LGR Tech Tales - How Digital Research Almost Ruled PCs
video description
Date: 2022-04-14
Related videos
Comments and reviews: 10
Bill
In 1981, CP/M had only about 1/4 of the OS market. The other almost equal sharers were Commodore, Apple and Tandy with their prorietary OSs. The language should be, CP/M was the vast leader in the -independent- operating system business.
IBM, as a result of the antitrust injunction against them in the early 1970's, was not allowed to bundle software with their hardware. They started cooperating with Microsoft but left them to decide pricing for the OS. Later IBM and DRI signed an agreement and therefore were put on pretty much an equal footing as Microsoft. But DRI stuck with their pricing for CP/M 86 at $250 which was set before the IBM PC came out later in 1981. Standard CP/M 86 as well as CP/M 86 for the IBM Displaywriter were priced at $250. Microsoft priced PC-DOS at $60. So, do the math. Which do you think consumers would buy? When Lotus 1-2-3 came out under PC-DOS it spelled the end of the chance for DRI to gain significant market share. There is more to the story but let's just end it here.
reply
In 1981, CP/M had only about 1/4 of the OS market. The other almost equal sharers were Commodore, Apple and Tandy with their prorietary OSs. The language should be, CP/M was the vast leader in the -independent- operating system business.
IBM, as a result of the antitrust injunction against them in the early 1970's, was not allowed to bundle software with their hardware. They started cooperating with Microsoft but left them to decide pricing for the OS. Later IBM and DRI signed an agreement and therefore were put on pretty much an equal footing as Microsoft. But DRI stuck with their pricing for CP/M 86 at $250 which was set before the IBM PC came out later in 1981. Standard CP/M 86 as well as CP/M 86 for the IBM Displaywriter were priced at $250. Microsoft priced PC-DOS at $60. So, do the math. Which do you think consumers would buy? When Lotus 1-2-3 came out under PC-DOS it spelled the end of the chance for DRI to gain significant market share. There is more to the story but let's just end it here.
reply
steve
Kildall not only designed first programming language and first compiler specifically microprocessors but the BIOS too. IBM used his API to make Paterson's DOS to be ported on IBM machines. The reason IBM did such forgery is to avoid royalty fees from Kildall's company, Digital Research. In 1981 QDOS from seattle computers give permission to Microsoft to make MSDOS and by October 1981, IBM ships its first personal computer - how nasty! However, later in 1990, Digital Research released DR DOS 5. 0 and invented the first memory management system to allow loading TSRs, device drivers and the operating system into upper memory blocks, and the operating system to be loaded into the high memory area and also it was the first non-OEM version of DOS sold directly to end-users. Right after some years the whole DOS era ended. I think Kildall definitely has so much contribution to the personal computer revolution, he is a great inventor beyond any innovator.
reply
Kildall not only designed first programming language and first compiler specifically microprocessors but the BIOS too. IBM used his API to make Paterson's DOS to be ported on IBM machines. The reason IBM did such forgery is to avoid royalty fees from Kildall's company, Digital Research. In 1981 QDOS from seattle computers give permission to Microsoft to make MSDOS and by October 1981, IBM ships its first personal computer - how nasty! However, later in 1990, Digital Research released DR DOS 5. 0 and invented the first memory management system to allow loading TSRs, device drivers and the operating system into upper memory blocks, and the operating system to be loaded into the high memory area and also it was the first non-OEM version of DOS sold directly to end-users. Right after some years the whole DOS era ended. I think Kildall definitely has so much contribution to the personal computer revolution, he is a great inventor beyond any innovator.
reply
perfectionbox
Kildall's problem may have been that while he got into computing as a fun interest, Gates, Allen, Jobs etc. were hardcore types who really wanted to chase huge dreams. Even if IBM had put CP/M front and center, MS would've kept going and developing Office and Windows and then kicking CP/M to the curb like they did with OS/2. And Jobs was doing the Mac, and OS X and iOS would've occurred anyway. And Linux, let's not forget Torvalds. UNIX was always a better OS, it just needed better hardware. Unless Kildall was fanatic about making and marketing his own GUI system and building office apps for it, his future was doomed. Microsoft realized early on what users want, and worked 24/7 delivering it. As successful as DOS was, they knew that they had to spare no expense dominating the app market too, especially as Lotus was worth more at the time. Without Office, MS would've been a distant player too.
reply
Kildall's problem may have been that while he got into computing as a fun interest, Gates, Allen, Jobs etc. were hardcore types who really wanted to chase huge dreams. Even if IBM had put CP/M front and center, MS would've kept going and developing Office and Windows and then kicking CP/M to the curb like they did with OS/2. And Jobs was doing the Mac, and OS X and iOS would've occurred anyway. And Linux, let's not forget Torvalds. UNIX was always a better OS, it just needed better hardware. Unless Kildall was fanatic about making and marketing his own GUI system and building office apps for it, his future was doomed. Microsoft realized early on what users want, and worked 24/7 delivering it. As successful as DOS was, they knew that they had to spare no expense dominating the app market too, especially as Lotus was worth more at the time. Without Office, MS would've been a distant player too.
reply
Michael
In my opinion. Gary Kildall is smart in developing but he is no artist on how to naming the product to make customers interesting.
- Digital Research, that company name sounds like a huge lab that only A+ grade students can enter.
- CP/M, people will ask, -What's that? Sounds scary to me. Better not touch that. -
So every product Kildall named sounds like only specific people can use computers. While Bill Gates naming concepts like computers are free for all.
- Microsoft, which was Micro Soft, it sounds more open and easy to remember.
- DOS, people may ask, -What is DOS? - And someone explains, -Disk Operating System-, then no more questions, they will say, -Oh okay. - It make sense that DOS is a requirement for people to start the computer, and that name is easy to understand.
reply
In my opinion. Gary Kildall is smart in developing but he is no artist on how to naming the product to make customers interesting.
- Digital Research, that company name sounds like a huge lab that only A+ grade students can enter.
- CP/M, people will ask, -What's that? Sounds scary to me. Better not touch that. -
So every product Kildall named sounds like only specific people can use computers. While Bill Gates naming concepts like computers are free for all.
- Microsoft, which was Micro Soft, it sounds more open and easy to remember.
- DOS, people may ask, -What is DOS? - And someone explains, -Disk Operating System-, then no more questions, they will say, -Oh okay. - It make sense that DOS is a requirement for people to start the computer, and that name is easy to understand.
reply
Havoc
Actually that's not the way it played out. Gary went to that meeting. But he was bullied by IBM so much he did not except the offer on the table. But Bill did except the offer, Bill's thinking I believe was a ounce of humility is worth a pound of Gold. Bill was right, you have to have been there at that time to understand what was going on in Gary's mind. Digital Research was -Top Dog- Everything Gary Touched turned to that pound of gold. He was a pilot & Race Car Driver. He felt he didn't need IBM. The problem was IBM didn't need DRI. The true story of what really happened is actually pretty shocking for IBM. The ironic thing about all of this is the real winner here is Bill Gates. DRI is gone IBM is owned by the Chinese company Lenovo. But Microsoft is still here.
reply
Actually that's not the way it played out. Gary went to that meeting. But he was bullied by IBM so much he did not except the offer on the table. But Bill did except the offer, Bill's thinking I believe was a ounce of humility is worth a pound of Gold. Bill was right, you have to have been there at that time to understand what was going on in Gary's mind. Digital Research was -Top Dog- Everything Gary Touched turned to that pound of gold. He was a pilot & Race Car Driver. He felt he didn't need IBM. The problem was IBM didn't need DRI. The true story of what really happened is actually pretty shocking for IBM. The ironic thing about all of this is the real winner here is Bill Gates. DRI is gone IBM is owned by the Chinese company Lenovo. But Microsoft is still here.
reply
Meister
Basically there's this guy who made one of the very first OS, a random guy cloned it for fun, IBM wanted an OS, Microsoft told IBM to go talk to guy of DRI, the guy go somewhere else every time they visited, IBM still looking for an OS, Microsoft somehow has connection to the guy who cloned it and paid sheezload of money, the cloner guy profits, IBM profits, Microsoft probably profits like 10 folds of both, DRI profit is non-existent: (
reply
Basically there's this guy who made one of the very first OS, a random guy cloned it for fun, IBM wanted an OS, Microsoft told IBM to go talk to guy of DRI, the guy go somewhere else every time they visited, IBM still looking for an OS, Microsoft somehow has connection to the guy who cloned it and paid sheezload of money, the cloner guy profits, IBM profits, Microsoft probably profits like 10 folds of both, DRI profit is non-existent: (
reply
unebonnevie
You forgot to mention that Microsoft/Bill Gates promised IBM a DOS but they actually didn't have it! So, they went out and bought from some hacker that implemented a DRI look-alike DOS (same command names but different implementation) for $35K. Microsoft then turned around and sold DOS (shitty DOS) like hotcakes from DOS 1. 0 to DOS 5. 0. In other words, Microsoft milked the world with their shitty DOS.
reply
You forgot to mention that Microsoft/Bill Gates promised IBM a DOS but they actually didn't have it! So, they went out and bought from some hacker that implemented a DRI look-alike DOS (same command names but different implementation) for $35K. Microsoft then turned around and sold DOS (shitty DOS) like hotcakes from DOS 1. 0 to DOS 5. 0. In other words, Microsoft milked the world with their shitty DOS.
reply
Jace
That's terrible. I didn't realize he'd died. And not under that context. It sounds like he didn't really do anything wrong other than try to be a human being that happened to also be a business person. Prioritizing a relationship over business is the human thing to do. Microsoft was a bunch of sharks from day one and had no human relationships to prioritize.
reply
That's terrible. I didn't realize he'd died. And not under that context. It sounds like he didn't really do anything wrong other than try to be a human being that happened to also be a business person. Prioritizing a relationship over business is the human thing to do. Microsoft was a bunch of sharks from day one and had no human relationships to prioritize.
reply
Caseytify
Wow, the fanbois really came out of the woodwork for this one. The myths have flown thick & fast in comments.
One reason CP/M-86 didn't make much of an impact is that the end buyer paid over $200 to get a copy of CP/M-86, compared to free for MS-DOS. True, there was p-System, but that sucker was slow as molasses. Even back then it had that rep.
reply
Wow, the fanbois really came out of the woodwork for this one. The myths have flown thick & fast in comments.
One reason CP/M-86 didn't make much of an impact is that the end buyer paid over $200 to get a copy of CP/M-86, compared to free for MS-DOS. True, there was p-System, but that sucker was slow as molasses. Even back then it had that rep.
reply
Sidney
I remember Digital Research and how nice the company was and it was bad that they went out of business, and CP/M. They could have been a great company if they had remained in business as IBM, and Microsoft ended up taking over the market in computers. Big Blue though was primarily interested in the mainframes and ended up going back to it.
reply
I remember Digital Research and how nice the company was and it was bad that they went out of business, and CP/M. They could have been a great company if they had remained in business as IBM, and Microsoft ended up taking over the market in computers. Big Blue though was primarily interested in the mainframes and ended up going back to it.
reply
Add a review, comment
Other channel videos
