BASIC

Revision as of 13:46, 26 June 2011 (view source)

PatsyBaudoin (Talk | contribs)

(→Circulating Programs in Print)

← Older edit

Revision as of 16:57, 6 July 2011 (view source)

Nickm (Talk | contribs)

(Elaborating and explaining two-sided platforms)

Newer edit →

Line 57:

[Early history of MS Altair BASIC]

−

In the book ''Invisible Engines,'' three authors develop of a theory of how software platforms can be two-sided (or multi-sided) in the sense of two-sided markets, where, for instance, both buyers and sellers must come together for profits to be made. Microsoft's Windows operating system is one example of a two-sided platform. On one side, computers need an operating system to function, so hardware manufacturers such as Dell purchase licenses to Windows and pass along the costs to consumers. On the other side, computers are only valuable if there are applications written for them. Microsoft writes some of the applications for Windows, but third-party developers write many. The abundance of software encourages users to stay with Windows.

+

In the book ''Invisible Engines,'' three authors develop of a theory of how software platforms can be two-sided (or multi-sided) in the sense of two-sided markets. In a predominantly one-sided market, such as a swap meet where people arrive with comics to trade, there is only one class of participant, a person interested in exchanging goods with other people. A classic land-line telephone company is also in a one-sided market, since every customer is more or less the same sort of participant, one who wants to make and receive calls. On the other hand, a credit card company has two different classes of customer: merchants, who receive payments and need terminals, and cardholders, who have a line of credit and who make purchases.

−

Of course, Windows was not the first two-sided platform -- it was not even Microsoft's first. By retaining the rights to what IBM called PC-DOS, Microsoft had previously been able to license MS-DOS to other companies, much as they would later sell OEM copies of Windows to them. And before that, there are continuities with the company's first product line, Microsoft BASIC. BASIC was a programming language, not an operating system, but the presence of BASIC allowed for programs to be written on a computer and sometimes sold. It was the closest thing to an operating system that the Altair 8800 had, providing a layer of abstraction above machine language. Computers in the late 1970s and early 1980s needed BASIC on them seem full-featured and to provide an easier programming interface, so different computer manufacturers were eager to license the language from Microsoft. At Gates's and Allen's company, the success of BASIC and the essential business plan used with that family of software products helped to develop the later success of MS-DOS and Windows.

+

When Atari released the Atari VCS (later called the Atari 2600) in 1977, before the advent of third-party games, it had a one-sided platform. Atari made the system and (initially) all the games and controllers. The only participants in the market, and users of the platform, were the players. By the early 1980s, when Activision, Imagic, and other third-party companies had come into the market, there was another class of participant -- one that was not paying royalties to Atari for the privilege of making games for their console.

+

Microsoft's Windows is one example of a two-sided platform. On one side, computers seemed to need an operating system and desktop environment to function. This leads hardware manufacturers such as Dell to purchase licenses to Windows and to include the software with their systems. On the other side, computers are only valuable if there are applications written for them. Microsoft writes some of the applications for Windows, but third-party developers write many. The abundance of software has a network effect that is positive for Microsoft: it encourages users to stay with Windows.

+

Of course, Windows was not the first two-sided platform, nor even Microsoft's first. By retaining the rights to what IBM called PC-DOS, Microsoft had previously been able to license MS-DOS to other companies, much as they would later sell OEM copies of Windows to them. And before that, there are continuities with the company's first product line, Microsoft BASIC. BASIC was a programming language, not an operating system, but the presence of BASIC allowed for programs to be written on a computer and sometimes sold. It was the closest thing to an operating system that the Altair 8800 had, providing a layer of abstraction above machine language. Computers in the late 1970s and early 1980s needed BASIC on them seem full-featured and to provide an easier programming interface, so different computer manufacturers were eager to license the language from Microsoft. At Gates's and Allen's company, the success of BASIC and the essential business plan used with that family of software products helped to develop the later success of MS-DOS and Windows.

[Specification of and development of Tiny BASIC]

From Maze

Revision as of 16:57, 6 July 2011

Views

Personal tools

Navigation

Search

Toolbox

@@ Line 57: / Line 57: @@
 [Early history of MS Altair BASIC]
-In the book ''Invisible Engines,'' three authors develop of a theory of how software platforms can be two-sided (or multi-sided) in the sense of two-sided markets, where, for instance, both buyers and sellers must come together for profits to be made. Microsoft's Windows operating system is one example of a two-sided platform. On one side, computers need an operating system to function, so hardware manufacturers such as Dell purchase licenses to Windows and pass along the costs to consumers. On the other side, computers are only valuable if there are applications written for them. Microsoft writes some of the applications for Windows, but third-party developers write many. The abundance of software encourages users to stay with Windows.
+In the book ''Invisible Engines,'' three authors develop of a theory of how software platforms can be two-sided (or multi-sided) in the sense of two-sided markets. In a predominantly one-sided market, such as a swap meet where people arrive with comics to trade, there is only one class of participant, a person interested in exchanging goods with other people. A classic land-line telephone company is also in a one-sided market, since every customer is more or less the same sort of participant, one who wants to make and receive calls. On the other hand, a credit card company has two different classes of customer: merchants, who receive payments and need terminals, and cardholders, who have a line of credit and who make purchases.
-Of course, Windows was not the first two-sided platform -- it was not even Microsoft's first. By retaining the rights to what IBM called PC-DOS, Microsoft had previously been able to license MS-DOS to other companies, much as they would later sell OEM copies of Windows to them. And before that, there are continuities with the company's first product line, Microsoft BASIC. BASIC was a programming language, not an operating system, but the presence of BASIC allowed for programs to be written on a computer and sometimes sold. It was the closest thing to an operating system that the Altair 8800 had, providing a layer of abstraction above machine language. Computers in the late 1970s and early 1980s needed BASIC on them seem full-featured and to provide an easier programming interface, so different computer manufacturers were eager to license the language from Microsoft. At Gates's and Allen's company, the success of BASIC and the essential business plan used with that family of software products helped to develop the later success of MS-DOS and Windows.
+When Atari released the Atari VCS (later called the Atari 2600) in 1977, before the advent of third-party games, it had a one-sided platform. Atari made the system and (initially) all the games and controllers. The only participants in the market, and users of the platform, were the players. By the early 1980s, when Activision, Imagic, and other third-party companies had come into the market, there was another class of participant -- one that was not paying royalties to Atari for the privilege of making games for their console.
+Microsoft's Windows is one example of a two-sided platform. On one side, computers seemed to need an operating system and desktop environment to function. This leads hardware manufacturers such as Dell to purchase licenses to Windows and to include the software with their systems. On the other side, computers are only valuable if there are applications written for them. Microsoft writes some of the applications for Windows, but third-party developers write many. The abundance of software has a network effect that is positive for Microsoft: it encourages users to stay with Windows.
+Of course, Windows was not the first two-sided platform, nor even Microsoft's first. By retaining the rights to what IBM called PC-DOS, Microsoft had previously been able to license MS-DOS to other companies, much as they would later sell OEM copies of Windows to them. And before that, there are continuities with the company's first product line, Microsoft BASIC. BASIC was a programming language, not an operating system, but the presence of BASIC allowed for programs to be written on a computer and sometimes sold. It was the closest thing to an operating system that the Altair 8800 had, providing a layer of abstraction above machine language. Computers in the late 1970s and early 1980s needed BASIC on them seem full-featured and to provide an easier programming interface, so different computer manufacturers were eager to license the language from Microsoft. At Gates's and Allen's company, the success of BASIC and the essential business plan used with that family of software products helped to develop the later success of MS-DOS and Windows.
 [Specification of and development of Tiny BASIC]