IBM Pulls Plug on OS/2 Marketing

"OS/2 was a kickass operating system that 1000 books on bad marketing could be written about." That's the response of one contributor to the tech Web site Slashdot, following this week's annoucement that IBM will stop marketing the product.

According to a posting on an IBM Web site , the company will stop marketing OS/2 Warp V4 and Warp Server. However, it will offer support for the products until December 31st, 2004.

OS/2's long, slow demise at the hands of Microsoft Windows variants parallels the better-known rivalry between Betamax and VHS in the video cassette realm. In addition, IBM was the first software company to earn a dubious honor: Its inability to get information about critical Windows Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) from Microsoft doomed OS/2 and presaged years of antitrust struggles.

Originally OS/2 was a joint development between IBM and Microsoft. The early versions of Windows --- running on top of DOS -- were positioned as ways for current computers to run graphical Presentation Manager software. Later, it was promised, the same software would run on 386 and 486 computers driven by OS/2.

By 1995, however, the relationship between the companies had become strained -- and Microsoft emboldened by increasing Windows sales. That year, IBM introduced a version of OS/2 that could run existing Windows 3.1 applications, but also had an advanced desktop and was a fully 32-bit, protected-mode operating system. Microsoft's response was to emphasize Windows 95, whose programming interfaces would never be revealed to IBM.

Despite these ins and outs, OS/2 was ultimately adopted by many Fortune 500 companies, particularly those in the financial community. Today, many cash registers and ATMs still use it, which no doubt partly accounts for IBM's generous support plans.

IBM spokespersons were unavailable to discuss any future plans for OS/2. However, a third party, Serenity Systems (www.ecomstation.com) has gained limited rights to OS/2 code and is marketing the product as "an Internet enabled platform for business desktop computing."