Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!rutgers!mit-eddie!bu-cs!bucsb.bu.edu!madd From: madd@bucsb.bu.edu.UUCP Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc Subject: Re: Minor historical point: the origin of ms-dos Message-ID: <730@bucsb.bu.edu.UUCP> Date: Mon, 9-Feb-87 20:41:34 EST Article-I.D.: bucsb.730 Posted: Mon Feb 9 20:41:34 1987 Date-Received: Wed, 11-Feb-87 04:38:33 EST References: <8520@topaz.RUTGERS.EDU> <1270@cbmvax.cbmvax.cbm.UUCP> <1486@rayssdb.RAY.COM> <5428@amdahl.UUCP> <1341@kontron.UUCP> Reply-To: madd@bucsb.bu.edu.UUCP (Jim "Jack" Frost) Organization: ODO (Organization for the Disorganization of Organization) Lines: 65 In article <1341@kontron.UUCP> cramer@kontron.UUCP (Clayton Cramer) writes: >> In article <1486@rayssdb.RAY.COM>, rxb@rayssdb.RAY.COM (Richard A. Brooks) >> writes: >> > (could any- >> > thing with the IBM name flop??) >> >> This is a joke, right? >> >> Things with the IBM name flop all the time. Look at the PC Portable (IBM's >> answer to Compaq) or the PC Jr (who could forget that?). >> >> And don't forget about the 8100. >> -- >> John A. Muth ...!{ihnp4,hplabs,sun,nsc}!amdahl!muth > >And the 4" microfloppy standard that IBM adopted -- then quietly dropped >when everyone adopted the Sony 3.5" microfloppy standard. There have been a large number of IBM products that have flopped. Most of them have been minor ventures, however, so they don't damage the company (or the company's reputation) much. The best example I have ever seen is the System/23, IBM's original PC. I don't believe there is a single owner happy with that system. >IBM is NOT 10' tall -- their success is at least partly the quality of >their manufactured products and documentation. If they were a small >company producing what they have produced, they would become a big company >eventually. I only partially agree with this opinion. Their success is due to their reputation, and partially with the quality of documentation. Quality of products does not enter into it. Their mainframes are great. You want to own one of their mainframes without their service contract? It won't be running long. Somebody should check out the defective equipment returns on IBM PC's (not XT's and AT's so much). It's one of the highest among any PC manufacturer. The only thing that saves IBM's skin here is their policy of giving you a new machine when you have those kind of problems. Go ahead. Flame that comment. I've personally brought up many PC's, both IBM and otherwise. How many IBM failures? Three. One hard drive (admittedly not manufactured by IBM, but it has their name on it) that just stopped. After they fixed that, the controller died (within an hour). That was an AT. A friend's PC developed floppy problems within minutes of operation. The floppy was replaced. The new one worked for about ten minutes and died too. They replaced it again and the controller as well. It's on the fritz again. A different friend with a PC couldn't even get it to turn on! Some quality. Among clones, only one ever gave me a problem. It was due to a motherboard cracked during shipment. They replaced the whole machine in three days. (This, BTW, was a THE PC+). That's the only problem I've ever had with a compatible. It might be interesting to note that the majority of systems I've brought up were compatibles. Their documentation is great though. Right down to those pages labelled: "This page is intentionally left blank". >Clayton E. Cramer %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% - Jim Frost * The Madd Hacker - UUCP: ..!harvard!bu-cs!bucsb!madd | ARPANET: madd@bucsb.bu.edu CSNET: madd%bucsb@bu-cs | BITNET: cscc71c@bostonu -------------------------------+---+------------------------------------ "Oh beer, oh beer." -- Me | [=(BEER) <- Bud the Beer (cheers!)