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rogjd@netcom.com
Glendale, CA
AB6WR
On Tue, 3 Jan 1995, Randal Whittle wrote:
>
> > Lotus is committed to 123-for-OS/2, so an
> > excellent spreadsheet is also available.
>
> Personally, I haven't found 1-2-3 to be worth using. I far prefer
> Excel--and Excel has largely supplanted the 1-2-3 strangehold on the
> market. Of course, you'll never see another OS/2-based Excel...
>
> If I'm not mistaken, Excel has outsold the 1-2-3 juggernaut for
> about 2 years now. It is clearly the new spreadsheet standard (and with
> good reason, IMO--it's *very* good).
>
I believe that you are, in fact, mistaken, if I remember a recent WSJ
article. And I can assure you that 123 is still far and away the
dominant spreadsheet used by corporations. Just look at any LA times
want add section, and you will see "Lotus 123 proficiency required" ten
times more often than any mention of excel.
> > Windows version (Lexus for Windows.)
>
> Perhaps that tells the entire story right there--you mention a
> particular program that is "only available in a windows version". The
> real story out there is that nearly *everything* is available in a
> Windows (or even Windows-only) version, while OS/2-native stuff gets stuck
> sucking the hind teat--if any teat at all.
>
No argument that there are more Windows apps. It is still basically a
16-bit world out there. But the PC community is becoming increasingly
aware that the Windows paradigm is getting long in the tooth. OS/2
**is** better. But, just as was true in the case of Windows, when it
supplanted DOS, getting the whole world to switch is a gigantic
undertaking. And remember, there **are** millions of OS/2 users.
> Excepting Lotus, I don't see much of *any* "major" software player
> on the OS/2 platform--in fact, I see most of them have jumped off (by the
> way--is Corel still releasing DRAW! for native OS/2? Its at version 5.0
> now--do that have an OS/2-native at that version?), whether it is
> Microsoft (of course, we know why...), WordPerfect, Aldus...it seems
> the major players--even the ones who developed for OS/2 early on--have
> abandoned it. This simply speaks *doom* for OS/2's market viability.
> It will either disappear (and that's a shame) or forever remain a narrow
> niche-player for people with highly-specialized needs (namely the programmer
> who finds its multi-tasking and cross-operating-system capability very
> useful).
>
I'm not knowledgeable about CorelDraw, except to note that I have heard
references to an upcoming OS/2 version on the OS/2 apps newsgroup.
If Microsoft didn't agree with me that the PC community wants a 32 bit
OS, it wouldn't be pushing Windows 97 so hard. :-)
> ----- ________________________________
> Randy Whittle whittle@usc.edu | Y'know, Tuna just |
> USC School of Business (Fight on, 'SC Trojans!)| doesn't taste the same |
> (My opinions are mine, but since I'm | since they took the |
> right, they should be yours too.) | Dolphin out! |
> --------------------------------
>