Keywords
OS/2 device drivers (computer programs), operating system, IBM - compatible computers, IBM personal computer
Abstract
"In 2006, IBM ended their support of OS/2, closing the book on an ambitious effort to create a modern operating system for the personal computer. IBM and Microsoft released the OS/2 operating system in December 1987 to replace the primitive DOS with a more sophisticated, preemptive multitasking operating system for personal computers. This article argues that OS/2 failed because of the U.S.-Japan Semiconductor Trade Agreement of 1986, subsequent accusations of DRAM chip dumping by the United States, and the resulting tariffs on Japanese memory chips, led to a memory chip shortage that drove up memory prices. OS/2 required substantially more memory than DOS and users balked at upgrading their machines. The window of opportunity to adopt OS/2 passed, memory prices fell, and Microsoft Windows 3.0, introduced in May 1990, found extraordinary success in the market niche that OS/2 and its graphical user interface, Presentation Manager, had aspired to fill. "
Recommended Citation
Swedin, E. G. (2009). Why Os/2 Failed: Business Mistakes Compounded By Memory Prices. Mountain Plains Journal of Business and Economics, 10(1). Retrieved from https://openspaces.unk.edu/mpjbt/vol10/iss1/4
