Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft, “Bambi”, and the “Alien OS” Riddle

Baby deer



Summary: Antitrust exhibits about Microsoft DOS (MS-DOS) versus DR-DOS

IN MICROSOFT'S path of destroying superior (in quality) competition, illegal things were done. For instance, how about "Bambi" and the "Alien OS"? Today we present fuller portions from the same type of case.



In Exhibit PX_9923 (1989) [PDF], which is available as text at the bottom, Microsoft is seen analysing ROM DOS, although its people stated in public that they only ever tested MS-DOS. The message is sent to:

Mr. Leonard Liu President Acer Incorporated 602 Min Sheng East Road Taipei 10445, Taiwan R.O.C.


The next exhibit, Exhibit PX00993 (1991) [PDF], shows that Microsoft was indeed testing operating systems other than MS-DOS, which contradicts claims that were made at the time. See for example:

Does anybody know how to detect dr dos 6.0? Bambi will not run properly on dr dos 6.0 because of a quirk in their device driver handling, so we need to detect them.


And also:

What do we think? Should we test further with the patched Bambi to see if there are any more incompatibilities???


For more information about "Alien OS", see this famous antitrust exhibit, the DOS index, and DRI index.




Appendix: Comes vs. Microsoft - exhibit PX_9923, as text








Plaintiff's Exhibit 9923 Comes v. Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation 1601 NE 36th Way Box 97017 Redmond, WA 98073-9717

Tel 206 882 8080 Telex 160520 Fax 206 883 8101

Friday, September 22, 1989

Mr. Leonard Liu President Acer Incorporated 602 Min Sheng East Road Taipei 10445, Taiwan R.O.C.

FAX: 011 886 (02) 715-1950

Dear Leonard,

It was good to talk to you on the phone the other day. I hope we can see each other again soon. Maybe Comdex?

Attached to this note is your personal copy of our analysis of the ROM versions of DRI's product versus Microsoft's. I think you'll see that we have a large advantage over DR-DOS in the size of the operating system kernel: this is surely critical in machines designed to ship with 256k memory. There are several other important strengths mentioned in the document.

What I really want to tell you - on a confidential basis - is the answer to the question you raised when we talked. You asked "Is this ROM DOS strategic for Microsoft?" The answer is a strong "yes".

On the 26th of this month, we are going to announce officially the ROM DOS product. That announcement, which will be made in Europe first, will be accomplished by Psion's announcement that they have licensed Microsoft ROM DOS. Psion, a British company, is the maker of the Psion Organizer which is probably the largest selling pocket computer company in the world: it's a hit in Europe. Their current technology is eight bit, but they will be moving to 16 bit and MS-DOS. Psion will also announce that they will use our Flash File System, which supports the FEPROM technology that Psion has designed into its system for mass storage. We will also announce that Poqet, a California company, has license Microsoft ROM DOS and will be incorporating it into a future version of its pocket PC. We expect similar announcements from Japanese companies in the near future, for pocket PCs, embedded control machines and small personal computers.

Our US press release is scheduled for October 2nd, as we believe this date will get us better coverage in the US.

This product is by no means "something that we have dreamed up to just propose to Acer". It has been in development for a year. It and its future versions are a key business line for us. It is our plan to expand the range of our offerings as 16 bit processors move into new markets.

I'm sure that Alan Sugar would not mind me telling you about his decision for Amstrad. He decided to stay with MS-DOS (they use the disk version). In 1985 when he first came out with his low end 512k machine, he shipped both DRI's then-current product and M-DOS: his market research showed that virtually all users chose to use the Microsoft product, rather than risk the compatibility questions that DRI's operating system products raise. His more recent machines dropped the DRI products entirely. Armstrad is a

Microsoft Confidential

X 517975 CONFIDENTIAL Page 1




company that ships most of its machines into the home and small business market; but some of their machines go into businesses that use networks, or that use Windows. It only takes a couple of reports about non-compatibility to give the kiss of death to a PC: we've seen that on the hardware side as well in as in the operating system area.

Your concern about Basic supporting Hercules is legitimate. We actually have two solutions to that. We can license our famous Quick Basic Interpreter to you at very little cost, or with a little engineering work we can provide a version of GW Basic that supports Hercules. Quick Basic is one of the products that we are evaluating for localization into Chinese. While localization will not be completed in the time frame of the shipment of the Third Wave machines, it would surely make more sense in the future to move from the US version of Quick Basic to a Chinese version of the same product. Also please remember that Microsoft is very committed to future versions of Quick Basic; Borland has announced that they are not planning further Turbo Basic work.

Regarding the commercial terms we have proposed, I'd like only to point out that we have already agreed, contrary to our usual practice, to license these new machines for our ROM DOS without any increase in financial commitment. This recognizes the large volume of business that Acer already does with Microsoft - business that we very much appreciate. I am sure that once you have had a chance to look at the data, you'll agree that the slightly higher cost of including the real MS-DOS product will ensure a more successful product.

Microsoft cares very much about your decision on this operating system requirement. There are many exciting developments due at the lower end of the market in the coming year or two, including the optical or multimedia PC that Ken Tai and I talked about last winter. We want to see our relationship cover the high and low ends of the personal computer and workstation markets. If there is any other information you need, don't hesitate to have your people call us. As you know I am ready to receive your call at any time. As leading companies in the industry we would be foolish not to work as closely as possible together.

Yours sincerely,

Microsoft Confidential

X 517976 CONFIDENTIAL

Page 2

Butler signature






Appendix: Comes vs. Microsoft - exhibit PX00993, as text








Plaintiff's Exhibit 993 Comes v. Microsoft

CONFIDENTIAL

Non-responsive Materials Redacted

X0592196

From chuckst Wed Nov 6 18:38:46 1991 To: philba Cc: scottq Subject: Scott's 9/30/91 mail re: DRDOS Date: Tue Feb 23 17:07:06 PDT 1993

>From scottq Mon Sept 30 13:57:38 1991 To: dosdev Subject: detect dr dos 6.0 Date: Mon Sep 30 13:50:35 1991

Does anybody know how to detect dr dos 6.0? Bambi will not

WinMail 1.21 philba Tue Feb 23 16:49:36 1993 Page 160

MS-PCA 1143047 CONFIDENTIAL




run properly on dr dos 6.0 because of a quirk in their device driver handling, so we need to detect them.

Scott

CONFIDENTIAL

From chuckst Wed Nov 6 18:40:05 1991 To: philba Cc: scottq Subject: More Bambi/DR-DOS mail Date: Tue Feb 23 17:07:11 PDT 1993

From chuckst Sun Sep 29 17:16:46 1991 To: mikedr philba scottq Subject: Bambi on DR-DOS 6.0 Date: Sun Sep 29 17:16:39 1991

I tracked down a serious incompatibility with DR-DOS 6 -- They don't use the 'normal' device driver interface for >32M partitions. Instead of setting the regular START SECTOR field to 0ffffh then using a brand new 32-bit field the way MS-DOS has always done, they simply extended the start sector field by 16 bits.

This seems like a foolish oversight on their part and will likely result in extensive incompatibilities when they try to run with 3rd part device drivers.

I've patched a version of Bambi to work with DRD6, and it seems to run Win 3.1 without difficulty. This same problem may have caused other problems with Win 3.1 and the swapfile under DRD6.

It is possible to make Bambi work, assuming we can come up with a reasonably safe method for detecting DRD6. The runtime hit would be minimal in time and space, although we would have a couple of instructions in the main code path for checking the 'special' DRD6 flag.

What do we think? Should we test further with the patched Bambi to see if there are any more incompatibilities???

Non-Responsive Material Redacted

X0592197

WinMail 1.21 philba Tue Feb 23 16:49:36 1991 Page 161

MS-PCA 1143048 CONFIDENTIAL



Credit: wallclimber and RCH.

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

We Are Safe in a Modern "Tech" Society, Right?
People are safer if they control their own computing
The Way Things Are Going, They May Soon Stop Saying "Web Address" and Instead Say "Chrome Address"
The Web isn't built or based around open Web standards anymore. It's centered around user-agent.
Microsoft as a Golden Cage
"I was laid off by Microsoft and can't find a job. I'm weeks away from giving up my apartment and moving across the country to live with family."
Weekend Discussion About How IBM's Bluewashing of Red Hat Will Cause "Enshittification" for Users
"I worked at a software company that was acquired by IBM so I knew it was game over for RedHat the day they were acquired"
Brett Wilson LLP Getting Sued by Its Very Own Clients, a Legal Story That Has Made the Mainstream News (Law360)
Law360 or Law.com are about as mainstream as one can get in that "sector" (litigation 'industry')
Lucas Nussbaum & Debian pregnancy cluster
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
 
The Same People Who Attacked Richard Stallman (RMS) Are Attacking Daniel Pocock to Discourage People From Listening to His Information
Pocock is being demonised for the same reasons and by the same people who attack RMS
Your Typical Anti-Richard Stallman (RMS) Cancellist
"About the RMS cancellation"
Richard Stallman (RMS) Has Announced His Talk in Rome Less Than 20 Hours in Advance (and on a Sunday)
Why did he wait until the night before?
GNU Tools Cauldron Event in Portugal: Videos Now Available via Invidious
Go have a look
Slopwatch: GNU/Linux Sites That Became Slopfarms and Spamfarms
The Web is a mess and "Linux" or "Ubuntu" sites became part of the problem
Richard Stallman's Talk 25 Hours Away, Aula Magna Palazzo del Rettorato (CU001), Sapienza Università di Roma (Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5)
The talk is 25 hours away and we see some QR code for it
Gemini Links 12/10/2025: Watches, the Depression of 2026, Gamboling with Odds
Links for the day
Links 12/10/2025: 'False' DMCA Claims and Slop Facing Perils Again (the Hype Wears Off)
Links for the day
Microsoft Has Just Lost Privacy Case in Austria and Its Latest Moves Make a Complete Ban Seem Imperative
Microsoft is not a software company, it's a spying agency that uses software to collect data
The Register MS: Microsoft is the Security Expert, Not the Prime Culprit, So Buy More Microsoft
This front page feature is devoid of any actual substance, it's just Microsoft copypasta
Paris 'Love Nest' & Debian Outreachy: from Lycée Lakanal to ENS Cachan, Cr@ns, nepotism
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Stefano Zacchiroli (Zack) & Debian pregnancy cluster
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 12/10/2025: "Palm Computering", Further Exploration of Slide Rules, and Key Takeaways from The Well-Grounded Rubyist
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, October 11, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, October 11, 2025
Tomorrow: Founder of the Free Software Foundation and of GNU/Linux, Richard Stallman, Speaks in Roma (Rome), Italy at 4PM
GNU/Linux is more important than ever in this dystopian world
Microsoft and Apple Are Rare Topics in Geminispace
in Geminispace it's rather safe to assume everyone is into BSD, GNU/Linux, and sometimes retro
Qualcomm and Manchester United Appear to Have Dumped Microsoft (Qualcomm Now Invests More in Linux, Apparently)
It's a relief to no longer see Microsoft logos and brands on a local football club's gear (I'm not a Manchester United fan, but not a foe either)
As Guest of Honour in Rome, Founder of the Free Software Foundation to Speak ("Distinguished Lecture") After Introduction by Leonardo Querzoni
Happy hacking...
All Things Open is Proprietary
The OSI has become a front group of proprietary software openwashers, led and sponsored by proprietary giants
When Microsoft Lays Off Lots of Workers They Say It "Invests in AI" (a Lie), Now It's "Reshuffles" or "Microsoft Tightens"
Microsoft "news" by bots
"I saw Richard Stallman give a talk in the mid 80s, which began my fear and loathing of software patents" and "Richard Stallman was always right."
"By betraying the legacy of our ancestors, we’ve set ourselves on a path toward self-destruction — moral, intellectual, economic, and ultimately biological."
There Were Several Waves of Microsoft Shanghai Layoffs in 2025, Western Media Continues to Turn a Blind Eye to Chinese Layoffs of an Epic Scale
Sometimes select Taiwanese news sites (published in English) or automated translations are all we have
Brett Wilson LLP Spreads Trumpism to the United Kingdom, Looking to Profit From 'Legal Colonialism' (Overriding Sovereignty)
There's growing recognition of this conundrum worldwide
The Demise of Shopping in Person
In a world like this, how valued is the customer?
This Past Friday, "Nearly 700 People Came to Listen to RMS!" (Richard Stallman)
"Nearly 700 people came to listen to RMS!"
Distinguished Lecture by Richard Stallman This Coming Monday in Rome
After "Free software, Crucial for Freedom in a Digital World"
Slopwatch: UbuntuPIT Churning Out Plagiarism and the Slopfarm LinuxSecurity Turns to Pseudonyms
Our hunch is, UbuntuPIT will sooner or later realise that this toxic approach is just harming UbuntuPIT and tainting the reputation of past articles
The Lawsuit by Clients of Brett Wilson LLP Against Brett Wilson LLP is Officially On, It is Progressing, The 'Experts' Pick Outside Law Firms (RPC and Mills & Reeve) to Spare Them From Litigants in Person
So it is probably quite potent
Gemini Links 11/10/2025: Nyctography, Gerrymandering, and Lurking
Links for the day
The 'Culture Wars' in Free Software Have Gone Out of Control
Social control media amplifies such utterly infantile discourse
Teaser: To Compensate for the Fact Our Clients Are Terrible Human Beings Who Strangle Women (While on Microsoft's Payroll) and We Get Paid by Mystery Parties We Bombard You and Your Wife With Almost 10 Kilograms of Legal Papers
If you can't win an argument, then drown the other side with papers?
Links 11/10/2025: World Mental Health Day 2025, Another European Legal Defeat for Microsoft 360
Links for the day
MIT Technology Review is Part-Time SPAMfarm of Billionaires and Mega-Corporations
Does MIT operate its own "b2b" SPAMfarm?
Open Source Initiative Executive Director Leaves, Replacement Sought by Monopolists, Not the Community or OSI Members
Serves to show who runs this show...
Links 11/10/2025: China-US Tensions Grow Again, "Hey Hi" More Widely Recognised as Bubble Made of Capital That Doesn't Exist
Links for the day
Now Confirmed in Western Media: Microsoft Azure Layoffs This Month
Affirmed by more sources moments ago
Peter O'Callaghan QC represented grandparents, Westernport Hotel, at Liquor Royal Commission
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Either The Register MS Divests From FOSS Coverage or Liam Proven is on Long Holiday
Publishers perish when their audience loses trust in them
Microsoft Cancelling Another Datacentre is a Sign of Financial Trouble and Lack of Growth
The debt continues to grow
Gemini Links 11/10/2025: An Evening at the Fair and Fast Fourier Friday
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, October 10, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, October 10, 2025
Geminispace is Very Large
The word continues to spread and the number of participants grows
Another Wave of Microsoft Layoffs, This Time During National Day Holiday
This time it's China again
10 Out of 10: RMS Attracts Massive Audience in Göteborg, Sweden (All Seats Occupied, Some People Standing)
a 55-second clip of his talk
Staying Happy in Times of Crackdowns on Civil Society
Optimism in this sort of "new reality" or "new normal" seems like something for the irrational person
"Nobel" Exploited Posthumously for "AI" Hype, Now They Do the Same With "Quantum"
ere have been many jokes about "Nobel" for peace (often granted to pro-war people) and a fake one for "Economics" (establishment propaganda)
Slopwatch: Plagiarism and "Linux" Articles by Bots
Sites that do this won't survive; many of them rely on slop services (suppliers) that will cease to exist after the bubble bursts
Links 10/10/2025: Putin Admits Russia Downed Azerbaijan Airlines Jet, More New Heat Records
Links for the day
Noteworthy Claim That IBM is Firing a Lot of Lawyers This Week (RAs in the Legal Department)
A lot of what they do is patent 'trolling' or lawyering up against their own staff (e.g. HR disputes)
Links 10/10/2025: US Judge Bars Attacks by ICE On Journalists and Protesters; “We Took The Freedom of Speech Away” Says the President
Links for the day
Slopwatch: Serial Sloppers, Google News Gifting Slopfarms, and Fake News/Plagiarism About "Linux"
Google itself is a slop pusher these days
Qualcomm, the New Owner of Arduino, Blasted for Its Software Patents Tax on 'Smartphones'
A lot of Qualcomm's patents are on software. We wrote about this in prior years.
XBox Layoffs Rumours, Downtime, and Criticism From XBox Co-Founder
"everyone is ditching the xbox."
Links 10/10/2025: Honoring The Legacy Of Robert Murray-Smith, Many Articles on the Hey Hi (AI) Bubble
Links for the day
Gemini Links 09/10/2025: October Gothic and Reading Middle Earth Role Playing; C and Ada
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, October 09, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, October 09, 2025