Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

IBM Puts PC Business Up for Sale

Posted by michael on from the end-of-an-era dept.

valdean writes "When I was growing up (in the 80s), there were two kinds of computers that my friends (or, more specifically, our parents) had at home: Apple and the IBM-Compatible. IBM defined the PC at that time, and deserves a large share of credit for taking the PC out of the hobby shop and into the mainstream. Now it looks like IBM is getting out of the PC business altogether. CBS Marketwatch has another report."

12 of 527 comments (clear)

  1. OMGWTFBBQ! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    You have to be kidding me. They would be fools to sell off the Thinkpad line! Go ahead, get rid of your desktop systems line, but *please* IBM keep your Thinkpad business. These (and the Apple Powerbooks) are the best laptops on the market today, and well worth a premium price. I've owned 5 different Thinkpads over the years, from the 701C "Butterfly keyboard" model up through the T and X series. Every one of them still works perfectly.

    If they sell the Thinkpad business to some company in China the future designs are likely to be less inventive, unique, and reliable than the current generation. I guess I'll have to buy Toshiba instead.

    1. Re:OMGWTFBBQ! by Savage-Rabbit · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I guess I'll have to buy Toshiba instead.

      I'd advise against it. I had a Toshiba laptop once and it broke down more often than all my other laptops combined. The powerconnector went, the floppy disk and the display. The one good thing about Toshiba is the exellent global service, they actually don't give you lip when you try to cache in on the international warranty and the techsupport isn't bad either. On the other hand, good as the service was, having the thing in the shop half the time sucked.

      --
      Only to idiots, are orders laws.
      -- Henning von Tresckow
  2. Who would have guessed... by superdifficult · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ...that IBM would end up making Apple's processor.

  3. Who Will Buy It? by keeleysam · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The reason people buy Thinkpads are because they are IBM thinkpads. So, lets say Dell buys the business, we get "Dell Thinkpad"... Does that sould stupid to anyone other than me?

    --
    Nothing for you to see here, Please move along.
  4. Interesting idea by transformer_dp · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is interesting only for the fact that it would allow IBM to further distance itself from Microsoft and Intel. There is no doubt in my mind the big-wigs at IBM are really annoyed their predecessors got punked by Redmond. If they're successful in selling the unit, it would be interesting to see if they would begin migrating their server product lines away from Microsoft as well. There is already much publicized talk about IBM corporate going from Microsoft OS's to linux, perhaps this is just a step away from license dependent products. It isn't as though IBM needs the revenue from the PC business.

  5. Oh, no! by Theseus192 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Does this mean the end of OS/2?

    --
    If stupidity got us into this mess, then why can't it get us out? - Will Rogers
  6. Time to rename IBM? by hrvatska · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I suppose at some point IBM will get out of hardware entirely, and then it can re-name itself International Business Services or something else more appropriate.

    If you are ever near Endicott, NY (birth place of IBM), try to get into the IBM heritage center at IBM's former Endicott facility. It traces the long heritage of IBM as a provider of machines, computer and otherwise, to business. Lots of vintage equipment on display. A very nice exhibit.

    1. Re:Time to rename IBM? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yeah, that'll sell. IBS, great name for a service company.

      "So, would you like to buy a service contract from IBS?"

      "Excuse me, you what?"

      "A service contract. Would you like to buy one?"

      "No, you said something--"

      "Would you like to buy a service contract from IBS?"

      "You what? I'm sorry, I'm going to have to go now. We're a business, we don't take calls of that nature."

      CLICK

    2. Re:Time to rename IBM? by twiddlingbits · · Score: 5, Insightful

      IBM is a SERVICES company that has the mindset of Hardware company. I used to work for Global Services in a senior technical role. Or skills at IT Architecture, problem solving, Systems Integration, etc. were always an open door for the Hardware guys to try to sell overpriced equipment. It p*ssed off the customers. When Sam Palisano ran Global Services (before he became CEO) he and Gerstner both stated the future of IBM was services and software. So they went out and bought PwC's IT services group for it's business base (and laid off the staff). The long term trend has been and will be pro-Service and definitely anti-hardware. IBM even laid off folks at the R&D Labs about a year ago, so even the patent and inventions for hardware are not as important as before. Sam's idea of the R&D guys is who cares if we can write IBM from single atoms, no one buys Atoms. Unless IBM can sell them Atom Services it has no place in this company. Get rid of it. Palisano was known as a "slash and burn" guy who if it wasn't making the revenue it was gone in a heartbeat. He was the guy who sold off the first generation IBM PC business back in the late 80's when he ran that group. Make the company money by getting rid of the "waste" was how he climbed up to CEO.

      Don't get me wrong IBM makes some very good equipment top to bottom but the mainframe market (Z-Series) is stagnant at best, mid-range is flat (AS-400), servers (Unix/Linux) are still hot, but desktops and laptops are way too price sensitive for IBM to make money there. When Joe Customer can get almost TWO Dells for one high-end Thinkpad, 9 of 10 customers buy the Dell. IBM just can't compete in a market that is purely cost driven where the cheapest wins and quality is a distant second consideration. Laptops and desktops are a commodity these days. If IBM can get a few Billion out of the laptop biz and keep those losses off the books then they ARE doing the right thing business wise. They might even get some sort of Branding revenue from whoever buys the line and wants to keep the IBM name (and quality I hope) just with a lower price point. IBM did this very same thing 10 or so years ago with the DiskDrive group. They first outsourced the manufacturing then sold it all. That idea has worked pretty good! All told I think this is a GOOD business move by IBM (Wall St agreees, Stock is up) which might hurt some short term but will help free up cash for other things (Services, new Software) long term. I do kind of feel sorry to see the laptops go, and some folks will probably lose jobs but businesses cannot remain stagnant or even more folks might lose thier jobs.

  7. Corporate Profits by Sammy76 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The article cites that one reason for the sale is the slim profits on the PC business, and gives as evidence the $100M profit IBM will make on the division this year.

    I agree for IBM that in terms of outlay:return, that is probably a pretty slim profit. But the division is profitable, most of the time. Furthermore, I assume quite a few jobs are going to be lost if they sell to an asian (Chinese) producer.

    So, it saddens me to see more jobs leaving the US not because the product can't compete or is unprofitable, but because it not profitable enough. Especially for IBM, where even though their business model has been changing over the last 15 years, PCs are still a sort of "core competency." It seems sort of like if GM sold its car production business to focus on its more profitable credit operations.

    Anyway, I wonder what will happen when IBM outsources its "services" jobs to some companies in India or Eastern Europe.

  8. IBM's motto or slogan or whatever was "Think" by HWheel · · Score: 5, Informative

    Throughout the 60's and 70's, IBM was famous for their "Think" motto. Apparently that's missed by a lot of youngsters today, but that's why they're called "ThinkPads," I believe.

  9. The brick shithouse of notebook computing by Yankel · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I must admit, these suckers are the most stable - in terms of software compatibility and durability. I've had a 600x and a T40 - and both are wonderful.

    I did hear about some potential hard drive problems with the T22 or T23 models, however, they did a mass recall. At work, IBM brought a crew in that backed every unit up and restored the image on a new hard drive.

    It's not only the hardware I'm going to miss, it's the servicing.

    I only wish my employer would allow me to buy it back when the lease ends.

    Yankel

    --
    --- Dan