David_Wright@f170.n771.z3.fidonet.org (David Wright) (05/17/91)
OS Wars. That's the title of an article by Jim Boyce (author of
Maximizing Windows so he's naturally unbiased), in the May 1991 issue of
Cadence magazine. The opening paragraph reads:
The headline in the Wall Street Journal said it all: "Microsoft
Corporation to Scrap OS/2." According to the January 28 report, Microsoft,
the world's largest supplier of PC software, would be dropping development
of OS/2 and concentrating its efforts on Microsoft Windows. Forget that
Microsoft would cautiosly deny the next day that they were scrapping OS/2
altogether. Wars and rumors of wars, signs and portents___OS/2 is dead;
long live MS Windows.
He goes on to regurgitate all the rumors of Win32 as God's gospel, then;
OS/2 Version 2.0 is being developed soley by IBM, which has never
demonstrated much success in the PC software arena. Many analysts and
industry-watchers are predicting that even if IBM delivers OS/2 2.0 as
promised, it will be no more successful than previous versions...
But Microsoft has other plans for OS/2, which it intends to implement in
Version 3.0, due out in the second half of 1992...
Microsoft's statement urging developers to concentrate on Windows instead
of OS/2 may be a large nail in OS/2's coffin...
Autodesk is not immune to Microsoft's shift in priorities from OS/2 to
Windows. It is currently holding development of the OS/2 version of AutoCAD
Release 11 until IBM delivers a 386-specific version of OS/2 2.0...
Users are going to have as difficult a time as developers in reading
Microsoft's intentions and gauging it's direction. But if the last few
months are any indication, Windows has come in with a bang, and OS/2 appears
to be going out with a whimper.
Like PC Rag, these guys can't wait to bury it. Does anyone else get the
feeling that magazine editors are trying to kill OS/2 just to prove
something to IBM? Have these guys got a chip on their shoulders or what?
Can you say "self-fulfilling prophesy"?
Dave
--- msged 1.99G OS/2
* Origin: The IdleNews (1:153/905.4)rdippold@cancun.qualcomm.com (Ron Dippold) (05/24/91)
In article <9105231120.AA92724@f170.n771.z3.fidonet.org> David_Wright@p4.f905.n153.z1.fidonet.org (David Wright) writes: >Like PC Rag, these guys can't wait to bury it. Does anyone else get the >feeling that magazine editors are trying to kill OS/2 just to prove >something to IBM? Have these guys got a chip on their shoulders or what? They could still be attempting to distance themselves from the embarassing hype when OS/2 was first announced and had the magazines falling all over themselves trying to say how great it was. Wasn't it by 1990 or 1991 that OS/2 was the dominant operating system from all their initial predictions? Plus all the stories about how OS/2 was bad news for Apple, yeah boy. They got suckered by a classic MicroSoft vaporware tactic big time and they're probably still upset about that. Here we are five years later and we're about to finally have an OS/2 that lives up to the promises made back then (although I consider 1.3 a big improvement). -- Standard disclaimer applies, you legalistic hacks. | Ron Dippold