Re: iSeries (non-) Marketing - part 24,566

>From what I saw the failure in OS/2 was not providing a cheep route for
developers to developer native OS/2 Apps. I use to work for a software
developer and they did an eMulation product on the Windows platform
because, at the time the DDK's were free (or very inexpensive) and the
OS/2 ones were not (in the thousands).

Sure big companies could afford a few thousand for a DDK, but what made
Windows a success even though it was inferior was all the small
developers churning out apps (mostly games) that caught on and everyone
(kids) had to have a computer with Windows.

IBM did the same thing on the 400 with starting the price on the LIPIs
at $50,000, not at problem for a big Company, and sure they came around
later (when very few would bite) and dropped the price to $500 (with no
credit back to those that paid the big bucks).  They shouldn't have to
give a way the farm, but trying to recover your
development/documentation costs is a bit much.  Or if you don't want
anyone doing low level calls don't expose the interfaces.

But from where I stand the more software, the more exposer, the more
it's talked about,the more companies that are dependent on it, the more
it sells!! Then once the ball is rolling start upping the anti like good
ole M$ does now (last I knew few years ago a full DDK was about $2,500),
sure it's only gone up.

Just my 2.5 Cents

-- Jim LowAry

>>> jmaynard@xxxxxxxxxxx 09/10/03 11:49AM >>>
On Wed, Sep 10, 2003 at 12:49:40PM -0400, Hans Boldt wrote:
> I understand what you're saying. But for almost the past decade, IBM 
> has had a severe aversion to battling MS on MS's terms. The last 
> time we tried that was with OS/2, and few execs in this company want 
> that to happen again!

The failure of OS/2 was almost completely IBM's fault. They essentially
didn't market it at all. This, coupled with M$'s muscle, led to PC
makers
preinstalling Windows exclusively. (IBm had the power to break that, but
wouldn't use it. Having power and being afraid to use it is worse than
not
having power at all, IMAO.)

....


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