[Am-info] New Apple store near Beantown

[John J. Urbaniak]

Erick Andrews wrote:

> On Sun, 16 Dec 2001 13:31:33 -0500, John J. Urbaniak wrote:
>
> [...]
>
> >>
> >> That's the "heartless" part of IBM.  The "half-heart" are the few inside IBM
> >> who actionably support it.
> >
> >More than heartless - it's illegal.  If IBM did make a market-splitting deal with MS,
> >as I believe they did, it will come out someday.
> >
> >And I pray every day for the heroes within IBM who still do support OS/2 as
> >alternative to Windows junk.
> >
> >John
>
> If those inside made a pact with the devil, which I also believe, had understood
> the strategic value and needs of IBM's largest accounts, they just might not
> have tried kill off OS/2.

It's not just the largest accounts.  I read somewhere - forgot the source - that a recent
poll showed 30% of PC users of all sizes are wishing for alternatives to MS OSes.

I'll take a wild guess and say that there are about 1 billion PCs out there.  30% of that
is 300 million.

At, say $100 apiece, that's a $30 billion dollar potential market, not counting peripheral
software and support, which Sir Gerstner has just thrown away.  Even for IBM, $30 billion
is not chump change.

> Sure, how many times has OS/2 "died" now?  I
> only laugh at people who say that now.  Let them believe what they will.

Those of us who continue to use OS/2 and now eCS understand the truth about this.

>
>
> Whomever inside IBM may have made such a pact, I'll bet they're not so cocksure
> of themselves now.  I'll bet they spend many waking (and maybe non-waking)
> moments concerned about how to keep a lid on it and hatching coverup plans.

Yep.

>
>
> I'd love to have the proof, as would the worker bees still giving support.
>

While the proof is still elusive, the circumstantial evidence mounts.  Consider

1. There is testimony that MS offered bribes, I think to Compaq, saying "How much do we
have to pay you to get you to screw Netscape?"  This proves that bribery was within the
scope of MS's tactics.

2. There is testomony that MS offered a market-splitting deal to Netscape, who rejected
it.  This proves that market-splitting overtures were within the scope of MS's tactics.

3. Gerstner announced that OS/2 was targeted [only] for IBM's largest 2000 customers -
sounds like market-splitting to me.

4. Some bigtime "analyst," I think it was Rick Sherlund of Goldman Sachs, made a "strong
buy" recommendation for IBM back when IBM was selling for about $42 (pre-split).  This was
coincident with Gerstner's "top 2000" statement.  And it propelled IBM stock strongly
upward.  Gerstner and other IBM bigwigs benefitted enormously from this recommendation.

I think the deal was this:

IBM would agree to split the OS market - MS would get one or more of its flunkies in the
financial analysis business to recommend IBM as a buy - Windows gets a monopoly - IBM gets
to support it - everybody's happy.

John