From: furballs@sequent.com (Paul Penrod)
Newsgroups: comp.os.os2.apps,comp.os.os2.advocacy
Subject: Re: MS ready to release 32-bit Word & Excel?!?! Read on...
Date: 29 Sep 92 20:04:25 GMT
Article-I.D.: sequent.1992Sep29.200425.2154
Organization: Sequent Computer Systems Inc.

In article <1992Sep29.173907.13875@mksol.dseg.ti.com> mccall@mksol.dseg.ti.com (fred j mccall 575-3539) writes:
>In <1992Sep26.025734.7196@sequent.com> furballs@sequent.com (Paul Penrod) writes:
>
>>In article <1992Sep25.180321.21928@mksol.dseg.ti.com> mccall@mksol.dseg.ti.com (fred j mccall 575-3539) writes:
>
>>>Frankly, I don't expect to see OS/2 versions of MS applications unless
>>>NT shows to be a real dog in the marketplace.  This makes a certain
>>>amount of sense from the MS perspective, but you should understand
>>>that a lot of customers out here are going to view it with less than
>>>favor. 
>>>
>
>>I would not bet on it. After giving it some thought it occurs to me
>>that Bill Gates remark about 2 million is sales seems to make
>>sense. As a software developer, I keep track of how large my
>>market is and whether any particular project I take on will make
>>money or not.
>
>Yes, but I suspect that Bill Gates will have additional profit-driven
>reasons for not supporting OS/2 right away.  After all, it is
>certainly in his interest (money wise) if OS/2 dies out and NT takes
>over.  This is less likely, the more OS/2 applications that there are. 
>

That is a point well taken, but past history has shown that
Microsoft has been willing to support "competing" OS's in a sense
by developing or porting applications to the Macintoy and SCO XENIX
environments. While they are not Microsoft owned and operated OS's,
they were lucrative income streams none the less.

In the case of OS/2, all egos aside, Microsoft would have a
distinct advantage porting or developing applications to the
environment, considering much of it was "home grown" to begin with
and there is a genealogical tie, however strong or weak, between
Windows and OS/2.

>>It would tend to make sense that Bill Gates already knows how large
>>a market it would take to give Microsoft the penetration
>>percentages it needs to make a profit on it's application software.
>
>I think he will take more than just the profitability of doing a
>version for a specific OS into account; like possible impacts on the
>other parts of his business (like, is it a good idea for MS to produce
>an application for a competing operating system?).
>

Again, I hold up the Mactintoy...

>>I myself would like to see something else besides WordPerect under
>>OS/2 2.0. Borland will be a welcome addition as well, and the more
>>vendors that enter the market, the better the software tends to
>>become.
>
>Yes, but Bill Gates isn't interested in pushing up the quality of OS/2
>software.  The lower it is, the better his profit picture will look,
>particularly after NT finally ships.
>

Maybe, but I don't think so. Much of what is OS/2 software may also
be finding it's way into NT, and Microsoft can not really afford a
public black eye indirectly because schlock is being served up on
their 32 bit platform. It is really in their best interest to
promote good software, whatever the platform, because if people
like, and use it, then it will find it's way onto NT as well,
strengthening their position in the 32 bit OS arena. Lofty
thoughts, but it does hit the bottom line directly if applied, and
Bill Gates in no dummy in that respect.

>-- 
>"Insisting on perfect safety is for people who don't have the balls to live
> in the real world."   -- Mary Shafer, NASA Ames Dryden
>------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Fred.McCall@dseg.ti.com - I don't speak for others and they don't speak for me.


-- 
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