Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!ingr!phil
From: phil@ingr.com (Phil Johnson)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: ERISC???
Message-ID: <6860@ingr.com>
Date: 12 Oct 89 17:43:42 GMT
References: <16190@vail.ICO.ISC.COM> <4424@bd.sei.cmu.edu>
Reply-To: phil@ingr.UUCP (Phil Johnson)
Organization: Intergraph Corp. Huntsville, Al
Lines: 29

In article <4424@bd.sei.cmu.edu> firth@sei.cmu.edu (Robert Firth) writes:

>>The machine won't be out until some time next year...
>>Sigh...this sort of non-journalism doesn't do anyone--even IBM--any good.
>
>Alas, I beg to differ.  We have seen this strategy before from the
>dinosaurs, and it is very effective.  What three-piece-suited executive
>is now going to order an R3000 or a SPARC, when in 12 months' time
>(or more like 18), Big Blue is going to come out with the Real Thing?
>This announcement will inhibit people from buying a new machine because
>it is less risky to wait and see.

This is very true.  I remember, in the days of S100, SS50, etc, when IBM
announced their intention to enter the personal computer market.  This was
announced nearly a year before the original PC was delivered, but during
that period TIME STOOD STILL.  Existing vendor slowed or stopped their 
development and buyers decided to wait.  The world waited to see what
technological wonders Big Blue would deliver.  TA-DA enter the IBM-PC.
After nearly a year of anticipation the world proclaimed the PC as a great
and inovative approach.

The only problem was that there were systems available that ran rings around
the PC, but were left in the shadows of media hype as is so today.


-- 
Philip E. Johnson                    UUCP:  usenet!ingr!b3!sys_7a!phil
MY words,                           VOICE:  (205) 772-2497
MY opinion!