IBM "swamped by OS/2 demand"

HERE'S A TURNIP for the book. OS/2, the IBM operating system that never quite made it, is still being updated but Big Blue has run into problems delivering the latest upgrade.

The upgrade, which IBM calls a "Convenience Pack", includes updated client and server software to subscription customers using its software choice service.

But a reader tells us that the latest upgrade was due last month and IBM tells him it's delayed.

He said that he received a reply from IBM saying the following: "We ask for your continued patience as we service all our customers with the new shipments, due to the high volume of customers. Thank you".

High volume of customers - that's quite interesting. IBM had several chances to overtake Microsoft from 1987 onwards with OS/2, but they managed to bungle just about every move they made.

We used to like that old boy Steve "Bailiwick" Walker at IBM UK, who fought the good fight long after the usual suspects of the hack world had decided OS/2 was a no-no. Unfortunately Steve is no longer fighting the OS/2 corner - he's at Oracle now...

The original IBM announcement letter is here in PDF format. µ