Have they given up?

[David Gaskill]

On Fri, 14 Apr 2000 07:39:49 -0700 (PDT), Kris Sorem Sr wrote:

>>Are you suggesting that BSW concentrate on the OS/2 version to gather new
>>OS/2 users, and upgrade dollars from existing OS/2 PMMail users?
>>
>I'm suggesting that BSW continue support for OS2 (PMMail's initial
>success). If there was *real* competition on product to product basis
>without market leverage and coercion, I think the result would be the same
>for the desktop client as it has been for the server/enterprise version.

I have years of experience of using both OS/2 and subsequently NT as the 
operating system in my business and and probably in quite a good position to draw 
comparisons, (maybe you have similar experience?), but this is not the forum for 
such discussions. 

In the quote above you are saying that if we started again from square one with a 
level playing field OS/2 would have more of the desktop market than Windows. 
Maybe - who knows? 

The facts are that Microsoft has over 90 per cent of the desktop market and 
OS/2 has less than one per cent. Microsoft aggressively promotes and develops 
its operating systems for the desktop market. IBM has abandoned this market. 

You appear to be suggesting would BSW should continue to develop and extend 
PMMail for a small and shrinking market. I simply don't understand how they can 
make money out of this. 

As I and others have said it is going to be very difficult to secure even the tiny 
percentage of the Windows mailer market necessary to make PMMail profitable 
and in any case to have any chance substantial sums of money will have to be 
spent on providing the blessed IMAP and the cursed HTML.

There is perhaps some chance on glimpsing light at the end of this tunnel - can't 
see anything down the OS/2  tunnel ...


David