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OS2 Discussion Forum Volume 9205 Issue 02 - Part I
From @pucc.Princeton.EDU:OS2@BLEKUL11.BITNET Thu May 14 04:26:56 1992
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Subject: OS/2 Discussion Forum 920502 - Part I
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************************************************************************
OS/2 Discussion Forum Mon, May 11, 1992 Volume 9205 Issue 02
Relevant addresses :
submissions : OS2@BLEKUL11.BITNET (bitnet)
OS2@cc1.kuleuven.ac.be (domain)
subscriptions : LISTSERV@BLEKUL11.BITNET (bitnet)
LISTSERV@cc1.kuleuven.ac.be (domain)
moderator : OS2MOD@BLEKUL11.BITNET (bitnet)
os2mod@cc1.kuleuven.ac.be (domain)
************************************************************************
Today's topics:
New files on LISTSERVer
Watching OS/2 - Volume 1, Issue 2 of OS/2 Monthly Magazine
OS/2 2.0 and GA
MSCDEX & OS2 DOS Session
emTeX 386 (a TeX implementation for OS/2 2.0) in beta test
Header pages for Postscript Printers
Is anyone at IBM listening?
J' Accuse
Maximum number of (frame) windows in PM
Re: OS/2 2.0 in a Network Environment ?
Touchstone
memory with os2 2.0
*** NEW OS/2 WORD PROCESSOR IN DEVELOPMENT ***
Accessing remote databases in an OS/2-DBServer/Requester Config
Borland software for OS/2 2.0
Bernoulli drive, COM port conflict
Feed from the Listearn OS2-L OS/2 Non-Editored Discussion List :
REXX questions
Feed from the Usenet (UUCP/Internet) comp.os.os2.* newsgroups :
Will Zachmann and Ziff-Davis
response to PC mag article (long)
FYI: IBM BBS' Q&A for OS/2 2.0 & applications
Re: Beta testers for BC++??
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 11 May 92 12:00:00 +0200
From: Moderator of OS/2 Discussion Forum <OS2MOD@BLEKUL11>
Subject: New files on LISTSERVer
This is a list of new or updated OS/2 related files available from the
LISTSERV of the OS/2 Discussion Forum at BLEKUL11.
* Files distributed via comp.os2.misc
filename filetype Remarks
-------- -------- -------------------------------
FAQ20A ZIPXXE OS/2 Frequent Asked Questions v2.0A
* Files distributed via comp.binaries.os2
filename filetype Remarks
-------- -------- -------------------------------
BVHSVGA ZIPXXE Fix for WD PVGA1D based adapters
CUBE10 ZIPXXE Rubic's Cube 1.0 for PM
EABK10 PACKAGE Backup & restore EA
PMMINE ZIPXXE PM Minesweeper
SWAPSZ11 ZIPXXE REXX pgm to monitor SWAP file
Some of the available files come in - what is called - a package. If
you request such package you will automatically receive all necesarry
files. The zipxxe (XXencoded ZIP) files that you will receive must be
concatenated into one large ZIPXXE file by means of the COPY command.
(example : copy x.zipxxe1 + x.zipxxe2 x.zipxxe)
To use this large ZIPXXE file you must first XXdecode (We recommend our
own version of XXdecode which works under OS/2) and UNZIP (We recommend
PKZIP also under OS/2) it.
Note: Use PKUNZIP -d to unzip !!
These files are distributed AS IS, we can not guarantee anything about
their working.
************************************************************************
* For a complete list of all OS/2 files available at LISTSERV@BLEKUL11 *
* get the OS2INDEX PACAKGE. *
************************************************************************
We still welcome all OS/2 related files for distribution on our LISTSERV.
Send your files to OS2@BLEKUL11.BITNET / OS2@cc1.kuleuven.ac.be
we will arrange everything for distribution.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: bgm@gallipolis.cray.com
Date: Tue, 5 May 92 18:09:05 CDT
Reply-To: bgm@cray.com
Subject: Watching OS/2 - Volume 1, Issue 2 of OS/2 Monthly Magazine
I am attaching my second Watching OS/2 column from OS/2 Monthly
Magazine. This is with permission from the publisher (Joel Siragher
72550.2440@compuserve.com).
I don't have the specifics (drop Joel a note) on this item. Joel
arranged, or is in the process of arranging, for the magazine to be
available through a FaxBack Service. One calls the faxback number and
can get for free last month's issue (I believe is how it works). Of
course, the phone charge most likely will be greater than the cost of
subscription. It is, though, a good way to look before one buys.
Please, talk to Joel about the specifics.
Bert Moshier
(c) Copyright Bertram Glenn Moshier, 1992. All rights reserved.
Watching OS/2
By Bert Moshier
As I look out over the OS/2 plain, I see eager minds looking forward to
OS/2 2.0. In these recessionary times, many people see OS/2 as a way to
increase their productivity by letting them work smarter, not harder.
They see OS/2 as the way to integrate their work into one environment.
"Free at last," they say. Free at last, of the frustrating multiple
autoexec.bat and config.sys merry-go-round, frequent rebooting, and
hours spent getting applications to play nicely together. These eager
minds are hunting for articles to eat, information to drink and grasping
for contacts. Some are very well feed and informed. However, others
have the hunger that only comes from neglect.
These hungry users ask simple questions. Is OS/2 by invitation only?
If yes, how do I get an invitation? If no, why can't I find OS/2
information? Why isn't IBM pro-active in getting OS/2 information to
me? Since actions speak louder than words, is IBM serious about OS/2?
These questions show end-user frustration and their perception of IBM -
and isn't that, after all, the real IBM image.
Many examples exist, and range from computer newspaper editors-in-chief
to people on Usenet's comp.os.os2.misc. It is not possible in a column
to cover all the comments given to me. An example is Kevin Reichard,
Editor-in-Chief of Computer User - a computer newspaper in Minneapolis
with 80,000 readers. Nationally, Mr. Reichard influences 800,000
readers with Adams Publishing computer newspaper franchises.
Mr. Reichard, in the December 1991 Down to Business column, covered the
Fall 1991 COMDEX. He says, "IBM failed to show OS/2 2.0." I took
exception, in a letter pointing out three chances he had to see OS/2 2.0
at COMDEX. He called me saying he'd be unable to print the letter since
it was unfair. He tried to find OS/2 2.0 information but was unable to
do so. There were no notices in the press room, no invitation, no
information from his local branch, etc. (Please note that Microsoft
invited him to a press meeting and several receptions.) He went to the
main IBM booth and found only OS/2 1.3, etc. He honestly wants to give
OS/2 2.0 a chance. IBM must meet him and all users at least half way,
if not go farther.
Several IBM employees at the national and local level worry that the
public will overwhelm IBM's ability to respond. This concern was why
the OS/2 announcement at COMDEX and the local level was by invitation.
This is also the reason given why local IBM classes may be by invitation
only, at least to begin.
IBM should be so lucky as to have this problem. It is true end-users
would not like dealing with an overloaded system. They will complain;
saying IBM could learn from the Boy Scouts. Yet, to hold back OS/2
information from end-users defeats OS/2 before the game begins.
Many at IBM - including Dave Both, Mark Chapman, Patricia Wolpert, Lucy
Baney, Dave Whittle, Ian Stirling, Larry Salomon and Larry Magolis to
name a very few - work hard to help make OS/2 2.0 a success and inform
endusers. All of IBM, though, needs a commitment to OS/2. From the
local branches to the AS/400 developers to the System/390 designers,
OS/2's success or failure affects them all. They cannot change this
fact. They can only affect the outcome.
The following marketing and advertising ideas deal with the real world
and current market dynamics. They do not represent all the directions
IBM needs to take, but cover important aspects that IBM is failing to
meet.
Advertise OS/2 and encourage OS/2 articles in a broad range of
publications.
OS/2 advertisements are failing to reach most potential OS/2 end-users.
These advertisements are reaching those people buying ten or more
personal computers per year. Most end-users cannot qualify for a PC
Week or Info World free subscription, find a newsstand carrying single
issues, or afford the subscription cost. These are outstanding
magazines for those in the computer industry or buying many computers.
Most potential OS/2 2.0 end-users do not fall into either of these
groups.
Why doesn't OS/2 show up in magazines similar to Home Office Computing?
Their slogan is "Building Better Business with Technology." Isn't
building better businesses the OS/2 goal?
IBM needs to advertise and encourage the writing of OS/2 articles in a
broad range of magazines. This includes, but should not be limited to:
Shareware Magazine, Publish, PC Today, WordPerfect Magazine, PC World,
PC Computing, PC Source, Time, Newsweek, PC Magazine, Byte and U.S.
News & World Report.
Support individual and shareware developers.
IBM aids companies developing commercial OS/2 products through its
developer assistance program (DAP) and its OS/2 32 bit Expedite program.
These programs fail to recognize the importance of the individual,
shareware or internal company developers.
I cannot cover in a short space the importance of supporting these
developers. They aid in the acceptance of an operating system or
application through many avenues. Friends, coworkers and relatives who
know a software product help people feel comfortable and safe using the
product. This is one method by which developers and power end-users aid
in a product's public assimilation.
IBM must provide developers with low cost or free access to OS/2. This
access includes local level development classes (for example by video
tape), quick defect support, round table discussions, technical
end-developer support, and access to developer tools. IBM should
consider going beyond the call of duty by providing product marketing
and testing support.
Use TV Information commercials.
A commercial could open with a series of glimpses into end-user lives.
They are sitting by open fires with spouses, attending baseball games,
school plays, and visiting with friends and relatives. The background
announcer asks simple questions. "How can these busy people have time
for a well balanced life? In these recessionary times companies are
asking people to do more with less. How can they find time to advance
their careers and have time for their families?"
The announcer discusses several items that help each of us live balanced
lives, and how they interact. For example, how the family helps the job
and the job helps the family. The most important of these items is
time. People need to manage and better use the time they have in each
day. At the end, the announcer points out these people share a common
tool in dealing with their time. It is OS/2.
The commercial continues by providing OS/2 information. It explains how
OS/2 aids in improving productivity by reducing the time it takes to do
daily tasks. How we in our lives multi-task but allow our computers to
single thread. (Who doesn't think while driving to work, or listen to
the radio.) It shows how OS/2 brings multi-tasking to the work place
and enables us to work on multiple activities on our computers.
The commercial must include more than just IBM computers. Users must
see their own computer being productive. This shows that OS/2 is an
open system and drives this point home. The commercial leaves the
viewer with a positive image of a new and open IBM.
OS/2 2.0 Application Contest.
Part of the OS/2 marketing problem is one of its acceptance at the
application level. Two application environments exist in OS/2, DOS and
native OS/2. OS/2 2.0 solves the DOS problem by providing multiple DOS
boxes (MDVM), bootable DOS and built-in Windows support. It does not
solve the problem of OS/2 native application acceptance.
The general PC world does not acknowledge or fully understand the
advantages of OS/2 native applications. The average DOS end-user, the
general and "computer literate press" has an education gap. IBM must
motivate the press, commercial houses and individuals to develop native
OS/2 applications. An application contest with a wide range of prizes
($1,000,000 to development tool rebates) is necessary.
OS/2 end-user appreciation day that includes the local press.
The agenda would prepare the OS/2 end-user to use OS/2 2.0 and to go out
and help other people gain interest. IBM should include the local press
so they can meet actual end-users, gain end-user contacts, and see and
use OS/2.
The day should begin with a greeting from John Akers, Lee Reiswig and
the presidents of those companies supporting OS/2 2.0. This includes
not just applications, but also PC manufacturers. The day would
continue with real time presentations, tips and techniques, information
on the Fall 1992 release (2.1) and portable OS/2, food, and a chance to
look at upcoming marketing and advertising ideas.
The end-user and the press would leave with several items. First, the
OS/2 1.x end-user could get their free upgrade to 2.0 at the party. The
press would leave with a copy to evaluate. Second, end-users would
receive demo suggestions on how to show OS/2 to their coworkers and
friends. The press would leave with a better understanding for OS/2
than they have about Windows. Third, everyone would leave with OS/2
mugs, pins, pens, shirts (golf, T), mouse pads, etc.
IBM must validate their OS/2 advertisements and marketing directions.
IBM must test (validate and verify) the OS/2 advertisements and
marketing directions. As OS/2 version 2.0 goes through many testing
programs, IBM must test and validate the public relation plan.
Validation needs to occur at both the national and local levels. IBM
needs to test using a broad range of people including OS/2 supporters.
While OS/2 supporters know the product and can create ideas, to refine
the ideas requires those who have yet to buy into the OS/2 world.
There are other ideas and methods available to promote OS/2. These
include offering free local OS/2 classes, providing video stores with
free OS/2 usage tapes, user group presentations with free copies of 2.0
as door prizes, and to publish many OS/2 paperbacks.
IBM must provide to all people all the OS/2 information they can digest.
Until this occurs hunger will continue and the OS/2 community cannot
grow to its full potential.
IBM created the PERSONAL Computer and PERSONAL System.
OS/2 runs on 386SX and above PERSONAL Computers and Systems.
IBM must advertise and inform the PERSON using these PERSONAL Computers
and Systems.
-- 30 --
Bert Moshier is the president of the Minnesota OS/2 End-user Group. He
has been working with VM systems since 1977, and as a VM systems
developer since 1979. He became involved in OS/2 in 1989 when DOS,
MS-Windows, SUN's PC-NFS, Mansfield REXX and KEDIT would not play
happily together on his PC-AT. You may reach him through this
publication or on the IBM BBS (userid: Bertram Moshier) at
404-835-6600.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 05 May 92 21:53:55 EDT
From: Scott Glynn <UCA122@URIACC>
Subject: OS/2 2.0 and GA
I have a few questions about OS/2 2.0. 1. What is the difference
between OS/2 2.0 and OS/2 2.0 GA? Is there a difference? 2. How much does
OS/2 2.0 or 2.0GA cost? 3. I have a copy of OS/2 1.30, but have never
installed it and have all the docs and original disks (this is not a
pirated copy!!!) also I never sent in a registration card, can I get an
upgrade to 2.0 (GA) free or at a reduced price? 4. I run a bulletin board
using MS-DOS 5.0 and Telegard 2.7 (BBS), do you know/think that it will run
fun under OS/2 2.0 (GA)? Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Please mail me directly...thank you.
Scott Glynn Omega Concern
UCA122@URIACC.URI.EDU 401-295-2725
Chemistry Major 300/1200/2400bd
Lab Tech 24hrs 7day/wk
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 6 May 1992 13:03 EDT
From: AISTERWI@EKU.BITNET
Subject: MSCDEX & OS2 DOS Session
Did anyone get MSCDEX to work in a DOS session for OS/2 2.0? I can only
get it to work if I start up DOS from drive A:. I tried DOS_VERSION
and also setver.exe as a DEVICE driver in a regular DOS session and I
still get Incorrect DOS version from MSCDEX.
1) What good is the DOS_VERSION setting if programs specified here
are not being passed the proper version ?
Earl Terwilliger AISTERWI@EKU.bitnet
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 07 May 92 11:10
From: UKI6@DKAUNI2.BITNET
Subject: emTeX 386 (a TeX implementation for OS/2 2.0) in beta test
Now that OS/2 2.0 is available, you can trash MS-DOS and Windows (if
you have a 386sx or better). For this reason, to everyone who did
not know this yet:
emTeX386 is running under OS/2 2.0 since beta-7 (NOT in the
DOS emulation). dvipm, the previewer for OS/2 Presentation Manager
by Eberhard Mattes, is delivered with dvidrv 1.4r.
At the ftp server rusinfo.rus.uni-stuttgart.de there are NEW beta
test versions in the directory soft/tex/machines/pc/emtex/betatest:
tex386b8.zip emTeX386 3.141 [3c-beta8]
mfjob11j.zip MFjob 1.1j
btexb8.zip big emTeX 3.141 [3c-beta8]
dvidrv_14r.zip dvidrv 1.4r, including dvipm
dvidrv87_14r.zip Ditto, for computers with coprocessor (or 486DX)
If you get dvidrv 1.4r, you should also get MFjob 1.1j.
And you should have a look at README.TST.
Those who want to use GCC for program development under OS/2 2.0 should
look an directory soft/os2/emx at rusinfo.
Yours sincerely
Eberhard Mattes (mattes@azu.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de)
.. translated by tobias b k"ohler (uki6@dkauni2.bitnet)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: TUE, 5 MAY 92 16:19:22 MESZ
From: Dr. Reinhard Eisberg <R01EIS at DHHDESY3>
Subject: Header pages for Postscript Printers
Hi,
I have TCPIP for OS/2 Version 1.2 installed on a PS/2 Model 80
using this PC as a print and NFS server.
A Postscript Laser printer is connected to the PC on the parallel port.
Using the LPRMON feature of TCP/IP for OS/2 1.2 I can directly
route printout from another PC in the network to the printer
connected to the server.
Also printing with the LPR command works fine.
In order to make this nicely working feature available to other users
I would like to print JOB separator pages for each user.
There is an example supplied with the TCPIP documentation, however this
is not valid for POSTSCRIPT printers.
Is there anybody who can help me with that problem ?
Thanks in advance
R. Eisberg
Abt. R1
Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron DESY
Notkestr. 85
2000 Hamburg 52
Tel.: (+49 40) 8998-2511
------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: bgm@cray.com (Bert Moshier)
Subject: Is anyone at IBM listening?
Date: 1 May 92 15:29:05 GMT
Organization: Cray Research, inc
A friend at IBM (I am suppressing his name) sent me the following.
May I suggest you write to IBM based upon this letter. Here are the IBM
addresses again.
John Akers
Chairman of the Board
IBM Corporation
Old Orchard Road
Armonk, NY 10504
Robert J. LaBant
IBM Senior Vice President & General Manager, IBM US
IBM Corporation
1133 Westchester Avenue
White Plains, NY 10604
Voice: 914/642-4900
Fax : 914/642-5774
Sam Inman
IBM Vice President & President of NDD
IBM Corporation
1133 Westchester Avenue
White Plains, NY 10604
Suzanne Caruso
IBM Corporation
Route 100, P.O. Box 100
Somers, NY 10589
Earl Wheeler
IBM Senior Vice President
IBM Corporation
Fax : 914/766-1844
-- End addresses --
Start of note:
Bert, I thought you'd be interested in seeing what one of the many outspoken
IBMers has been saying internally.
'Tis a sad sight. I think I'm going to start sending out my resume, for I
have a problem working for such an incompetent company...
................
---------------------------- Append follows -----------------------------
----- OS2ARENA FORUM appended at 11:19:38 on 92/05/01 GMT (by SJGALLA at WASVMIC
Subject: J' Accuse
*** WARNING: LONG (250 lines) AND RABID (what else?) APPEND ***
Well kids, it's May 1. Do you know where your "exciting and agressive"
advertising is? Can you walk into any software store, picked at random,
locate OS/2 on the shelf easily due to it's prominent dealer display,
pay for it at the counter at the low upgrade price available at the
800#, and take it home with you? If you ordered it through the 800#,
can you call that number, have the phone answered quickly, and have
the person at the other end of the phone tell you *exactly* where
in-process your order is, and *exactly* when you'll get it?
Me neither. I doubt if anyone would have the gall to put forth the
claim that we have "flooded the distribution channels" and launched
an ad campaign that leaves us "weak at the knees" and "takes our breath
away". It is time to prepare what used to be called a "bill of
particulars". Not that they will do us any good, since no one is
listening nor would they be able to effectively apply these lessons
at this late date. But the facts must be dragged, kicking and screaming,
into the light. We are powerless to fix any of the items contained in
the list outlined below, but we can at least send a signal that says
WE NOW KNOW THE SCORE.
*DISTRIBUTION ROLLOUT-
The benchmark for success of the OS/2 distribution process must
surely be "OS/2 will be available everywhere DOS is available". Based
on this statement, which was made publicly and often, our distribution
rollout has been a disaster.
- Egghead, with whom we have a corporate account for purchasing our
software, has outlets that look like "WindowsWorld". They know
who butters their bread, and it sure isn't IBM.
- Sears, our "business partner" (Prodigy) refuses to stock OS/2. The
reasons for this are obviously political, and shrouded in secrecy.
I doubt if we "grunts" will ever know what IBM did to anger Sears
so much. Dialogue recorded at a Sears store in Texas:
Clerk: "I advise customers to wait for NT."
IBMer: "Why?"
Clerk: "Well, Microsoft flew me up to Redmond last week to see it.
It looks real good."
As a member of Team OS/2, I spend a lot of my own time hitting
dealers and evangelizing OS/2. When I realize we are up against a
competitor who has the WILL and the SMARTS to fly a Sears clerk from
a little town in Texas up to Redmond to see NT, I feel two things:
shame at IBM's inability to meet this kind of competition, and an
almost overwheling sense of futility.
- There are about 20,000 Authorized Dealers ( and dwindling fast, from
what I hear ). All indications are that our efforts to get these
folks on board and support them in a big way are token gestures
with no high level of commitment to really working as *partners*
with these people.
- There are about 100,000 UN-Authorized Dealers. These poor mutants
are not even part of the equation. They will not even get the
minimal level of attention we plan to devote to the Authorized
Dealers.
- Every dealer on the planet -- authorized and unauthorized -- should
have been overwhelmed ALREADY by IBM's generosity in giving them
free employee copies, t-shirts, banners, trinkets, "OS/2 Days"
staffed by IBM demo personnel, etc. Instead, NDD proclaims that
Merisel and Ingraham-D are their customers, not the actualy dealers-
and certainly not the END USERS who visit those dealers.
- From some notes I've seen on Prodigy, as well as other BBS's and here
on the forums, it is obvious that the 800# operation was no where
NEAR prepared to deal with this thing. One can only cringe in
horror when one hears such things as "we're still keeping records
of orders mostly manually", and "we only have two tubes running
here right now." Didn't anyone understand that this 800# was going
to be the "first impression" that many thousands of people who had
*never* dealt with IBM before would get of IBM? Didn't the people
running this know WELL IN ADVANCE that they would be running a
mass-volume ordering and support operation? If they did *not* know
well in advance, why not? And if they *did* know well in advance,
why wasn't a WORLD CLASS PROCESS and a WORLD CLASS OPERATION put
into place behind that 800# BEFORE it opened for business??
The above facts, when viewed together like this, seem to suggest that
NO ONE was the least bit prepared to deliver on the commitment that
OS/2 would be ubiquitous, high-profile, and "available everywhere DOS
is available". When our top executives proclaim "we expect sales of
2.0 to be in the millions", yet every day we see a distribution and
direct-ordering process that was obviously designed for nowhere near
that volume, one is almost forced to conclude that *somebody* is talking
trash.
*MARKETING ROLLOUT-
Let me see if I understand the concept behind the marketing of OS/2.
PSLOB owns the product, and they're the ones who will get chopped if
2.0 fails in the marketplace. But, NDD owns marketing and distribution?
What Kafka-esque madman came up with a formula for failure like this?
Because make no mistake about it, our marketing rollout to date HAS
been a failure. The shameful part is, it is a GLARING and PUBLIC
failure. IBM's "OS/2 rollout not with a bang but a whimper" is the
laughingstock of the electronic bulletin boards. The people out there
who predicted that IBM wouldn't have a clue in the world how to market
this thing effectively are having a field day at our expense.
On 4/22, Nancy Roath (Director, PS Merchandising) appended to
OS2ARENA. I honestly have to admit, I have a lot of respect and
admiration for any executive who's willing to "test the waters" and
append publicly to a forum; it goes against the way IBM has always
done business, and let's face it opens the executive to the often
free-wheeling "exuberance" we see out in forum-land. However, one
statement in that append keeps sticking in my mind:
"The media rollout is really starting this week, and I think
everyone will be delighted with the coverage."
OK, it's now 5/1. Who is delighted with the coverage? Can I have a
show of hands? Anybody?... Anybody..? As I thought. "Sightings" of OS/2
ads get write-ups in the forums that contain much of the same breathless
prose as the latest "Elvis Spotted In 7-11" story in the Enquirer. This,
if nothing else, is a sad commentary on the *lack* of effective and
agressive advertising.If the media rollout was in fact going hells-bells
by now, there would be NO NEED to post "sightings" on the fora; we'd
all be too busy being "delighted" by the constant subliminal buzz of
OS/2 ads that posting it on a forum would be *superfluous* because
EVERYONE would be seeing them! Up until a couple of weeks ago, I used
to do a tongue-in-cheek imitation of Nicolson as the Joker any time
one of those ubiquitous Windows ads came on: "Windows? WINDOWS?? Can
somebody please tell me what kind of a world we live in where a User
Interface that looks like it was drawn with a crayon gets all this
advertising???" Then Jennifer and I would laugh, because we both
believed that an equally pervasive and exciting marketing rollout for
OS/2 was coming Real Soon Now. I no longer believe that, and now when
a Microsoft ad comes on, I just sit there...and sit...and feel ashamed.
How did our marketing effort, which was proclaimed by people we
trusted as the most exciting thing they had ever seen, fail so
miserably? Some thoughts:
- Our market research people should be fired. Period. "Print adverti-
sing is much better in reach/frequency rates". Have these people
considered coming up for air? This is NOT 1961, d*mmit! TV is
pervasive, and with some of the high-quality offerings on cable,
it's not Homer Simpson or Al Bundy parked in front of the tube
with a brewski anymore. I want to see OS/2 *prominently* displayed
on CNN. Most people get their news *there*, not from "US News And
World Report" or, God help us, "Fortune". I want to see OS/2
*prominently* displayed on A&E and Discovery Channel. Most people
tap into the cultural and big-picture threads of today's world
*there*, not by reading "Time". I WANT MY MTV!!
- "The cost of TV is also very expensive." Excuse me? Uhh, excuse
me?? I'm not even going to get into what Microsoft is doing. Let's
take a small company like Intuit, makers of Quicken. The category
of "financial management software" is a real snoozer, but after
being blitzed at 530AM when I'm half awake, I find myself psyched
by this product. See comment above about our market researchers
coming up for air. Hello? Hello?? In the words of Jim Morrison,
" WAKE UP !! "
- Didn't Fernand Sarrat promise that our print ad strategy would be
"hard-hitting"? The ad that has everyone in goosebumps has two
glaring problems:
1. Those machines are running Windows. Why ... ?
2. The ad looks like nothing so much as sunset over a cemetery.
- Given the nature of the print advertising ( bland, innoffensive,
"safe") and the publications where we are advertising ( Fortune,
US News & World Report, etc ), it is obvious that these ads are
not seriously intended to actually *sell* any copies of OS/2.
Their real purpose is the usual: get the price of our stock up
a few points, plus send a signal to our Fortune 500 MIS accounts
that "Hey, yes we are serious about OS/2! Hey look, we're even
*advertising* it! Pretty exciting coming from IBM, eh? Of course
we secretly know that YOU, our dear glass-house MIS customers, are
our *real* target audience for OS/2. But let's make that our
little secret, shall we? Nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more!"
- If we were serious about a print ad strategy, we'd have real
"Grabber" ads, showing screen images of WPS and the different
categories of apps it runs. The ads would PROMINENTLY proclaim the
following facts:
1. The upgrade prices, especially the Windows upgrade price
2. The fact that you do NOT need DOS or Windows on your machine
to run DOS and Win apps
3. The fact that "OS/2 is not just for PS/2's anymore"
4. The fact that "the new OS/2 is for the home and stand-alone
user, not just for mega-Godzilla LAN Servers"
- Marketing should have begun relationship-building with the industry
movers and shakers EARLY IN BETA. A couple of months back we all
read about Charles Petzold's disillusionment with OS/2 2.0. His
disillusionment came, not from the technical aspects ( which he
has maintained since the 1.x versions were excellent ) but from
finally realizing that, to quote loosely, "these people have no
clue how to market this thing, and they don't even know it." Just
a couple of days ago someone posted the comments of Jerry Pournelle
in the latest Byte: "Having told me <about 2.0> at my panel at
Fall Comdex, the IBM people promptly forgot who I was and never
sent me a copy." Gang, these "industry pundits" (Pournelle, Petzold,
Dvorak, Seymour, et al) are, whether we like it or not, among the
most influential people in our industry. Why were they not brought
on board early in the beta program, and then subjected to a heavy
dose of TLC and "relationship-building" clear through to rollout??
- Finally and most importantly, where in all our grand marketing
strategy does the poor lowly END USER come into the equation? The
Fortune 500 will be served by M&S, as always. NDD will serve the
Merisels and Ingram-D's, with perhaps some token, one-time presence
in the "Authorized" dealers. The End User - the real, live, human
end user, the person who actually buys this stuff and takes it
home and USES it -- is explicitly serviced *nowhere* in either our
distribution or marketing strategy. It is a sad commentary on
IBM's bet-hedging commitment to OS/2 when the best we can do
as far as end-user "relationship-building" at the dealer and User
Group level is the rag-tag volunteers of Team OS/2. A few weeks
back, I suggested a little "Zen Exercise" for the 'Teamers' out
there: "What if we were totally on our own? What if there were
never going to be any real marketing or distribution effort from
the Static IBM, and the only way the End Users would ever hear
about OS/2 was from us Team OS/2 members? Would we still stay the
course?" At the time, I suggested this as an abstract "commitment"
exercise to do in the comfort of your own home. Never in my wildest
dreams did I ever expect that this worst-case scenario would be
a reality. Looks like I was wrong. Ooops.
* HEART SHARE AND MIND SHARE-
All of the above points to one inescapable conclusion. The 'Static'
IBM is firmly in the saddle on this, and they understand one thing and
one thing only: "number of units sold". They totally fail to understand
that this is about "Heart Share And Mind Share". This is about who will
define the desktop direction of the 90's, IBM or Microsoft. This isn't
about MONEY, it's about POWER. And folks, the Fat Lady has sung, and
Microsoft has the Power. After years of brilliantly marketing mundane
and trailing edge products, IBM finally has a street-fighting,kick-butt
product ... and we have NO FREAKING CLUE how to market this thing to
END USERS. As someone on one of the fora pointed out, Microsoft
understands something we are totally incapable of grasping: selling
software to the masses works by appealing, not to *reason*, but to
*emotion*. People sense the Dynamic Quality ( in Pirsig's sense ) and
*act* on that non-rational intuition of Quality. IBM never has and
probably never will understand that mindset. It can't be measured,
it can't be quantified, it can't be categorized and put up on a pretty
foil to show to some executive, so by definition it DOES NOT EXIST.
And we're starting to pay the price, folks; make no mistake. We've
seen more than a few appends in the last couple of weeks by people
who have been pushing this thing long and hard, but who now describe
how people are "slipping away" because they sense that IBM's commitment
to distribute and market this thing effectively is half-hearted and
bogged down in the usual bureaucracy. Many appends out on Prodigy are
starting to take the same tone ... often from people who have hung in
and been big boosters of 2.0. Their comments all seem to revolve
around a common thread: "You finally have a b*tt-kickin' product here,
but people can't walk into a store and buy it, plus you guys don't
seem to be able to market it to save your life!" We're losing these
people; we're losing whatever heart-share and mind-share we have
laboriously built up over the months. I personally despise "sports
metaphors" ( funny, from someone who's always using "war metephors" :),
but since the Vigorous, Athletic-minded, Manly Sort Of Fellows who
run this company revel in sports metaphors, here's one that might
sink in:
We're pushed back to our own 5 yard line. The other team has the
ball. Our front line consists of people whose only athletic abilities
are golf and polo. Our backfield consists of mentally unfocussed and
useless veterans with busted-up knees and a teary-eyed nostalgia for
the days when "Our Team Could Lick Anybody". Oh, and our quarterback's
behavior has the fans in the crowd wondering if maybe he isn't getting
paid off by the other team to drop the ball just a bit too often.
Many of us have been hammering away trying to get someone somewhere
in a position of authority to wake up to the changing and Dynamic
nature of this end-user market that we have addressed in such a
blundering way to date. I know several people ( including myself )
who have "worked within the system" trying to make The Powers That
Be listen, with virtually zero results. The fact that the OS/2 2.0
rollout has been such a combination of Keystone Kops distribution and
"yawner" advertising should tell us what we need to know: that we are,
to quote a passage from Neuromancer,
"Voices, mon, Voices ... cryin' inna wilderness ... "
Steve Gallagher TEAM OS/2 McLean Virginia (HGXG49A at PR*DIGY)
--
"We're Through Being Cool" (8-(
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END OF OS/2 DISCUSSION FORUM 920502 - Part I
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