Open Letter to Hobbyists

The Open Letter to Hobbyists was an open letter written on February 3, 1976 by Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft. Some contend the letter became an important milestone for the development and expansion of "proprietary software" in the retail software market.

Related Topics:
Open letter - February 3 - 1976 - Bill Gates - Microsoft - Proprietary software - Retail software

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the letter, Gates expresses frustration over the fact that most computer hobbyists who were currently using his company's Altair BASIC software had not paid for it. Gates asserts that such widespread unauthorized copying in effect discourages developers from investing time and money into creating quality software. The core of Gates' argument hinges on the unfairness of gaining the benefits of software authors' time, effort, and capital, but then depriving them of the royalties that they are legally entitled to receive. "Who can afford to do professional work for nothing?", he asks.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~