mjsagar@sandia.gov (9123 SAGARTZ, MATHIAS J.) (06/27/90)
For another view of the Windows 3.0 great leap foreward I
would suggest a quick look at the June 18 issue of Computer World and
more particularly the article "Is PC industry becoming deathly dull?"
The staff of Computer World have not excatly been swept up in the
marvels of Windows 3.0. Some quotes to give a flavor of the article:
"Is Gates and his beloved Windows that sparkling? No, it's
more likely that the personal computer industry has become that boring."
Wall Street analysts recently have been saying that the inductry needs
something more than word processors and spreadsheets to really take
off again."
"With few exceptions, about the best anyone could do in the way
of innovation was the solitaire game that Microsoft is including with
Windows."
"The PC business used to be about cutting-edge technology.
Today, people see it as a brand management business that hinges not on
blowing people away with function, but rather on creating perceptions
about the market positioning of products." {Think about this one when
you think about Apple vs Amiga!}
In the same issue there is also an interesting article about
Jobs and NEXT. An outfit called International Data Corp. estimates
that fewer than 7000 have been sold. With that sort of a record you'd
expect then to have trouble with support. But the article goes on to
say that Lotus has had 40 programmers working for over a year developing
a new spreadsheet for the machine! A Businessland spokesman said.
"We're looking at lots of spreadsheet packages as well as word processing
and front-end database applications {reaching the market in the next few
months}." Job's is quoted as saying "We need to supply incredibly
great applications, and then the whole situation will take care of itself."
Sounds like these guys have a very different viewpoint from the author of
the PC article quoted above. I guess when you have a self admitted genius
like Jobs and the smart guys at Stanford and Carnegie Mellon have invested
in you, you just can't do anything wrong. Sales? Who need 'em?