Microsoft Frees 1976 BASIC: Old, Buggy, and Viral Again
In a move that screams 'nostalgia for computer geeks who hate fun,' Microsoft has open-sourced its 6502 BASIC code, the granddaddy programmed by Bill Gates and Ric Weiland in 1976. Originally rocking the CPUs behind classics like the Apple II, Atari 2600, NES, and Commodore 64ābecause why not spread spaghetti code widely? Commodore once dropped a casual $25,000 flat fee for the license to put BASIC in their PETs and VICs, probably about the price of a 1977 Pinto. This ancient code helped spawn MS-DOS and Microsoftās ruthless licensing empire. Now itās on GitHub, preserved by obsessive hobbyists nerdier than your average history professor, ensuring you can relive the joy of typing '10 PRINT "HELLO"' forever.
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Microsoft just opened the sarcophagus containing 6502 BASICās codeābecause nothing says party like 50-year-old programming written before 'save' was invented.
Releasing BASICās code from 1976 feels like Microsoftās way of saying, 'Hereās your ancient trauma backāhave fun debugging death.'
Microsoft open-sourced 6502 BASIC, aka the grandpa of all bugs, to prove nostalgia can be sad and cruel at the same time.
Source: Theverge | Published: 9/4/2025 | Author: Tom Warren
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