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alephnull on 11 March 2009
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The Lurker said:
twesterm said:
alephnull said:
M$ was originally a reference BASIC with a double entendre. Originally in BASIC variable names could only have one letter (such as M) and since the "microsoft" is a string you would have to reference any variable by ending it with a $ (eg. M$).

You didn't get the joke and neither do most people these days, but that doesn't mean it wasn't clever.

 

You're right, I don't get that joke (and don't remember BASIC only letting me having variables with names that are one letter, but it's been years since I used BASIC) but I was referring to the people that say M$ meaning an evil money grubbing corporation.

 

I remember when BASIC only let you use single letter variable names. But those were the days *before* Apple licenced "Applesoft" BASIC and MS-DOS machines shipped with BASICA or GW-BASIC. The C64 even let you have long variable names, but from memory, the TRS micros didn't. alpehnull, I don't get the meaning behind this "double entendre" you speak of, and I grew up with BASIC. I mean, what's the connection between MS and BASIC here? What's the joke?

As far as I know, there's no BASIC reference. M$ is just short for Micro$oft or Micro$haft.

I use M$ if I'm referring to Bill Gates' money-grubbing ways and I think I'm being snarky.

 

What is the version of BASIC that put MS on the map? That would be Altair BASIC.

But that is neither here nor there as it's more of a jab against BASIC than MS BASIC. Half of the joke is a reference to Microsoft's tireless pushing of BASIC (at it's exaggerated worst) back in the days before they finally deprecated VB and killed that non-orthogonal monster.

The other half is the reference everyone gets (or think they get) to what was an exceptionally ruthless business strategy in the 80s and 90s. Remember Stacker?

I fear these days both halves of the joke are becomming a bit antiquated. They finally killed BASIC (or are trying to) and these days the evil things they do, such as the Tom Tom lawsuit and their various other anti-linux activities -- are merely the usual above average evil of any monopolist.