On The PCjr's Debut

The New York Times

November 14, 1983

To the Editor:

Some of the instant analysis in the wake of the I.B.M. PCjr announcement is erroneous, and I would like to set the record straight on a few points included in your articles of Nov. 2.

You say that I started the original I.B.M. personal computer project when it is my predecessor as I.B.M.'s chief executive, Frank T. Cary, who deserves that credit. Also, to say that consumers will not be able to ''buy'' the PCjr until early next year is misleading. Stores are free to take orders, and when a consumer places an order, he or she has bought the machine. The story itself notes that in this industry gaps between announcement of a product and deliveries are ''the norm.''

When one pundit proclaims that I.B.M. would not have ''dared'' to do such a thing three years ago, he is talking through his hat. This practice has existed with just about every product I.B.M. and others in the industry have ever announced. Indeed, the same circumstances existed when we first announced the I.B.M. personal computer in 1981.

JOHN R. OPEL Chairman, I.B.M. Armonk, N.Y., Nov. 2, 1983