adopting alternative OSes (was Re: [Am-info] New E-mail Worm Exploits SARS Anxiety)

[mike]

----- Original message ---------------------------------------->
From: <madodel@ptdprolog.net>
To: <am-info@lists.essential.org>
Received: Fri, 25 Apr 2003 18:31:57 -0400
Subject: RE: adopting alternative OSes (was Re: [Am-info] New=
 E-mail Worm Exploits SARS Anxiety)

>In=
 <20030425210107.DLWT19979.priv-edtnes61.telusplanet.net@microshi=
t>, on
>04/25/03 at 02:01 PM,
>   mike <mikestp@telus.net> said:

>>I am able to install most Linux on any of my machines, but=
 rather my
>>complaints were about Linux and the average user.  I see Linux=
 now in
>>exactly the same boat as Warp was in 10 years ago.  IBM also
>>overestimated the ability of the average user....


>I think it was more that IBM was caught unprepared when the=
 average pc
>user changed from the corporate one with dedicated IT personnel=
 to the
>non-technical small user who is confused by how to insert a=
 floppy (now
>CD) disk in the drive.  Remember IBM saw no more then a market=
 for maybe
>200,000 or so PCs over the entire life of the product.  When I=
 started
>working in IT almost 20 years ago, I was assigned the "part=
 time" job of
>assembling XTs for the corporate staff.  I was a mainframe=
 programmer, but
>I was one of the only people that had a PC at home.   When I=
 left that job
>a couple years later they had a full time department
>installing/maintaining PCs.  Warp was never envisioned to be=
 used by the
>masses.


>Mark

Yes indeed.  I worked at IBM in the support/training area from=
 1989 to 1993.  During that time I saw one (among many) major=
 problem regarding OS/2.  IBM thought, then as now, that a small=
 business is a business with more than 500 employees.  A mid=
 sized business was a business with  more than 5000 employees. =
 And a large business was one with 20,000 or more employees.

Microsoft in meantime was selling software to businesses with 10=
 people.  IBM did not even recognize companies with less than 500=
 employees. And in the case of Microsoft, They did not even=
 directly support the end users of their operating systems, the=
 OEM computer manufacturer did.  In the case of Warp and OS/2,=
 even if you bought a Dell or an HP with OS/2 pre installed, you=
 called IBM for help.  Soon, by the time I left IBM, the writing=
 was on the wall.  IBM could not afford to support users of OS/2,=
 when the only thing they bought from IBM was an operating system=
 that sold for 135 dollars and included a 25 dollar licensing fee=
 to be paid to Microsoft for the Windows 3.1 code that was=
 included!  

Even back in 1993 when OS/2 was at its peak of 12% market share,=
 it was clear to a number of us that OS/2 would not make it.  The=
 support costs were astronomical, and IBM was unable to adjust=
 its business to tackle the job.  Not without major OEM contracts=
 and subcontracting out the support mechanism.  An attempt was=
 done in Vancouver to use 35 local Team OS2 people, with the=
 hopes of starting the same sort of thing in every IBM location,=
 but although the experiment was good here in Vancouver, it went=
 nowhere fast with the IBM middle management infighting that was=
 ongoing.

None of the IBM middle managers (save for the ones in Vancouver)=
 wanted to give up the support assignment for fear of being=
 re-assigned to a lessor position.  Many middle managers rebelled=
 against the idea of hiring outside companies to support IBM=
 customers.  And so failed the initial grass roots support=
 program for OS/2.  By 1995 all the Teamers were dismissed, the=
 support contract wound down and forgotten, and Warp 4 was=
 brought out to a marketing void.  No one at IBM even mentioned=
 its release.....  It was in 1996 that Warp died.  IBM dropped=
 almost all development of Warp, and began to wind the operations=
 down.  today there are fewer than a dozen people who do anything=
 with OS/2 at IBM.  There are another dozen or so who are=
 continuing with Warp (called ECS) but it too is going nowhere in=
 a hurry. there are not enough people involved with OS/2 today=
 that have the requisite skills to keep the operating system=
 going.  

I often dream of what I could do with a few million dollars, the=
 original development team of Warp, and a couple of years......

>-- 

> From the eComStation Desktop of: Mark Dodel

>Warpstock 2002, In the home of OS/2 - Austin, Texas.  Were you=
 there?   
>http://www.warpstock.org

>For a choice in the future of personal computing, Join VOICE -=
 http://www.os2voice.org

>  "The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate=
 the growth of private 
>power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic=
 State itself.   That in 
>it's essence, is Fascism - ownership of government by an=
 individual, by a group or by 
>any controlling private power." Franklin Delano Roosevelt,=
 Message proposing the 
>Monopoly Investigation, 1938 


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