From: x90wardell@gw.wmich.edu
Newsgroups: comp.os.os2.advocacy
Subject: Zachaman and NT and OS/2
Date: 11 Sep 92 22:53:09 EST
Organization: Western Michigan University

> 
> Ok, so Zachmann doesn't think the beta is any good.  Sturgill thinks it
> is.  I'll reserve judgement at this point.  In any case, what they have
> is a beta.  Claiming that it is a "pre-beta" is pure silliness.  Typical
> marketing department silliness.  Lets go on to something worth
> discussing.

	What is really at the heart of these discussions is the
underlying war of whether NT is going to crsh OS/2 in the next two
years or whether NT will simply become a piece of obscure history
in the face of OS2 surprisinly fast acceptance.
	NT beta users remind me of myself when I purchased a sound blaster
.  I thought the sound out of those MOD files that are out for it sounded
"Just like the real thing" but I was deluding myself.  I thought they
did sound like it but I just wasn't doing enough critical thinking.  NT
beta usrs are doing much the same thing.  It is September and NT is
not looking good right now.  MS did OS/2 a favor by releasing NT so
early.  Many developers I have spoken with and have also used the NT
beta have seriously reconsidered developing for it because Microsoft
deceived them into thinking that NT was EVOLVING from Windows 3.1 not
a REVOLUTION.  But the fact is, NT is not the natural path from Windows
3.1.  It is just as much of a hardship to make Windows run on it as
it is for OS/2 and OS/2 has the advantage of being an Intel only OS
right now and it can just plot the Windows code with some modifications
right in the OS.  NT idealy wants to EMULATE windows so that users
on Dec Alpha based systems, Sparc Stations, etc, will be able to plop
in a Windows program and run it.  The NT beta is not good.  It has
more serious flaws than just not running 16 bit windows stuff.  It
does not run DOS acceptibly.  
	Developers have to ask themselves, what is the compelling
reason to write for NT?  It doesn't run Windows they way they thought
and OS/2 is here and does about everything NT is uspposed to do and
they KNOW it runs windows quite well and DOS beautifully. (Not that
OS/2 is without faults, I have spent many hours ragging on OS/2 2.0's
problems but NT clearly has more).
	Zachaman is of course too biased to be taken seriously anymore.
His other article of thise type "OS/2 is a winner!" made me blush
with embarrassment.  He statements that Windows 3.1 was a disaster
were simply not true.  Windows 3.1 is very nice and I can't blame anyone
for using it (if they don't have 8 megs of ram or more).  It is fast,
crash resistant, has sound support and driver support and is more
than enough for the typical user.   This article now is like that other
one but a bit closer to the truth but still quite biased.  Afterall,
I don't remember seeing him rip IBM for releasing the limited 
availability version of OS/2 2.0 last December that I bought for
$100 and sat on my hard drive as a rather large Disk utility (look,
I can format disks in the background!) so the bias is there without
a doubt.  
	Anyway, to conclude my long winded post, Zachaman is
very biased no doubt about it.  But NT is not looking good right now
and OS/2 is gaining a lot of support and a lot of that support is
due to MS's mistake of realsing NT in July.  It is already too late
to expect OS/2 to simply die anytime soon.  over a million sold
by late August and according to Infoworld nearing 2 million shipped
(NOT sold, big difference).  And it is in the top 15 best selling
programs at RETAIL which most sales are via IBM directly from the
zillions of ads in Newsweek, etc. 
	anyway, that's my two cents.

					-Brad

===================
Macros: From WMU
"You go ahead and run NT, I hope you enjoy using Write.  Personally,
I'll stick with OS/2 and run Ami Pro 3.0 for Windows whiledownloading
at 14.4k bps and playing Civiliation."
===================

     


    
 	Well, it what is going on under the surface.  OS/2 supporters are
strongly wondering whether OS/2 is going to die in the next couple years or so
in the face of Windows NT.

Newsgroups: comp.os.os2.advocacy