Xref: utzoo comp.unix.wizards:8853 comp.unix.questions:7273 news.groups:4072
Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!unisoft!hoptoad!dasys1!tbetz
From: tbetz@dasys1.UUCP (Tom Betz)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards,comp.unix.questions,news.groups
Subject: Re: Hamilton Group Announcement
Summary: OS/2?  It lacks a "multi-"...
Keywords: OSF
Message-ID: <4639@dasys1.UUCP>
Date: 27 May 88 02:19:13 GMT
References: <7147@swan.ulowell.edu> <233@mcf.UUCP> <3248@pdn.UUCP>
Organization: The Big Electric Cat
Lines: 39

In article <3248@pdn.UUCP>, reggie@pdn.UUCP (George W. Leach) writes:
> ...  Both told
> me that they are either changing direction or revisiting policy due to
> this action!  
> 
>      It is all creating confussion, not only for the end user community,
> who know nothing but what they read in the trade rags, but also for those
> vendors in the middle: the third world vendors, who are looking to UNIX
> for their business.  The end user community will read this nonsense and
> immediately head for the safe, steady familiar shores of IBM OS/2.  That
> is the intention here.  Anyone who thinks otherwise needs to wake up to
> IBM's marketing ploy.
> 
That may be a part of it... I can see IBM wishing to tie up the >single-
user< OS market with OS/2... but it is a >single-user< multi-tasking system.
UNIX is inherently a multi-user system, and as such, can provide more bang
for the buck.  With OS/2, you still need to have >1 cpu per user.  Unix
permits >1 user per cpu, a decided advantage.  I was even able to convince 
our accountant, a firm devotee of Novell nets, of the truth of this statement,
and anyone who looks at the bottom line will see this is true.

I agree, the probable reason for IBM's commitment here is the creation of 
more FUD, and the hope of heading off ATT/Sun/Microsoft (don't forget, 
Microsoft has a stake in >both< sides of this issue) from consolidating to
command the 80386 business machine OS market.  OS/2 is an incomplete product,
and it will be 3 or 4 years before it even approaches the maturity and power
of UNIX.  For those who read between the trades, there is currently no contest.

Watch, though, for the new Blunix (a good name for it, no?  Just coined it 
myself) to have a real solid connectivity to OS/2... if that were to happen,
I'd consider it myself... in four or five years!



-- 
Tom Betz                        {allegra,philabs,cmcl2}!phri\
Zen Community of New York          {bellcore,cmcl2}!cucard!dasys1!tbetz
Yonkers, NY, USA 10701-2509                    {sun}!hoptoad/ 
"Opinions? What opinions? These are >facts<!!"