On Microsoft Windows vs. IBM OS/2
By Zatni Arbi
JAKARTA (JP): Our friend John R. Fenton brought up some very interesting observations in his letter that appeared in The Jakarta Post last Monday. He was right on many accounts; he was correct in calling it a little bit too hasty to say that Windows would jump out of the monitor screen and that OS/2 would replace it.
As Fenton said, IBM has even released a version of OS/2 called OS/2 for Windows (for some good news on this, see my other article on this page). That, to me, is a clear sign that even the people at IBM have had to admit how strong Windows' market share is.
OS/2 may replace MS DOS, but it will not take over the place of Windows. But, then again, when Windows Chicago starts playing its music, we may have to cross the street again.
According to conventional wisdom in the industry, for an operating system or an operating environment to overthrow another, you have to have the so-called 'killer application' that strongly compels users to leave all the familiarity of their old environment. Microsoft Excel and Aldus PageMaker were two such killer applications in the past that had obliged people to try and eventually to move into Windows.
So far, unfortunately, there hasn't been one single major OS/2 application that is not also available in Windows. Furthermore, there has not been a performance advantage over Windows that is so obvious and so compelling that people would rush to the stores and grab OS/2.
PC Magazine even reported that Ami Pro for OS/2 ran much more slowly than its native Windows version. Windows is a winner because it still stands unchallenged.
But that does not mean I am a 100 percent advocate of Windows. While it is true that I use Windows applications most of the time, that's because I enjoy working with a graphical interface. I enjoy looking at and using all the buttons, the icons, the smart bars, the pop-up menus that you can invoke by clicking the mouse right button, and other goodies that are simply not available in the old DOS-based applications.
I also like the ability to copy from one application to the clipboard and to paste again from the clipboard to another application in Windows. Quarterdeck's Desqview allows you to do that, but not in a manner as elegant as in Windows.
True, too, that Windows is not the best operating environment. A PC running DOS and Windows is not the best computer in the world. Macintosh, I definitely agree, is the best and most user- friendly personal computer available today, and I couldn't agree more with Fenton when he said that, like government bureaucrats, the best is not always the most widely accepted and widely used.
Moreover, with four out of five new software products intended for use in Windows (and that's just my own conservative estimate, based on reports in computer magazines), what choice do I have except to stick to Windows?
Microsoft Corp. has become very big and tall, indeed. And very powerful, too. And that's why I'm becoming increasingly worried. Anything that has grown so big, so tall and so powerful can easily get sick. And when -- and it is not the question of if -- it gets sick, it can make all of us Windows users sick, too.
To a certain extent, I share Fenton's feelings toward Microsoft. I requested a demo copy of Microsoft Office last year, and they agreed to let me have one. However, I have yet to receive it. On the other hand, WordPerfect Asia sent me a copy of WPWin 6.0 from Singapore just one week after I introduced myself to one of them. David Wee of Lotus Corp. handed me a D&E copy of Lotus 1-2-3 during a seminar at the Sahid Jaya Hotel.
However, likes and dislikes aside, for now we have to accept that Windows is still the only mainstream for PC users. If you drive a Toyota or a Honda or a Ford, you'll have no difficulty finding people who can fix your car or buying necessary spare parts. If you buy an Aston Martin, you'll get a heck of luxury and all, but you'll have to be prepared for much more inconvenience. OS/2, with its hefty hardware requirements, is an Aston Martin. I've chosen to stay with the Toyotas, and similarly I've chosen to stay with Windows until it, too, becomes an Aston Martin.