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Q & A WITH BOB CRINGELY: CONTINUED
Bob,
I'm don't know any of your groupies but,
I am a fan of yours. I have recently been clipping
your column. I throroughly enjoy your style of
writing. Say Hey to Stu for me. You really do
make it different (I have to read the last page
before the rest of the magazine). Can you send
me a GIF of Pammy? If you've been clipping columns, they weren't mine. I was fired by InfoWorld last December. You've been clipping an impostor!
The year 2000 is just around the corner, with all internal clocks on modern day computers set to go only until 1999, what impact will this have on computer users and their systems worldwide for our immediate future? Mitch Blackburn Raleigh, NC This is all covered in my book, Accidental Empires. Incidentally, I wrote that chapter in 1991, yet the rest of the world seems to have only lately become excited about the problem. Oh, and it isn't all computers that will go haywire, just a few million computers.
OK, two things. The reason I watched this show was I hoped for a glimpse of Gates new house, and maybe a look at what his Wife Melinda looks like, she is pretty well known, but I have never seen a picture of her. Secondly, I am to Gateway2000 what all those MacHeads are to thier little systems. So, Mr. Gossip man, I have two little rumours I would really like to hear about: -I heared somewhere, I think C|net and I didn't totally understand it, that the Gates new mansion will be run on MacIntoshes. It would definately be an Irony of the Century if so. Is it true? I don't know. Sorry, but I've failed you. -The other, is Gateway still in plans with Apple to liscence there own Mac clone? I think that it would be a good move for Apples part, and I heared a rumour about this one too, so I really would like an anwser. I heard rumors about this, too. It wouldn't surprise me at all, but I'll bet the talks aren't with Apple but with IBM or Motorola, each of which can sublicense the Mac ROMs at will.
Oh, we loved your car, a really good touch to the show. But I ask you- Why would you ever keep the
second Altair ever made in a dirty old garage. Surely that would be a prized possession that deserves
a resting spot a little more grand than that! It wasn't my Altair. WE just borrowed it for the show.
Brett Tabor, age 13.
After watching your program, I was surprised by how the people from IBM who made the decisions to go with Microsoft had no feelings that they may have caused IBM to loose the computer race. They all seemed to be happyly retired and giving little thought to what their decisions 10 yrs ago is continuing to have a major impact on the software industry. What was the one thing that impressed you about bill gates. Conversely, was there anything that annoyed you about him? Why has this guy been so successful? George M. Phipps Orlando, Florida Why ruin retirement by kicking yourself around the block? Those IBM guys did what they thought was right and we can thank them for creating a major industry. As for Bill, he's successful because he thinks about his business 24 hours per day, is very focused, knows that he doesn't know everything, and he's scared. This makes him successful at business, but not the sort of guy you'd (or I'd) pal around with.
What's your views on the "Network Computer" as THE information appliance... for home, SOHO & basic business use?PS ... I've always enjoyed "Notes from the Field", my best to you & Pammy (I thought she'd have a cameo appearance in "Triumph"...). Tom Diffley Network computers are likely to be successful mainly with folks who don't already have computers, which pretty much leaves out at least this generation of home offices. I think a $200 NC will do well in the third world.
I just wanted to say that you did a great job, I can't even tell you how much me and my wife who by the way is not a computer geek enjoyed your performance. I had no idea how inter tangled this industry was an how few players there really was.
Thanks for a most enjoyable 3 hours. You're welcome, Charlie, and thanks so much for not asking a question (It's now 3:30 AM).
In the last part of Triumph of the Nerds, you interviewed Larry Ellison. He mentioned "information appliances", could you tell me where I can find out more about Mr. Ellison and these devices? Clarence "Sonny" Tate Gardiner, ME Try looking at http://www.oracle.com.
Bob C., I didn't see or hear any mention of game companies, Nintendo, Sega, Sony in your where will the next Microsoft, giant, etc, come from? Nintendo 64 chip sets look a lot like a SGI reality engine for $300. Sony Playstation and Sega Saturn, and 3DO's new 64bit M2 all can run JAVA....
What do you think. The next giant surely WON'T come from the established game companies. And while the Ultra 64 is amazing, it has to compete in the game market, not in the 3-D workstation market. And in the game market, a system that uses $80 games isn't likely to sell many titles per player.
Excellent 3-hour presentation, especially since I'm currently reading Sculley's book: "Odyssey - Pepei to Apple." I was interested to see the similarities of the two presentations. I was curious why the role of the Apple IIgs was not profiled (though perhaps it is in your book). Also, since Jobs' departure was covered in some detail, it's curious that Woz's departure doesn't seem to be as significant in either document.
Also, I half-expected to see Pammy show up in your travels since she's featured so frequently in
your column. :) We had only three hours and the IIgs doesn't mean much. WE covered Jobs' departure from Apple because it was for a business reason. Woz's departure was because he was injured in an airplane crash.
How did Bill Gates underestimate the power and reach of the World Wide Web,and, is Netscape usurping pages from Microsoft's playbook for computer domination? Charleston, S.C. Netscape learned some important lessons from Microsoft -- lessons that Microsoft learned from IBM. Yes, Microsoft underestimated the Web, but they sure don't underestimate it anymore!
What's the reality behind that rich guy's prediction that PCs will be obselete because of the internet? Paul Henroid St. Louis, MO Don't lose any sleep over it.
Did Pammy appear anywhere in "Triumph"? Is that REALLY you? Did you do that interview with Billy? I'm kinda surprise you got Bill talking on the show. Minh N Truong Cincinnati, Ohio I did all 120+ hours of interviews with every character you saw. All of these guys were willing to talk because they understood this was for the historical record. Yes, that's me, and no, Pammy did not appear in the show. Who could afford her?
In your closing comments you stated that, "Apple, the company Jobs took from a garage to the Fortune 500 is in trouble. It is now a fading force in the PC marketplace." I was surprised when someone as knowledgeable as yourself about the computer industry made such an incorrect statement. Apple has certainly had its fair share of financial problems during the last year. Many people believed the Financial Posts' "dume & glume" commentary about Apple's financial future. My question is how can you make the above statement when Apple is selling $1.0 b per month? Further, Apple is still helping to innovate the use of the computer. The lasts round of innvations being Quicktime, QuicktimeVR, Quicktime3D and QuickDrawGX. I would encourage you to read David Pogue's column, "Clip-'n'-Save Apple: The Numbers Nobody Knows" in the July'96 MacWorld (www.macworld.com). Not to grand stand, but I don't see Microsoft contributing to computing, only copying what other's have achieved (XERO-PARC, Apple, NeXT, UNIX). Microsoft's only success lies in its marketing team. However, I am happy to see that neither Apple nor Microsoft has won the OS war; competition keeps the market healthy.
Thank you for your time. I have already answered the question several times above. Just because you WANT Apple to succeed, don't be blinded. IBM almost died and there were millions of people who would have bet it could never happen.
I am very disappointed in the WINTEL bias of the program and the host. I believe it does an extreme disservice to the public to portray the mac and other computers as "fading fast". Remember the industry standard is not necessarily the best. Your keyboard is an excellent example. The Mac and the Amiga have been superior to WINTEL for sometime. It only took 10 years for business and industry to realize this. The result is the birth of Win95. Dr. David Hall Madison, WI I'm the host, are you talking to me? Are you talking to me? Are you... talking to me?
Hi, the show was fascinating, gave me lots of new information! I'm a retired mainframe computer techy, who also has computers as an avocation. my first home computer was a secondhand Apple II, which I used happily from 1981 to 1990, when I bought a 386sx PC clone, with 2M ram and Windows 2.0. that one lasted only 5 years, and in January 1995, bought an IBM Aptiva 510, dx2/66, 8M ram, 540M HD. which brings me to my question: isn't it a little early to count Big Blue out? they seem to be selling lots of these Aptivas, although I haven't seen any figures on market share. and they are still trying hard with OS/2 Warp, et al. how do you see it?
regards, I count IBM out only as a guiding force in the PC industry. They used to be able to set standards and now they can't. I doubt they ever will again. It's not that they don't sell lots of PCs, but that if they stopped selling PCs tomorrow, nobody would notice.
Your documentary did an excellent job of how the managements styles led to successes and failures for companies like Microsoft and Apple.
Looking at the possible big players in the
mass computing market in the near future,
Sun could be a big player; Netscape will be
for sure. Netscape was started by young
hackers, but experienced managers were
soonafter brought in. How do you contrast
this with the rise of Gates/Microsoft and
Jobs/Apple? Netscape was started by Jim Clark, who also started Silicon Graphics. There was never a lack of maturity there, which makes it completely different from both Microsoft and Apple. Maybe this is the new paradigm, in fact, of pairing young programmers with experienced management.
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