From: sxjcb@orca.alaska.edu (Jay C. Beavers)
Subject: A NS Fairy Tale
Followup-To: comp.sys.next.misc
Organization: University of Alaska Computer Network
Date: Thu, 8 Oct 1992 17:53:02 GMT

Back in 1985, Microsoft and IBM announced a brand new operating system.  It
promised the world, and everyone who knew better was going to use it.  They
called it OS/2.


It provided all sorts of nice goodies:

Decent memory management
Preemptive multitasking
Common user interface
Advanced programming interface (for it's time)

It had some drawbacks:

Costing $500 vs $100 for its competitor
Costing >$2000 for its development kits
Limited backwards compatibility
Few applications
Lack of a marketing effort
Perceived as a proprietary OS only for PS/2s
Lack of device drivers
Sold only through limited channels

From 1985 to 1991 revision after revision of the operating system failed to
make a dent in the market.  Companies who developed software for this OS
went belly-up.  The knowlege of it's programming interface was for naught. 
It made significant inroads with companies that developed 'mission-critical
software' but that's as far as it got.

Until 1992.

In 1992, OS/2 went through a major revision.  Backwards compatiblity is
it's biggest feature (it really does run Dos better than Dos and it runs
Windows apps ok).  It's price was dropped to $50-$100.  It's developer's
kits were given away for $15.  It was advertised (and advertised showing
all different brands of computers running it, not just PS/2s).  It was sold
through a number of different channels.  Now, OS/2 is selling at a decent
rate (over a million copies so far) and is being considered as a
'mainstream' operating system.  It sells between 10%-15% of what Windows
3.1 sells.


NeXT has been mareketing NeXTStep for a long time.  Until they decided to
approach the 80x86 market, they were a niche player with their hardware and
software packages that could only be sold to people willing to try a
completely different type of computer.  But now they're trying to compete
in the real world with the big boys (I've seen an 'official' sales goal of
10% of Windows NT's sales -- this puts them on the same level of
competition with NT as OS/2 is with Windows 3.x).  If they want to succeed
and not repeat history, perhaps they should review it.

Don't sell your OS for significantly more than your competitor.  By all
guesses, Windows NT will be listing for $250-$495 and selling for 1/3 to
1/2 that on the street (with upgrades).

Don't charge more for your development kits than for the OS.  IBM now sells
the OS/2 DAK for $15, MS sells the Windows NT SDK for $69.

Provide a decent level of backwards compatiblity.  OS/2 features excellent
Dos compatiblity, Windows NT features excellent Windows compatibility. 
Will Insignia run Windows 3.1?

Encourage as much development as possible!  IBM and MS are bending
backwards to get people to write software for them!  Where's NeXT's big
push?  Where's NeXT's apps?

Marketing.  Need I say more?  I've seen under ten NeXT ads total in the
common market since NeXT came out.  Byte has given NeXT rave reviews on
more than one occasion and I've never seen a NeXT add in Byte.  PC Week? 
Forget it!  OS/2, Windows, and Solaris ads are everywhere.  Where is NeXT?

Proprietary perception -- it didn't help NeXT that when the first rumors of
NeXTStep 486 came out they primarily centered around the need for a
proprietary video system.  Change it!  Maybe place an ad!

Lack of device drivers will absolutely kill NS486.  C'mon guys, chase the
hardware manufacturers -- they won't chase you.  And NeXT alone cannot
support all the hardware out there.  IBM tried, and because of that OS/2
featured drivers for only IBM brand printers!

Sold through limited channels -- again, NeXT has a tendancy to be a very
egocentric company (you can sell our products only if we approve of you and
you meet these and these and these criteria).  OS/2 never went anywhere
until IBM started trying to get vendors to bundle it with their systems,
sold it via an 800 number, and got it distributed via normal channels like
Merisel and Ingram Micro-D to computer stores.


And the final point is that just because your product is better does not
mean that people will buy it.  OS/2 offered alternatives far superior to
MS-Dos and MS-Windows and never managed to sell well at all until it's
problems were addressed.

(Believe it or not, I like NeXTStep.  However, NeXT does seem intent upon
repeating history, so until I see things change, my income will be coming
from a career with Windows 3.x and Windows NT.)

______________________________________________________________________________
                                        |    jay@seaspray.uacn.alaska.edu
Jay C. Beavers                          |    sxjcb@orca.alaska.edu
University of Alaska Computer Network   |    sxjcb@alaska.bitnet
________________________________________|_____________________________________
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.misc