fee for the "honor" of being Windows compatible now.

Link: http://www.microsoft.com/mscorp/ip/tech/fat.asp

[wtmusic]

1. FAT goes back 15 years

they're totally out to lunch

[papau]

2. File allocation tables - what did CP/M and Unix v 6 which is public domain

use?

Granted Gates wrote designed and coded in Feb., 1976 his 1976 File Allocation Table (FAT) so as to use it for his version of "Basic" (the IBM version of Basic from 1965 was used mainly for Terminals - that was where I used it -and the Dartmouth version in the late 60's was for teaching).

And indeed Tim Patterson in an early version of an operating system for the Intel 8086 chip incorporated the Gates design - and Gates bought all rights to that OS and used the FAT system when he stole the CP/M and Unix design consepts to put out "DOS".

:-)

But when does the stolen CP/M and Unix concepts remove Gate's right to charge a fee for use of the "FAT" file system?

[markus]

8. And FreeDOS

which is what happened to DR-DOS, in case you were curious.

It think this is retaliation at the Europeans who are insisting that MS open up some of the Win32 API to public scrutiny.

Hell, I even got shook down by the Co. Democratic Chair to write letters to stick up for Microsfot (who's a big employer in Fargo at Great Plains Software), since their in-state lobbyist is a former state chair.

Since I have applied for positions there in the past and might again, I bit my tongue and didn't fire off back to the large circulation e-mail.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

10. No. FreeDOS is independently developed and Free.

DR-DOS is proprietary code which currently belongs to DeviceLogics: http://www.drdos.com/products.html

[Flightful]

9. If Bill stole CP/M

Then he stole it from himself.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

3. It's been in use for more than 20 years!

Since the first PC circa 1981! How in the name of GNU can a patent for such an outdated thing still be in effect?

[sybylla]

4. yea, but software isn't patented, it's copyrighted

Copyright terms have changed over the years but I know that current terms are long - something like lifetime of the author plus 20 years.

[Dogmudgeon]

6. Software patents

Sorry, but software IS patentable.

Software patents are a major source of intangible asset value for a lot of companies. It's a MAJOR scam.

It is, but it shouldn`t be.



--bkl

[Dogmudgeon]

5. It's a legal "test"

They're seeing how far they can push it. My guess is that the area circuit court (the 9th?) will allow the case to be pursued (probably as a "give-back" to the right wing) and hundreds of development houses shaken down before it can reach the SCOTUS, "for whom all things are possible".

Gates had better realize that if he does get to run roughshod over his customers now, that once the Democrats get back in power, Microsoft will go the way of Standard Oil, and even I will cackle with immoderate glee.

And I'm an independent Microsoft developer, no less.

--bkl
"Independent Microsoft Developer" = long-term unemployed

[quisp]

7. They're just cutting off their nose to spite their face...

This move will just send all the manufacturers to look for a free open file system, and linux, with ext3 and reiserfs will be right there. Good for M$.