IBM ROM BASIC or lack thereof

From: Hans B Pufal <hansp_at_aconit.org>
Date: Sun Sep 30 08:56:11 2001

Russ Blakeman wrote:

> If memory serves the one real thing that cloners couldn't duplicate, maybe
> due to copyright, was the ROM BASIC but that they'd duplicated everything
> else including the BIOS or a very good part of it.


Correct. The main BIOS source code was published in the IBM tech ref
manuals. The BASIC was not and AFAIK no clone maker ever included a
BASIC interpreter in the ROM. I don't think anyone missed it. DOS
always included an advanced BASIC interpreter which was available to all.

> That pretty much led to IBM losing a lot in the PC market.

Unclear. They certainly lost market share, but it can be argued that
without the clone market the whole personal computer market would have
been much smaller and diverse and arguably better.

  -- HBP
Received on Sun Sep 30 2001 - 08:56:11 BST