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Nope - economics argues against you

Apple is a classic vertical market/manufacturing setup - you buy the computer and the OS from one source - Apple. IBM was attempting the same with the PC (cause with Big Blue - that was how it built/builds big iron, so why not continue with success) - hence the suit against Compaq very early on. With MS retaining the rights to the OS there was created the critical fork away from the classic IBM\Apple model of hardware and software commoditization.

This in turn allowed companies such as Compaq and Dell to be able to build IBM Clone PC's - which then allowed the economies of scale to start in regards the bits and pieces that comprise a PC. If IBM had kept the PC in the same vertical market model as Apple has with their product - PC prices would still be sky high - and Linux would not have been able to piggy back onto the success that MS wrought.

Sure, Linux would probably have been built - from what I've read Linus did not use a PC in the first kernal build - instead it was a mini computer using Minimax - but without the ability to cheaply buy or build a PC Linux would have been regulated to the buff/hobbiest/curiousity status much as the first Altair systems were.

Posted by: quietLee   Posted on: 12/27/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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