Stéphane Dalbera’s Post

╰☆☆ ᴛʀᴀғ-ᴏ-ᴅᴀᴛᴀ, ʙɪʟʟ ɢᴀᴛᴇs' ғɪʀsᴛ ᴠᴇɴᴛᴜʀᴇ ☆☆╮ I'm continuing my series on the often overlooked aspects of 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐆𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬' story. The first post looked back at the seminal agreement with IBM that would make Microsoft's fortune. 👀 https://lnkd.in/d9bu-Qwg The second on the important role played by his parents in the company's success 👀 https://lnkd.in/dATaiAdi ----- Today, we're going to talk about 𝐆𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬' first company and his genuine passion for computing, a detail often overlooked by those who view him solely as a remarkable businessman. 𝐆𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬' passion for computers ignited at the young age of 13. Growing up in a family with strong business values, he established his first company at 17. He teamed up with 𝐏𝐚𝐮𝐥 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧 in 1972 to create a venture called 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐟-𝐎-𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚, which developed traffic counters using the 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥 𝟖𝟎𝟎𝟖 processor. State and local governments frequently conducted traffic surveys using pneumatic road tube traffic counters. These counters used rubber hoses stretched across roads to record air pulses created by passing vehicle wheels, which were then mechanically recorded on paper tape. Cities hired private companies to translate this data into reports for traffic engineers to use for adjusting traffic lights or improving roads. 𝐆𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 and 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧, then high school students, believed they could process this traffic data more efficiently and cheaply than existing companies. They aimed to build a computer using the 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥 𝟖𝟎𝟎𝟖 processor to automate the processing of traffic tapes and sell these machines to state and local governments as cost-saving tools. Lacking hardware design skills, 𝐆𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 and 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧 recruited 𝐏𝐚𝐮𝐥 𝐆𝐢𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭 to help build a prototype capable of manually reading the hole patterns on the paper tape and transcribing the data onto computer cards. ---- Business was not as successful as expected for a number of reasons "So, we made a little bit of money and had some fun with it." — 𝐆𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬. However, the true value of 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐟-𝐎-𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 lay in the experience that 𝐆𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 and 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧 gained. The skills they developed during this project were crucial in their creation of 𝐀𝐥𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐁𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐂 for the 𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐒 𝐀𝐥𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝟖𝟖𝟎𝟎: "Even though Traf-O-Data wasn't a roaring success, it was seminal in preparing us to make Microsoft's first product a couple of years later. We taught ourselves to simulate how microprocessors work, using DEC computers, so we could develop software even before our machine was built." — 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧

The quote from 𝘓𝘦𝘴 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘦́𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴 :"𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘦𝘶𝘯𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩." But Hugo summarized it orally in the punchy version I'm sharing with you today PS: Looking at the comments, Hugo's target is not those who accumulate books without having the time to read them all, but those who have libraries without having the capacity to take advantage of it. He targets the library as a marker of social belonging that's only there to decorate and project a respectable image.

╰☆☆ ʜᴇᴀᴠᴇɴ's ɢᴀᴛᴇs ☆☆╮ Yesterday, I shared a post on Microsoft's seminal deal with IBM, which would transform the company into a tech giant. 👀 https://lnkd.in/d9bu-Qwg In discussions with François Piednoël de Normandie, the significance of 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐆𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬' parents in the history of Microsoft was highlighted. Hence, this brief post reflects on their importance, not to explore the well know sociological advantages of belonging to a wealthy and influential family in an entrepreneurial endeavor, but to highlight the active role 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐆𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬' parents played in the history of Microsoft. ----- 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦 𝐇𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐲 𝐆𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐒𝐫. (1925-2020) The son of a prosperous merchant family, he served in the U.S. Army during World War II and later attended the University of Washington, where he earned both his undergraduate and law degrees. He was a prominent attorney and co-founded the law firm Shidler McBroom & Gates in Seattle. He built a successful career in law, becoming well-known for his expertise and leadership. He also served as president of both the Seattle/King County Bar Association and the Washington State Bar Association. 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐱𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐆𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 (1929-1994) Daughter of a prominent Seattle banker was a respected businesswoman and civic leader. She served on several corporate and nonprofit boards, including First Interstate Bank of Washington and the United Way of King County. Her involvement in the community was extensive, and she was known for her leadership and dedication to public service. ----- Such parents were of great help and advice in setting up the company in 1975 (as 𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐫𝐨-𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭) and in the early years of its development. But one of her most significant contributions was 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐱𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐆𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 connection to IBM's CEO, 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐥. 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐱𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐆𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 and 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐥l both served on the board of United Way, and through this relationship, she facilitated introductions and discussions that eventually led to the deal with IBM. As 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦 𝐇𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐲 𝐆𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐒𝐫 played a key role in the contractual strategy with IBM that opened the door to Microsoft's ability to sell 𝐌𝐒-𝐃𝐎𝐒 independently of IBM. But beyond this founding deal, 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐆𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬' parents continued to play a prominent advisory role, particularly his father, whose law firm was Microsoft's main advisor for many years. Again, I'm not trying to minimize 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐆𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬' importance, but to pay tribute to his parents' contributions. ---- The next post will focus on 𝐆𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬' first entrepreneurial venture: 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐟-𝐎-𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 in the early 70s👀

╰☆☆ ᴛʜᴇ ᴋᴇʏ ᴛᴏ sᴜᴄᴄᴇss? ᴄᴏɴᴛɪɴᴜᴏᴜs ɪᴍᴘʀᴏᴠᴇᴍᴇɴᴛ! ☆☆╮

↫↫↫↫↫ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴏғ ᴀʟʟ "ғᴀᴋᴇ ɪᴛ ᴜɴᴛɪʟ ʏᴏᴜ ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ɪᴛ " ↬↬↬↬↬ In 1980, IBM, the dominant player in the computer market, decided to quickly enter the 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐫𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫 market, a space pioneered by some 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐧𝐢𝐤𝐬. Their goal was to launch within a year, which meant bypassing IBM's extensive R&D power . Instead, they aimed to use as many off-the-shelf components as possible. ------------------ Choosing Intel Corporation for the microprocessor was straightforward, but finding an operating system was more challenging. Initially, they approached 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡, known for 𝐂𝐏/𝐌, the leading 𝐎𝐒 for microcomputers, but negotiations failed. Next, they turned to a small company called Microsoft, founded by 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐆𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 and 𝐏𝐚𝐮𝐥 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧. 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐆𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬, 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐦𝐞𝐫 and 𝐁𝐨𝐛 𝐎’𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐫 met with IBM and agreed that Microsoft would develop the operating system for the 𝐈𝐁𝐌 𝐏𝐂. According to 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧, 𝐈𝐁𝐌 agreed to pay a total of $430,000. However, Microsoft didn't have an 𝐎𝐒 yet. ------------------ Meanwhile, 𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐬 (𝐒𝐂𝐏), a small hardware company, had developed an operating system called 𝐐𝐃𝐎𝐒 (𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤 & 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦) in 1980, created by 𝐓𝐢𝐦 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧, which was heavily inspired by 𝐂𝐏/𝐌. Allen contacted 𝐒𝐂𝐏 owner 𝐑𝐨𝐝 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐤 about licensing 𝐐𝐃𝐎𝐒, mentioning they had a customer lined up but not revealing who it was. Microsoft struck a deal to license 𝐐𝐃𝐎𝐒 for $10,000, plus $15,000 for each 𝐎𝐄𝐌 customer. They paid $25,000 and secured an operating system for their “secret customer.” Paterson was then hired by Microsoft to develop 𝐐𝐃𝐎𝐒 into 𝐏𝐂 𝐃𝐎𝐒, with close supervision from 𝐈𝐁𝐌 engineers, and finished PC DOS in July 1981, a month before the 𝐈𝐁𝐌 𝐏𝐂's official launch. 𝐈𝐁𝐌 expected Microsoft to ask for more money or at least a per-copy royalty fee, but instead, Microsoft sought the rights to sell 𝐏𝐂 𝐃𝐎𝐒 to other companies under the name 𝐌𝐒-𝐃𝐎𝐒. Just before the 𝐌𝐒-𝐃𝐎𝐒 launch, Microsoft returned to 𝐒𝐂𝐏 and paid $50,000 for exclusive rights to 𝐐𝐃𝐎𝐒. Microsoft had laid the foundation for its future wealth by selling something it didn't own a year earlier to 𝐈𝐁𝐌. 𝐈𝐁𝐌's success would turn out to be a Pyrrhic victory: their corporate power made the 𝐏𝐂 a standard, but one that could be copied by other manufacturers. IBM had inadvertently made Microsoft and Intel Corporation wealthy and created conditions for losing its industry leadership. #GeekCulture #RearView

↫↫↫↫↫ ᴄʀᴏᴡᴅsᴛʀɪᴋᴇ ↬↬↬↬↬

🧡❤️️ ᴛʜᴀɴᴋs ᴛᴏ ᴍɪᴄʀᴏsᴏғᴛ ғᴏʀ ɪɴᴛʀᴏᴅᴜᴄɪɴɢ ᴀ ɴᴇᴡ ʙᴀɴᴋ ʜᴏʟɪᴅᴀʏ ❤️️🧡 It's incredibly rare for a new bank holiday to be added to our calendars, especially one that is celebrated globally, transcending cultural, national, and religious boundaries... "Imagine all the people Sharing all the world" John Lennon dreamed it, Microsoft did it 🤩 𝕃𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕝𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕥𝕠 ℕ𝕌𝕃𝕃 ℙ𝕆𝕀ℕ𝕋𝔼ℝ ℂ𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕓𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝔻𝕒𝕪🥂

╰☆☆ ᴍɪᴄʀᴏsᴏғᴛ ᴇɴᴛʀᴇ ᴅᴀᴅᴀɪ̈sᴍᴇ ᴇᴛ sᴜʀʀᴇ́ᴀʟɪsᴍᴇ ☆☆╮

╰☆☆ ɴᴏ ᴛʀᴜᴇ sᴜᴄᴄᴇss ᴡɪᴛʜᴏᴜᴛ ʜᴀᴛᴇʀs 🤭☆☆╮ To continue my little series on the history of 𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐗 initiated afters Xavier Pestel's survey, after talking about : Continuing my little series on the history of 𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐗, initiated after Xavier Pestel's survey. After discussing: - 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐱 and 𝐀𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐰 𝐓𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐛𝐚𝐮𝐦 https://lnkd.in/dQ7MM77d - The /* 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 */ comment of the 𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐗 𝟔𝐭𝐡 𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 https://lnkd.in/dBD5XbEd - The book "𝐀 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐢𝐱𝐭𝐡 𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐗 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦" by 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝐋𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. https://lnkd.in/dw83yShS Today I'm sharing with you a monument to hardcore geek humor 🤭 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐗-𝐇𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 edited by Simson Garfinkel, 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝐖𝐞𝐢𝐬𝐞 & 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐧 is a humorous and satirical book that was published in 1994. 🫡🙏🖖 The book takes a lighthearted and sometimes sarcastic approach to point out perceived flaws, quirks, and frustrations with 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐱. With a superb Anti-Foreword by the great 𝐃𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐬 𝐑𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞 as a bonus🫠 ————————— In another life Simson Garfinkel published with Rachel H. Grunspan a remarkable book on the history of computing which I had previously highlighted : 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙪𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠 : 𝙁𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙪𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚, 250 𝙈𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙪𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙎𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 👀 https://lnkd.in/d2tZ7QFv #Unix #RearView

╰☆☆ ᴍɪᴄʀᴏsᴏғᴛ ᴄᴇʟᴇʙʀᴀᴛᴇs ɪɴᴛᴇʀɴᴀᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟ ᴋʟᴇɪɴ ʙʟᴜᴇ ☆☆╮ We salute Microsoft's initiative in highlighting the great 𝐘𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐊𝐥𝐞𝐢𝐧 and his famous 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐊𝐥𝐞𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐞. Initiatives aimed at promoting the discovery of contemporary art on such a large scale and reaching such a wide global audience are exceedingly rare.🫡