From: xtifr@netcom.com (Chris Waters)
Subject: Re: NT? WHY?
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest) 
Date: Sat, 3 Oct 1992 02:22:41 GMT

In <1992Oct2.135038.7723@njitgw.njit.edu> dic5340@hertz.njit.edu (David Charlap) writes:

>If a company wants a multitasking system.  Right now, the choice is a
>buggy OS/2 or wait and do without.

Well, actually, there are offerings from companies like SCO that will
fit the bill as well.  :-)

Internally, my company uses Novell and SCO Xenix for multi-user systems,
and either OS/2 or DOS (sometimes with DESQview) for workstations.  Our
applications (Point-of-Sale) run on Novell or LANtastic.  Neither OS/2
nor NT figures into our immediate porting plans.  However a UNIX port is
in the works.  We don't need a GUI interface for a Point-of-Sale
system--in fact, we think that it would be a hinderance.  There has been
some discussion of doing a management module with a GUI interface, but
that is very much on the drawing board.

So where does NT fit into our plans?  Not at all.  The management module
(when and if that happens) will probably be a Windows program.  And
we're considering an SCO ODT version as well.  But all our plans are
subject to change.  It's far too early for us to consider NT--NT isn't
even released yet.

This brings up the whole issue of: just how useful *are* GUI's?  IMO,
the most important (and most overlooked) thing is a CONSISTENT user
interface.  It doesn't matter if it's text-mode, graphics, or morse
code.  As long as it's CONSISTENT, it will be easy to use.  This is
where Apple was REALLY a pioneer.  Unfortunately, even Apple seems to be
oblivious to this fact.

>  If OS/2 gets to the point that
>they decide to use it, that's it.  They won't wait for MS to ship NT
>once they find a useable package, since it's unclear when NT will be
>shipped, and they don't want to wait forever.

This is true.  We use (or I should say, I use) OS/2 as a development
platform.  The great majority of apps are for DOS or Windows.  We don't
really care about OS/2 apps or NT apps--our DOS and Windows apps work,
have worked, and will almost undoubtedly continue to work for years to
come.  No one at my company sees anything in NT worth waiting for.  I'm
sure that there are *lots* of other companies with a similar attitude.

As an example:  our internal accounting is done with an old DOS
text-based accounting system.  We may upgrade it at some point.  But if
we upgrade it, I can assure you that it will be to a DOS or Windows
package.  Both OS/2 and NT have very uncertain futures at this point. 
DOS and Windows are proven winners.  Upgrading all our accounting will
be a *major* undertaking, and there's no way in hell that we'd gamble on
an unproven system.  We *might* consider a UNIX package, but neither
OS/2 nor NT is even in the running at the moment.  Although OS/2 is a
hell of a lot closer to being considered, since there is at least one
person using it in the company already.  :-)
-- 
Chris Waters    | the insane don't | NOBODY for President!
xtifr@netcom.COM| need disclaimers | Because Nobody's perfect!!
Xref: sparky comp.os.os2.advocacy:6861 comp.os.ms-windows.advocacy:2331