[inforoots] Open versus Closed Architecture

Sun May 4 08:45:51 PDT 2008

Having sold against IBM for many years I did get an impression of 
IBM's organisation.  They seemed to be structured like a government 
and did strange things in the market - usually at great expense.  It 
was the classic BIG company making it because their continuance was 
due to their size rather than their technical expertise.   No wonder 
the "plug compatibles" had a ball (well I did!) selling against them 
as their products were very often way way behind other computer 
manufacturers.   And no wonder they eventually lost so much ground in 
the market - GM sytle!   Perhaps this over-stuffed managerial 
structure stifled their foray into the PC world despite setting up a 
separate department.

At 07:01 PM 5/3/2008, you wrote:
>=======================================
>
>Posts to inforoots at computerhistory.org is information known to or 
>the opinions of the poster.  All posts to 
>inforoots at computerhistory.org are archived.  By posting to this list 
>you grant a license for use of this material to the Computer History 
>Museum located in Mountain View, California, USA.
>=======================================
>This is a fascinating topic and I have lectured on it many 
>time.  The story is too long for an e-mail but I will try to 
>summarize the key events that lead up to the introduction of the IBM 
>PC.  There had been several attempts by IBM to develop a desk top 
>computer beginning with the IBM 5100 in 1975, the 5110 in 1978 and 
>then the 5120 in 1980.
>While moderately successful none of these systems could be built to 
>casts that would compete with the emerging Apple II.  In addition 
>the products were slanted to the customers and applications that the 
>IBM sales force was comfortable with.  The IBM Chairman, Frank 
>Carey, was very concerned that what was emerging was an entirely new 
>class of product that IBM was not equipped to deal with.  Proposals 
>brought forth by the Boca Raton laboratory were shot down by the 
>bureaucracy because the costs could not be met or the product was 
>not viewed as marketable by the IBM sales force.  In 1980, after a 
>review of the latest proposal the Chairman edicted that the product 
>development would proceed as a 'skunk works' effort reporting 
>directly to the Chairman and without any involvement of the 
>functional divisions.  This meant that the technology, manufacturing 
>and marketing arms were outside the scope of this project. Standard 
>IBM technology was too expensive for a product intended to compete 
>with the Apple II and other emerging competitors.  In fact the only 
>IBM component that found its way into the PC was the 
>keyboard.  Since the product was aimed at a new, emerging, market 
>and a new distribution channel it was not possible to anticipate all 
>the devices that would would be attached to the system.
>Therefore the decision to modularize and externalize the primary 
>system interfaces.  The decision to develop a new retail 
>distribution system a la Computerland was a fundamental part of the 
>product strategy.  An understanding of the internal structure of IBM 
>is important to understanding the genesis and underlying concept of 
>this disruptive product.
>
>Brian Utley
>utleyb at aol.com
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>-----Original Message-----
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>From: Herbert Kanner <kanner at acm.org>
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>To: inforoots at computerhistory.org
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>Sent: Sat, 3 May 2008 3:28 pm
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>Subject: [inforoots] Open versus Closed Architecture
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>=======================================
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>
>Posts to inforoots at computerhistory.org is information known to or 
>the opinions of the poster.  All posts to 
>inforoots at computerhistory.org are archived.  By posting to this list 
>you grant a license for use of this material to the Computer History 
>Museum located in Mountain View, California, USA.
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>=======================================
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>Re the IBM PC having an open architecture. This is just a medley of
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>info that I've heard from other docents.--
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>IBM was a bit on the fence about going into personal computers. They
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>were not sure whether the idea would fly. Hence, their investment in
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>the project was to be minimal compared to other projects. Notably,
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>this was the only IBM product at the time where major components,
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>i.e. CPU and OS were not made in house. So, the 8080 chip could be
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>bought by anyone. Also, the DOS license was not exclusive; Microsoft
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>was free to sell it to others. I don't know whether this was mandated
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>by Microsoft, or whether the price for an exclusive license was more
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>than IBM was willing to pay.
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>I say again, this is just a hearsay collection, and I will be glad to
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>see corrections and/or amplifications.
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>--
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>Herbert Kanner
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>kanner at acm.org
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>650-326-8204
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>Do not meddle in the affairs of cats,
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>for they are subtle and will pee
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>on your computer!
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>_______________________________________________
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>inforoots mailing list
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>inforoots at computerhistory.org
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>http://mail.computerhistory.org/mailman/listinfo/inforoots
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>_______________________________________________
>inforoots mailing list
>inforoots at computerhistory.org
>http://mail.computerhistory.org/mailman/listinfo/inforoots

Regards
Barrie

Barrie Robinson
(705) 721-9060
http://www.britishv8.org/MG/BarrieRobinson.htm
http://www.britcot.com 
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