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Microsoft makes source code for MS-DOS and Word for Windows available to public

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Re: Microsoft makes source code for MS-DOS and Word for Windows available to public

#51

Post by 300bps »

voidlogic wrote: post #33
RyanZAG wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not only are you not allowed to distribute it by the license, actually distributing it would get you sued for patent violation. Using anything you find in the code will probably get you sued for patent violation, too. EDIT: I can just imagine a future lawsuit: A: Did you read the MS-DOS source code released by Microsoft on XX? We have logs to show you downloaded it. B: Yes, but that has nothing to do with this lawsui…

Don't patents only last 15-20 years?

Don't patents only last 15-20 years?

Yes. Design patents last 14 years. Utility patents last 20 years.

The person you are responding to, like most people, likely uses the words copyright, trademark and patent interchangeably as if they are synonyms.

Re: Microsoft makes source code for MS-DOS and Word for Windows available to public

#52

Post by Aldo_MX »

brokenparser wrote: post #27
nsxwolf wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd rather start any project on a foundation of at least MS-DOS 5.0.

I'd rather start any project on a foundation of at least latest FreeBSD or GNU/Linux :P

"at least"?

Re: Microsoft makes source code for MS-DOS and Word for Windows available to public

#53

Post by pygy_ »

IgorPartola wrote: post #49
ct1 wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

MS-DOS is maybe the ugliest operating system I ever had the displeasure of using. There's very little to learn from operating system design point of view in there, and better sources are available under more permissive licenses -- ie open source licenses. It looks like a PR stunt to me.

True. Except if you are someone like DOSBox or FreeDOS and want to know how/why some quirk happens in MS-DOS that makes some program go, but not in your code, now you can figure out what's up. In reality, getting the Windows source released so that the Wine team can do this would be much more useful. From what I understand Windows has a lot more undocumented but widely used API's that Wine tries to emulate by trial a…

> Except if you are someone like DOSBox or FreeDOS

MS-DOS has been disassembled and reverse engineered to death by these teams, and there's little if anything at all left to discovered.

Re: Microsoft makes source code for MS-DOS and Word for Windows available to public

#54

Post by sremani »

masklinn wrote: post #29
ConceptJunkie wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Microsoft Research does some really cool stuff. Do they really work for the same company as the people who make Windows and Office? I can't imagine two more diametrically different organizations.

Bell Labs was founded by Ma Bell, it's hard to top that and MSR does not come close.

are you privy to research in either of the organizations. I know its great to revere age old organizations but as we are speaking the best research is probably being conducted in a place we least expect. I am not privy to research at Ma Bell or only the published elements of Microsoft Research - so your reaction is more of an instinct than any factual basis.

Re: Microsoft makes source code for MS-DOS and Word for Windows available to public

#55

Post by MrZongle2 »

fbeans wrote: post #41
MrZongle2 wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe in the same way a tour of a sausage factory would be interesting....

Although a sausage factory would be bad, at least each tour would be standard, and at least visiting that sausage factory wouldn't compromise your security and your liberty and finally when you get home with your free tour sausages, at least they'd interact with your saucepan the same way all the other sausages do. Perhaps I've taken this meataphor too far?

Perhaps. But I was amused. :D

Re: Microsoft makes source code for MS-DOS and Word for Windows available to public

#56

Post by neurobro »

voidlogic wrote: post #33
RyanZAG wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not only are you not allowed to distribute it by the license, actually distributing it would get you sued for patent violation. Using anything you find in the code will probably get you sued for patent violation, too. EDIT: I can just imagine a future lawsuit: A: Did you read the MS-DOS source code released by Microsoft on XX? We have logs to show you downloaded it. B: Yes, but that has nothing to do with this lawsui…

Don't patents only last 15-20 years?

Yes any patents would have expired, although the copyright still has upwards of 100 years left.

I don't think reading some source code will put anyone at risk of frivolous lawsuits (unless they actually do infringe, in which case it would be a grain of supporting evidence).

Re: Microsoft makes source code for MS-DOS and Word for Windows available to public

#57

Post by logicallee »

shmerl wrote: post #43

is it useful for DOSbox?

Useful? The next three weeks of HN will be:

MS-DOS cross-compiled to JAVASCRIPT.

MS-DOS running in pure CSS.

Word for Windows as pure HTML 5 ( element).

DOOM RUNNING NATIVELY on NATIVE MS-DOS on a PEBBLE.

Re: Microsoft makes source code for MS-DOS and Word for Windows available to public

#58

Post by Tloewald »

Maybe someone will produce a version of Word for Windows 1.1a that runs on a modern OS, and I'll be able to open and edit documents that have been impossible to open in later versions of Word (of course Word for Windows 2.0 would open the document, convert it to its new format in place, and then crash, so I'd need to find un-borked versions of the documents first).

Re: Microsoft makes source code for MS-DOS and Word for Windows available to public

#59

Post by joezydeco »

logicallee wrote: post #57
shmerl wrote: post #43

is it useful for DOSbox?

Useful ? The next three weeks of HN will be: MS-DOS cross-compiled to JAVASCRIPT. MS-DOS running in pure CSS. Word for Windows as pure HTML 5 ( element). DOOM RUNNING NATIVELY on NATIVE MS-DOS on a PEBBLE.

How about 2084 in a TSR utility?

Re: Microsoft makes source code for MS-DOS and Word for Windows available to public

#60

Post by ehPReth »

From ./Opus/asm/formatn.asm in Word v1.1a:

    ; /* Following comment is preserved verbatim for eternity */
    ; /* Rounding becomes a non-existant issue due to brilliant re-thinking */
    ; /* "What a piece of work is man
    ;	How noble in reason
    ;	In form and movement,
    ;	how abject and admirable..."

    ;		 Bill "Shake" Spear [describing Sand Word] */
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