title: “Windows Of Opportunity” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-22” author: “Daniel Mcgregor”
The new battleground is operating systems. Unlike application programs such as word processors or spreadsheets, operating systems provide the software underpinnings of the computer, controlling basics from the disk drives to the movement of the cursor. The newest operating systems-IBM’s OS/2 2.0 and Microsoft’s Windows 3.1-alter the computer’s screen display to make it easier to use. Apple’s own upgrade contender, System 7.0, a complete rewrite of earlier Macintosh software, has already been selling for 10 months.
Windows opened big. At one Egghead software store in Manhattan, the first-day line to buy the 3.1 version stretched 50 strong into the street; to meet demand, Microsoft used 2,000 factory workers on round-the-clock shifts, fifteen 747s and 107 trucks. The new products also boosted ad sales in newspapers and magazines. " Starting today," promises one IBM ad, “everything your computer has ever done, it will do better.”
Well, maybe. All three systems replace the old-fashioned “command line” format - which has bedeviled millions since the dawn of personal computers - with a “graphical user interface” (GUI, or " gooey," for short). Example: in the old DOS world you type “copy c:confused.doc a:” and then hit the “Enter” key in order to copy the document “Confused” from your hard disk drive to a floppy drive. With a GUI, you simply use a mouse to move an onscreen arrow, pick up a little image of a file labeled “Confused” and drop it onto another image that represents your floppy disk.
That’s undeniably easier than the old method. But it takes a much more powerful computer with more memory to sling pictures instead of words. Apple took a head start by introducing a computer designed for pictures-the Macintosh-back in 1984. IBM’s competing personal computer, which used Microsofts DOS, was never as good for graphics.
By now, however, there are 20 million or 30 million DOS-based computers worldwide powerful enough to be upgraded to GUI. Microsoft’s solution is Windows 3.1, a $150 (but heavily discounted) add-on to the original DOS that offers many of the visual features of the Macintosh - too many, according to an Apple lawsuit. The suit may not even come to trial; last week in San Francisco a federal judge threw out many of Apple’s claims.
IBM has chosen to start all over, writing its own OS/2 operating system in an acrimonious divorce from its onetime ally Microsoft. IBM is serious about the breakup: the $195 OS/2 goes for $49 now to users of Windows diskettes.
The three approaches are different. Apple’s System 7.0 is the slickest, most sophisticated and oldest GUI but it works only on the often pricier Macintosh line. Windows 3.1 can run on less expensive, medium-powered computers, but is not as elegant or timetested as Apple’s software. IBM’s OS/2 2.0 is powerful, but requires a state-of-the-art computer and has little existing application software written specifically for it. Where does this leave the average user with a functioning three-year-old computer? First, find out if your machine is even capable of handling the new software. Then, be aware that the new operating systems might not be compatible with your old software. You may need to upgrade your application programs (for a fee) or discard them entirely.
Finally, upgrading system software can resemble dropping a new engine into your car. You may get an exciting vehicle, but there’s also a lot that can go wrong. Stewart Alsop, editor in chief of InfoWorld, expects buyers to proceed with caution: “The great myth about computer users is that they’re just waiting for something new to come along so they can screw up their lives and put everything they work on at risk.” They’re not. Almost a year after Apple Computer’s System 7.0 upgrade, only about a quarter of the 7 million Macintosh owners have taken the plunge. Buyers of new computers, of course, will demand the latest software. Others may prefer not to fix what ain’t broke yet.
