Microsoft vs Lindows

Here's the text from a 1978 Business Week article. Note the quote from "Billy Gates": 1978 McGraw-Hill, Inc., Business Week, October 23, 1978 Copyright 1978 McGraw-Hill, Inc. Business Week October 23, 1978, Industrial Edition SECTION: INDUSTRIAL MARKETING; Pg. 62 G LENGTH: 680 words HEADLINE: Big memories that make the programming easier BODY: When Hewlett-Packard Co. took the wraps off two new computers this month, it may finally have squelched any lingering doubts about the value of its big investment in silicon-on-sapphire (SOS), an exotic semiconductor technology that few merchant semiconductor companies have bothered to pursue. "SOS has let them put a lot of power in a small package and run it off a 110-volt line," says Richard J. Matlack, minicomputer analyst for Dataquest Inc., of Menlo Park, Calif. "I'm very impressed." Outsiders have wondered for six years whether HP's expensive (more than $5 million) SOS development program would ever pay off. Until now, integrated circuits based on that technology have been used sparingly in HP's peripheral equipment. But the HP 300 and its companion new entry, the HP 3000, Series 33, are the first commercial computers with SOS central processing units. In both products, a central processor that required nine printed-circuit boards in the original HP 3000 has been reduced to three large-scale integrated circuits on two boards. "Since 1974 we have been expanding the capability of the 3000 at about the original price," says Richard E. Edwards, product manager for the Series 33. "Now we're saying, 'Let's use the technology to drive down the price.'" Easier programming Of the two computers, the 300 is getting most attention. About the size of a free-standing computer terminal, its price starts at $36,500. With up to a million characters of main memory, the 300 approaches the memory size of mainframe computers. "The largest IBM mainframe has eight megabytes [8 million characters] of memory," says Paul C. Ely Jr., who heads HP's Computer Systems Group. "We've put a megabyte in a machine that sells for $60,000." One conclusion to be drawn from that announcement, says Dataquest's Matlack, is that "HP sells memory cheaper than anybody." Another is that HP has gone to great lengths to make programming easier. "A programmer who doesn't have to worry about memory size can work a lot faster," Matlack says. And HP has given the 300 enough software and display innovations to cut programming steps in half, claims Vijay Kapoor, product manager for the 300. Initial reaction from customers is enthusiastic. "The 300 has incredible potential" for a distributed system, says Billy V. Gates, data-processing manager for Longs Drug Stores Inc. in Walnut Creek, Calif. "We are looking at the possibility of distributing data processing to all our stores, and this is the type of equipment we could do that with." The "windowing" feature on the 300 display screen, allowing various information files to be viewed simultaneously, appeals to Gary G. Specker, data-processing head for General Mills Inc. "Many times there is a problem because you can't see all your data on one screen," he says. "Windowing is a beautiful solution." Fewer applications This kind of response encourages HP to believe that the 300 will lead a new round in the distributed-processing revolution. While the 3000 often has been sold for multiple applications in the divisions of large companies, the 300 is designed to be dedicated to a few applications at the department level. "A true general-purpose machine is out of the price range of most departments," says Kapoor. "We have tailored the 300 to handle the functions critical to a personnel department or a sales office." If this concept catches on, HP could have a product at least as important as the 3000. It is likely to see more competition in distributed processing, especially powerful new series of low-cost mainframe computers this fall. But David E. Gold, a Saratoga (Calif.) consultant, points out that HP's machines are designed for interactive use, while IBM's 370 series mainframes are not. "To the extent that the new IBM machines are compatible with the 370," he suggests, "there will be some performance deficiencies relative to HP."