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IBM To Leave The Desktop?

Matey-O writes "John C. Dvorak's got an interesting article on IBM's behavior towards desktop PCs of late. In short, aside from the profitable laptop sales, their desktop sales lost the company roughly $1B in a serioulsy UP market. Showing no interest in the 20 year anniversary of the desktop, it looks like IBM wants to get out of the industry it effectively started. " Granted, the article is extreme conjecture, but it's still an interesting thought - the Thinkpad group, tho', rocks.

5 of 333 comments (clear)

  1. For those behind the times... by daeley · · Score: 4, Offtopic

    Does this mean that the older, behind-the-times folks I know who still refer to all Windows machines as "IBM-Compatible" or "IBM PCs" can shut the hell up? ;-)

    --
    I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.
  2. Re:Dvorak by tswinzig · · Score: 4, Offtopic

    His concept of journalism falls neatly into the 10 o'clock news scaremongering school of thought. He'd 'break the news' on Bill Gates' army of cyborg warriors if it would get his column some hits.

    So what you're saying, on both counts, is that Slashdot should seriously consider hiring him for a job as editor?

    --

    "And like that ... he's gone."
  3. Re:John C. Dvorak by nusuth · · Score: 0, Offtopic
    I think it's safe to say that he's worse than Katz. ...

    Don't believe anything he writes. 99.99% of the time it's bullshit and wrong. 99.99% beats Katz any day, infact for any finite number of 9s after the dot, Dvorak wins against Katz.

    --

    Gentlemen, you can't fight in here, this is the War Room!

  4. IBM spelling chequer (Was: Re:IBM Desctops sucked) by markov_chain · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Eye halve a spelling chequer
    It came with my pea sea
    It plainly marques four my revue
    Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.
    Eye strike a key and type a word
    And weight four it two say
    Weather eye am wrong oar write
    It shows me strait a weigh.
    As soon as a mist ache is maid
    It nose bee fore two long
    And eye can put the error rite
    Its rare lea ever wrong.
    Eye have run this poem threw it
    I am shore your pleased two no
    Its letter perfect awl the weigh
    My chequer tolled me sew.

    -Sauce unknown

    --
    Tsunami -- You can't bring a good wave down!
  5. How will History record this struggle ? by frank249 · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    IBM getting out of the desktop business? Is their strength failing? Perhaps the following story might help to explain why:

    Recently one of my friends, a computer wizard, paid me a visit. As we
    were talking I mentioned that I had recently installed Windows XP on my
    PC. I told him how happy I was with this operating system and showed
    him the Windows XP CD. To my surprise he threw it into my microwave
    oven and turned it on. Instantly I got very upset, because the CD had
    become precious to me, but he said: 'Do not worry, it is unharmed.'
    After a few minutes he took the CD out, gave it to me and said: 'Take a
    close look at it.' To my surprise the CD was quite cold to hold and it
    seemed to be heavier than before. At first I could not see anything,
    but on the inner edge of the central hole I saw an inscription, an
    inscription finer than anything I had ever seen before. The
    inscription shone piercingly bright, and yet remote, as if out of a
    great depth:

    12413AEB2ED4FA5E6F7D78E78BEDE820945092OF923A40EElO E5 I OCC98D444AA08EI 324

    'I cannot understand the fiery letters,' I said in a timid voice.

    'No but I can,' he said. 'The letters are Hex, of an ancient mode, but
    the language is that of Microsoft, which I shall not utter here. But in
    common English this is what it says:

    One OS to rule them all, One OS to find them,
    One OS to bring them all and in the darkness bind them

    It is only two lines from a verse long known in System-lore:

    "Three OS's from corporate-kings in their towers of glass,
    Seven from valley-lords where orchards used to grow,
    Nine from dotcoms doomed to die,
    One from the Dark Lord Gates on his dark throne
    In the Land of Redmond where the Shadows lie.
    One OS to rule them all, One OS to find them,
    One OS to bring them all and in the darkness bind them,
    In the Land of Redmond where the Shadows lie."'

    --

    Today's vices may be tomorrow's virtues.