684
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] 8oow3291d@feddit.dk 5 points 1 day ago

Despite the fact that Microsoft was where it was then because IBM had chosen DOS for its PC operating system until that time.

Is this actually morally bad? Unless MS had promised otherwise, isn't it just competition?

[-] atomicbocks@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 day ago

Admittedly, the morality of this particular point probably relies on further context. On its face, I suppose you’re correct. However, it’s worth pointing out that for instance the only reason DOS was chosen is because Bill Gates’ Mom was on the IBM board (also because the owners of Digital Research blew it, but that’s a story for another time). Further, IBM had funded Microsoft pretty heavily to help development of the NT kernel with super cushy terms because of the aforementioned relationship with the board. So while, yes, on the one hand you could classify this as competition and it’s a little hard to feel bad for giant corporations, on the other hand this was Bill Gates being a twat and taking advantage of what was essentially a favor. There’s a reason the movie about him and Steve Jobs back in the day was called “Pirates of Silicon Valley“.

this post was submitted on 16 Apr 2026
684 points (100.0% liked)

Programmer Humor

30995 readers
1333 users here now

Welcome to Programmer Humor!

This is a place where you can post jokes, memes, humor, etc. related to programming!

For sharing awful code theres also Programming Horror.

Rules

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS