In Praise of Microsoft

I am a big fan of Microsoft.  Not only have they created some fantastic application software, but they sell the world's finest PC desktop operating system (OS).

This article is the first of several that I plan about the latest versions of Windows, that wonderful OS that I will undoubedtly use on my personal PC for a long time to come.   And although it may seem unfair to some, there is a sad story that I think needs to be mentioned in regard to Microsoft's latest offering in the OS market.

In about six months (we don't rush things here in North Carolina) I'll be doing some serious work with Windows XP. Although it's been officially released now for a few weeks, nobody that I know personally has upgraded yet.  It's about the only OS shipping on new PC's, of course.  So, assuming that--as usual--a lot of people get new PC's as holiday gifts, there will be a lot of copies running.  We were in the "preview program," so I have seen and toyed with the new OS.   The computers that people have me build are getting Windows 98 (Second Edition) for now, so it's only the large OEM's who will be supporting those new XP owners for a few months.   Like Crusty the Mechanic, I'll be fixing PC's for the XP owners--and building XP machines--in due course.

The Sadness

The sentimental part of me has caused this first article to address the one really, really sad story in Windows XP.   The new OS includes "native support" for the ZIP format.   In other words, if you download a ZIP-compressed file from the Internet, or even want to ZIP up a few files yourself, you can do that directly in Windows.   You don't have to buy any third-party software, and you don't even have to cheat on shareware like WinZip.

The reason that this feature makes me sad is because the story was really already sad enough a year ago last  April--when the true inventor of the ZIP format, Philip W. Katz, passed away at the age of 37.   Although he did not live for very long, and although apparently his life was not very happy, he created an indispensable tool for the PC enthusiasts of his day.

Mr. Katz' program, which was named "PKZIP" as an acronym for "Phil Katz' Zip program," has undergone numerous enhancements over the years and has been distributed for a long time by PKWARE, Inc.

Freedom To Innovate

Aside from creating this software, Mr. Katz did another wonderful thing that never ceases to amaze me, but is typical of highly-talented people.   He gave his software away for free.    PKZIP was one of the first true "shareware" programs that saw widespread use on the MS-DOS operating system.   Like all true shareware, you could download PKZIP and use it without paying for it.   If you liked it and used it for more than casual personal work, you were asked--very gently--to contribute a very small and reasonable amount of money in return.   But you didn't have to.

Like all really great software, PKZIP was successful.  In fact, PKWARE, Inc. still exists and still sells Mr. Katz' software (in its modern form) on their website.   I was one of the first people to buy the retail boxed version of PKZIP for Windows, and I am still using a somewhat later version.   In the true spirit of its birth, that first version that I purchased included an official shareware version of itself on diskette, and we were encouraged to freely distribute the shareware to our friends, relatives, and associates.

Did Someone Mention "Intellectual Property?"

Just a year or two into the "Windows" revolution, another popular program called WinZip made its entrance. Many people liked it, and millions still use it today.   I never touched it.   Why?   Because:

(1) WinZip was simply an interface; you had to have Mr. Katz' software already installed before you could even use it; and
(2) WinZip was trying to make money from an original idea that the poor inventor had given away.

Do a web search for "PKZIP" and you will come across several copies of Phil Katz' obituary. Here is one that seems to be working as I write this.

I suppose that WinZip's success has contributed to the success of the American economy.  And I guess, too, that it was inevitable that Microsoft Windows would eventually just incorporate Mr. Katz' code into the OS and make PKWARE really unnecessary for the average user.

However, I have always believed that talented people should get paid for what they accomplish.  Especially if I use and enjoy what they have created.  That's why, on the page of software titles that I recommend, PKWARE is still there.

In fact, for really no reason at all, this morning I went to http://www.PKWARE.com and purchased another copy.

Later, sometime, I'll get (and probably use) a copy of Windows XP.

Tom Brown is the owner of First Computer Services. He specialized in Classical Philology before embarking on a 20-plus-year career in Information Technology, which continues today.