Users of Computer Operating System Don't Find It Wanting

The New York Times

November 19, 1994

To the Editor:

I don't consider Stephen Manes's Oct. 25 Personal Computers column, "A Stormy Voyage on OS/2 Warp," to be an objective evaluation of the International Business Machines Corporation's operating system. It appears that Mr. Manes only briefly explored the product after his installation problems were solved. His shallow review does not reflect what six million users know to be the value of OS/2.

Mr. Manes describes I.B.M.'s "self-delusion in sticking with technically superior products long after the wider world has found them wanting." OS/2 users, many in large corporations, have not found it wanting. The London Press Association is using OS/2 Warp to build its "News Room 2000" -- because of OS/2's ease of use and its multimedia features, and because in its first year of intense use, OS/2 has never failed.

Mr. Manes says that Warp "does little to improve I.B.M.'s reputation for writing wretched personal computer software." In fact, I.B.M. regularly wins awards for its PC software. OS/2 has won 46 industry and "readers" choice awards.

Mr. Manes notes that after he "selected the wrong video software," Warp told him that he didn't have the appropriate adapter. Most users consider this conflict detection a feature of the product. His second issue with the product was indeed a problem with the software, which I.B.M. corrected before Warp was widely available in the retail market.

Mr. Manes did not use an appropriate benchmark to test OS/2 performance, which we told him while he was testing. While Warp's "own interface" does require users to work differently from the way they do in Windows, we find that most of them want to.

L. R. REISWIG JR.
General Manager
I.B.M. Personal Software Products
Austin, Tex., Nov. 16, 1994

Copyright 1994 The New York Times Company