Petrol-head Gates plays Gotham - bit-tech.net Forums

The_Pope · 17th Oct 2005, 08:24

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2005/10...roject_gotham/

It's kinda hard to imagine a guy worth US$50 billion spending time playing Xbox, but hey - post your Gamertag, William, and I'll take you on brother!

MrWillyWonka · 17th Oct 2005, 08:44

I see you've finally got 1000 post now!

A good read! This quote "Thankfully, though both cars suffered "heavy damage," the occupants were not seriously injured (and the history of the world was not altered by a messy automotive fatality" made me realise how different the world would be if Bill had actually died in the crash, there wouldn't be a windows!

Kameleon · 17th Oct 2005, 08:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrWillyWonka

A good read! This quote "Thankfully, though both cars suffered "heavy damage," the occupants were not seriously injured (and the history of the world was not altered by a messy automotive fatality" made me realise how different the world would be if Bill had actually died in the crash, there wouldn't be a windows!

Now there's an episode of Sliders they should have made

The_Pope · 17th Oct 2005, 08:53

Not just no Windows, Mr Wonka, but no DOS, and arguably, no home computer revolution. If you happened to have read the book I linked, you would know that while IBM launched the first PC, it was Microsoft that made the whole thing possible. They not only created* DOS, and a bunch of applications, but in their deal with IBM, they negotiated to be allowed to license their software to other manufacturers. Hence the whole era of "IBM Compatible" computers - clones - and while IBM ultimately failed in the home computer market, it was the making of Wintel dominance we have today.

*I say "created" but in reality, they licensed 86-DOS from Seattle Computer Products for $25,000. They then sublicensed it to IBM.

Kameleon · 17th Oct 2005, 08:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by The_Pope

Not just no Windows, Mr Wonka, but no DOS, and arguably, no home computer revolution. If you happened to have read the book I linked, you would know that while IBM launched the first PC, it was Microsoft that made the whole thing possible. They not only created* DOS, and a bunch of applications, but in their deal with IBM, they negotiated to be allowed to license their software to other manufacturers. Hence the whole era of "IBM Compatible" computers - clones - and while IBM ultimately failed in the home computer market, it was the making of Wintel dominance we have today.

*I say "created" but in reality, they licensed 86-DOS from Seattle Computer Products for $25,000. They then sublicensed it to IBM.

Interesting. What does the book say about what might have happened if Gary Kildall hadn't been out flying his plane when the IBM guys came round? DRDOS was far superior to MSDOS in every way, especially at the time, and if it had had the backing of IBM who knows where it could've gone?

The_Pope · 17th Oct 2005, 09:03

Hands up if you thought Gates' favourite game was Monopoly

Tim S · 17th Oct 2005, 13:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by The_Pope

Hands up if you thought Gates' favourite game was Monopoly

/raises hand

Asphix · 17th Oct 2005, 16:23

Interesting news bit.. but it went from "what game does bill play" to a history of what cars he drives and never really answered the question of if he actually plays/played PGR3.

All ass-hatery aside good article.. and I like the forum posts too.. really makes you wonder what life would be like if he never achieved what he has.

Kipman725 · 17th Oct 2005, 16:28

from what I hered the xbox crashed when he demonstrated it to a bunch of students.. like windows 95 did on cnn.

Flibblebot · 17th Oct 2005, 16:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asphix

.. really makes you wonder what life would be like if he never achieved what he has.

Lack of PCs aside, there would also be other ramifications, such as no Linux. You could also argue whether Apple would exist too, and what about things like the interweb - would that be as popular without PCs? Probably not.
On the plus side, at least we wouldn't have that blasted frog on our TVs

Asphix · 17th Oct 2005, 16:42

Frog? What frog? Is that a UK based thing... I dont think i've ever seen any frog on TV other than the one for that smacks cerial or whatever... oh and those budweizer frogs

MrWillyWonka · 17th Oct 2005, 17:48

FROG - the very annoying UK thing, which has now started to infiltrate the states. My advice is to chuck all your TVs and radios out of the window for your ears security.

Anyway, I knew about the DOS and IBM agreement, but nonetheless, the world would be very different today. I don't think we would be as advanced in technology as we are now. Not just using computers to manufacture, but the amount of time computers has saved in offices etc!

And I might get that book for a read, anyone got one for sale?

kiljoi · 17th Oct 2005, 17:52

Does that mean we all have to thank Bill for the existence of Bit-tech?

koola · 17th Oct 2005, 18:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by kiljoi

Does that mean we all have to thank Bill for the existence of Bit-tech?

Lets hope not!

woodshop · 17th Oct 2005, 18:03

Quote:

30-car garage of his US$97 million, 66,000 sq ft Seattle super mansion on the shores of Lake Washington.

That just so makes me wana go key the darn thing.

fev · 17th Oct 2005, 18:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by woodshop

That just so makes me wana go key the darn thing.

that makes you a jealous idiot then... go get yourself an education and invent/invest in something that could lead to riches

woodshop · 17th Oct 2005, 22:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by fev

that makes you a jealous idiot then... go get yourself an education and invent/invest in something that could lead to riches

naaa i'm just board and feel like comitting a "random" act or vandalism..

Why not against the head of an evil multi billion dollar company....
of course it's be my head on teh block i'm sure.

cpemma · 17th Oct 2005, 23:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kameleon

Interesting. What does the book say about what might have happened if Gary Kildall hadn't been out flying his plane when the IBM guys came round? DRDOS was far superior to MSDOS in every way

Kildall = CP/M at that time, not DR-DOS. If he'd been in the office that fateful day, we'd be using PIP instead of COPY, VERA instead of DEL, DDT to kill bugs, and having to remember to put destination before source in commands.

But DR-DOS was good until MSDOS5 came & matched it. But Win was teh biggie.

Maybe without Bill we'd all have Apples and be cool people.

Seems the plane story (if true) wasn't the only reason MS got in with IBM.

Quote:

IBM met with a cool reception when they approached Digital Reseach Inc for a CP/M license. Dorothy McEwen and DRI's attorney refused to sign the IBM non-disclosure agreement (Gary did not attend the meeting), refused to make any modifications to CP/M-86 and insisted on a higher royalty than what IBM proposed. Bill Gates, who had been negotiating a BASIC license with IBM, seized the opportunity and offered to provide a DOS/BASIC package to IBM on favorable terms. Gates licensed SCP-DOS (for $50,000) and hired Tim Paterson to modify it to run on the IBM-PC. Microsoft submitted a copy to IBM for testing, who found over 300 bugs. IBM cleaned up many of the bugs, made a number of improvements and wrote the user manual. DRI released CP/M-86 soon after IBM released DOS Version 1.0. DOS had fewer features and poorer performance. IBM offered both CP/M-86 and DOS. CP/M-86 was offered at $240 versus $60 for DOS. Few PC owners were willing to pay the extra money...

http://www.cadigital.com/kildall.htm

kiljoi · 17th Oct 2005, 23:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by cpemma

Maybe without Bill we'd all have Apples

/me shudders

17th Oct 2005, 08:24	#1
The_Pope Geoff Richards Moderator Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: UK Posts: 2,089	Petrol-head Gates plays Gotham http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2005/10...roject_gotham/ It's kinda hard to imagine a guy worth US$50 billion spending time playing Xbox, but hey - post your Gamertag, William, and I'll take you on brother!

17th Oct 2005, 08:44	#2
MrWillyWonka . Moderator Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Southampton, Hants Posts: 5,746	I see you've finally got 1000 post now! A good read! This quote "Thankfully, though both cars suffered "heavy damage," the occupants were not seriously injured (and the history of the world was not altered by a messy automotive fatality" made me realise how different the world would be if Bill had actually died in the crash, there wouldn't be a windows! __________________ Project Red - HL2 - PSOne LCD S-Video Guide Main Rig: Asus Striker Extreme, Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 OC'd to 2.65GHz, 4GB Corsair XMS, 8800GTS in SLI, 36 & 74GB Raptors

17th Oct 2005, 16:28	#9
Kipman725 When did I get a custom title!?! Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: UK Posts: 1,753	from what I hered the xbox crashed when he demonstrated it to a bunch of students.. like windows 95 did on cnn. __________________ Sn45g game server mod My Electronics Site Hardware: 3400+ Sempr0n, 1GB RAM, 1.28TB local storage, x1950pro,Razer Viper,M$ comfort curve 2000,L70S + 17", Fujitsu 17" CRT Audio: HD-650's, PE congress amp, Sound Blaster AWE64, Soundblaster 24bit

17th Oct 2005, 17:48	#12
MrWillyWonka . Moderator Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Southampton, Hants Posts: 5,746	FROG - the very annoying UK thing, which has now started to infiltrate the states. My advice is to chuck all your TVs and radios out of the window for your ears security. Anyway, I knew about the DOS and IBM agreement, but nonetheless, the world would be very different today. I don't think we would be as advanced in technology as we are now. Not just using computers to manufacture, but the amount of time computers has saved in offices etc! And I might get that book for a read, anyone got one for sale? __________________ Project Red - HL2 - PSOne LCD S-Video Guide Main Rig: Asus Striker Extreme, Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 OC'd to 2.65GHz, 4GB Corsair XMS, 8800GTS in SLI, 36 & 74GB Raptors

17th Oct 2005, 17:52	#13
kiljoi I am a computer king. Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: pants! Posts: 2,302	Does that mean we all have to thank Bill for the existence of Bit-tech? __________________ I NEEED YOU AND TEH GUYS HELP ME TO GET TEH ORANGE BOX WITH WHICH I DONT KNOW I NEED TO KNOW FORM YOU

17th Oct 2005, 08:53	#4
The_Pope Geoff Richards Moderator Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: UK Posts: 2,089	Not just no Windows, Mr Wonka, but no DOS, and arguably, no home computer revolution. If you happened to have read the book I linked, you would know that while IBM launched the first PC, it was Microsoft that made the whole thing possible. They not only created* DOS, and a bunch of applications, but in their deal with IBM, they negotiated to be allowed to license their software to other manufacturers. Hence the whole era of "IBM Compatible" computers - clones - and while IBM ultimately failed in the home computer market, it was the making of Wintel dominance we have today. *I say "created" but in reality, they licensed 86-DOS from Seattle Computer Products for $25,000. They then sublicensed it to IBM.

17th Oct 2005, 09:03	#6
The_Pope Geoff Richards Moderator Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: UK Posts: 2,089	Hands up if you thought Gates' favourite game was Monopoly

17th Oct 2005, 16:23	#8
Asphix Multimodder Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 192	Interesting news bit.. but it went from "what game does bill play" to a history of what cars he drives and never really answered the question of if he actually plays/played PGR3. All ass-hatery aside good article.. and I like the forum posts too.. really makes you wonder what life would be like if he never achieved what he has.

17th Oct 2005, 16:42	#11
Asphix Multimodder Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 192	Frog? What frog? Is that a UK based thing... I dont think i've ever seen any frog on TV other than the one for that smacks cerial or whatever... oh and those budweizer frogs