30th Anniversary of Gates' Letter to HCC

suso writes "30 years ago today, Bill Gates wrote the infamous Open Letter to Hobbyists about licensing of Altair BASIC to the Homebrew Computer Club. Looking back it's interesting to read this emotionally written document as it is probably Gate's first publicly written opinion about licensing software." From the letter: "The fact is, no one besides us has invested a lot of money in hobby software. We have written 6800 BASIC, and are writing 8080 APL and 6800 APL, but there is very little incentive to make this software available to hobbyists. Most directly, the thing you do is theft. What about the guys who re-sell Altair BASIC, aren't they making money on hobby software? Yes, but those who have been reported to us may lose in the end. They are the ones who give hobbyists a bad name, and should be kicked out of any club meeting they show up at."

Comments

Re:Attitude hasn't changed much

[Anonymous Coward]

MMMMM CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF THAT
DICK !!!!! MMMM I'M A USELESS
WHORE LIKE ALL THE OTHERS !!!!!
MMMMM CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF IT !!!

ONE DAY I WILL MARRY ME A GOOD
HUSBAND AND NEVER HAVE TO WORK
AGAIN !!!! AND BY WORK I MEAN
BE A RECEPTIONIST OR WAITRESS
OR PERHAPS A MEDIOCRE PROSTITUTE

HOLY JESUS IS IT ANY WONDER WE BLEED
ONCE A MONTH !?!?!? HELLO ?!?!? IT'S PUNISHMENT FROM GOD

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This Whole Stupid Thing

[Anonymous Coward]

What this whole stupid thing forgets is that Gates assumed people were stealing because he wasn't selling.

When in fact he wasn't selling because no one was buying.

And they weren't buying because his products were shit.

Just as they are today.

Shut the fuck up, Bill. Eat shit and die.

Re:... says the guy who stole gobs of PDP-10 time

[IgnoramusMaximus]

But Sir, you have failed to take into account the Glorious Logic Of Selfish Greed. Yes, indeedy, in an old-fashioned, non-neo-conservative, quaint, obsolete morality of old, this would indeed be rather embarassing and would expose some devastating flaws of character and a despicable nature of the writer of that "open letter". But that is sooo pre-"intellectual property" era thinking. Those old rules no longer apply. Today, a new paradigm: Selfish Greed Is All You Need (take that John Lennon!). In this new, exciting, profitable way of thinking, nothing is ever your fault! You are a perpetual victim, defenseless, dewy-eyed and cuddly and always deserve, no make it demand, sympathy and protection and help because everybody else is a thieving mofo out to get you! Naturally, since thus you acquired an apex of new-morality heights, everything and anything goes in order to thwart the untoward design of all those vile pretenders, those socialist, thieving, no good hippies around you who would dare in their insolence to share things between themselves without paying you! Or think without paying you! Or for that matter breathe without paying you!

So now you see how it is possible for our shining, towering example of Greed Personified to think that way.

Incidentally, beware of a minor drawback of this new way of thinking: in your old age, when the novelty of vast fortunes you have meticulously conned and abused out of others wears out and when that 340500sq ft. mansion feels cold and univiting despite of 350 maids and 250 buttlers, you might find that nasty affliction, called "conscience", starting to ache you here and there. Like some other illnesses of age the medicine has apparently failed to produce a cure. So you might find it useful and a form of a short-term relief to give away some parts of the loot you hoarded. Just keep telling yourself "I am a Good Man, I am a Good Man" over and over and the pain will soon go away.

Re:Great Shashdot grammar, as usual

[kayditty]

It's actually Gates's.

Re:... says the guy who stole gobs of PDP-10 time

[Anonymous Coward]

"Odd how Bill Gates doesn't really like to tell the side of the story where he stole PDP-10 time from a Seattle company (which went out of business), one of the Universities in Seattle (which kicked him and Paul Allen out when they found out about it), and even Harvard University.

Yes, the PDP-10 time used to run 8080 simulators. Used to write that initial Basic interpreter ... stolen. "

So on /.
Saying MS stole time on a computer is correct and gets modded up,
but saying a person stole music gets commments saying copyright infringement isn't theft.

Clearly nothing physical had been taken in either case.

The title is a bit off

[mikecarrmikecarr]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned this but instead of:

30th Anniversary of Gate's Letter to HCC

I think you meant:

30th Anniversary of Gates' Letter to HCC

Or even:

30th Anniversary of Gates Letter to HCC