[Am-info] Re: adopting alternative OSes

[John J. Urbaniak]

Mitch Stone wrote:

> I don't question for a moment doubt IBM's mismanagement of Warp -- in
> fact from what I have heard (mainly on this list), this seems to be one
> of the great missed opportunities in recent technology history. My
> point being still that it takes much more than a few millions and a
> good product to crack the Microsoft hegemony in the OEM market (ask
> Jean Louis Gasse). You can't say that IBM did not try at all -- they
> had the product, the PC manufacturing arm, the cash, and most
> importantly, the brand name. Their failure to put all of these elements
> together suggests that the problem of succeeding in this market is
> greater then you may assume. Rightly or wrongly, IBM calculated that
> they were not likely to succeed.
>

The PC Press was a huge factor.

They took sides in the OS Wars.

At every opportunity, the Press emphasized (perceived) flaws in OS/2, such
as a few 16-bit drivers, while at the same time, glossing over Windows's
real problems, such as instability in '95 and '98, and gaping security holes
in 2000 and beyond.

They hated IBM viscerally and they loved Microsoft.  Now, it's come back to
haunt them.  Magazines such as PC Mag are a pittance of what they used to
be.

John