Nice! From that comment:

"There were a lot of interesting versions of BASIC done for Japanese machines this article misses (..)"

Most likely referring to MSX-Basic. Which shows it's (c) Microsoft on the startup screen.

Not the fastest, but a very full-featured Basic compared to most Basics around @ the time. Iirc it does non-integer math on BCD coded values. Single & double precision, so users can decide RAM use/speed/precision tradeoffs.

Maybe there were other Japanese machines using MS-supplied Basics before that. But if so, likely few (any?) after MSX was introduced ('83), since that was big in Japan leaving little room for 8-bit competitors.

What do you think his hn username is? :)

It sounds like you are asking whether anti-cloning or anti-piracy measures would survive in today's world, and that's something of an ugly arms race. The publishers know whatever scheme they put in will eventually be defeated, but most of them just want to deter piracy for a limited period after the release date.

The Microsoft easter egg is from an earlier era where things aren't so ugly. The Cutting Room Floor has more easter eggs of that nature, for example:

https://tcrf.net/Super_Tetris_3

Also try searching for "hidden copyright".

I think you're thinking of the legend of DOS and mixing it with this story.

https://www.geekwire.com/2012/csi-redmond-forensic-analysis-...

>Bill gates is the only remaining hacker one can look upto.

Assuming Bill gates is the only hacker you are aware of.

You can also just look up to normal people who are better than Bill Gates, even if they're not as rich as him.

What is interesting to consider is if Dave Cutler had not been available or otherwise did not choose Microsoft in 1988.

Would Microsoft have adapted BSD NET/1 as Apple eventually did, instead of continuing OS/2?

One of my favorite past times is reading different Bill Gates biographies. They never get old. Right now actually just started reading the one he actually wrote recently. It's excellent so far.

Bill? The one from Halloween Documents? Richard Stallman among the reaining Scheme, Common Lisp, Lisp Machines, Forth and UXN hackers are the ONLY remaining ones.

Everything else has no clue what's babbling about.

His wife did divorce him due to his involvement with child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein

https://www.today.com/news/bill-melinda-gates-divorce-linked...

The body language analysis [2-3] of the PBS News Hour Interview [1] is quite something.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOgVcFv_tWs

[2] Bill Gates was BLINDSIDED by Jeffrey Epstein question https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwAk3797Bn0

[3] Communication Professor Reacts to Bill Gates Interview on PBS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79ExQWKb2vA

"The idea that Bill Gates has appeared like a knight in shining armor to lead all customers out of a mire of technological chaos neatly ignores the fact that it was he who, by peddling second-rate technology, led them into it in the first place."

No need to try and rewrite history just because you hate M$ or whatever.