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- Path: sparky!uunet!inmos!wraxall.inmos.co.uk!frogland.inmos.co.uk!des
- Newsgroups: comp.os.os2.misc
- From: des@frogland.inmos.co.uk (David Shepherd)
- Subject: Re: The Future of OS/2
- Message-ID: <1992Jul24.135954.25255@wraxall.inmos.co.uk>
- Organization: INMOS architecture group
- References: <LJ6DoB1w164w@netlink.cts.com>
- Date: Fri, 24 Jul 92 13:59:53 BST
- Lines: 35
-
- In article <LJ6DoB1w164w@netlink.cts.com>, trekkie@netlink.cts.com (Bryce Newall) writes:
- >I have been seriously considering buying OS/2 v2.0 for about 2 weeks now.
- >However, I heard from a friend up in San Francisco that Microsoft will no
- >longer be licensing the code required for OS/2 to run Windows programs. In
- >effect, Microsoft is cutting their losses and trying to run IBM's operating
- >system into the ground. I would like to know if there is any truth to this,
- >'cause if there is, then I don't think I'd bother with OS/2, in spite of how
- >wonderful it sounds. Any comments?
-
- IBM and MicroSoft came to an agreement in which MS paid a few M$ to
- allow them to use some of IBM's patents and IBM lost rights to
- Windows source after some date (?? end of this year was it ??).
-
- I think its fairly certain that IBM are able to do a WINOS 3.1 but
- it is more doubtfull whether they will be able to pick up source code
- for anything beyond that.
-
- however is windows compatibility a long term issue? i think WINOS
- is really a temporary measure to give OS/2 to foothold in the
- marketplace ... i.e. it inherits all the windows apps. but if
- people are going to depend on running windows apps in WINOS mode
- then they'll almost certainly do better with a rewritten windows
- (Win 4 or Win NY). If OS/2 is to survive long term it will have to
- have lots of OS/2 apps to run and in this case long term WINOS
- support ceases to be an issue.
-
- If OS/2 sales reach the levels predicted recently then i'd expect
- OS/2 to be as serious a target for app developers as windows.
-
- --
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------
- david shepherd: des@inmos.co.uk or des@inmos.com tel: 0454-616616 x 625
- inmos ltd, 1000 aztec west, almondsbury, bristol, bs12 4sq
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- and german to my horse." - charles v of spain
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