From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-0.4 required=5.0 tests=AC_FROM_MANY_DOTS,BAYES_00 autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,a1ce307c10055549 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2002-12-14 11:04:10 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!news1.google.com!sn-xit-02!sn-xit-06!sn-xit-09!supernews.com!newsfeed.gamma.ru!Gamma.RU!colt.net!news-x2.support.nl!newsfeed.vmunix.org!logbridge.uoregon.edu!arclight.uoregon.edu!wn14feed!worldnet.att.net!207.217.77.102!newsfeed2.earthlink.net!newsfeed.earthlink.net!stamper.news.pas.earthlink.net!stamper.news.atl.earthlink.net!harp.news.atl.earthlink.net!not-for-mail From: "Marin David Condic" Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: IBM Acquires Rational Ada Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2002 09:15:52 -0500 Organization: MindSpring Enterprises Message-ID: References: <3DF1615C.7AAAC86E@adaworks.com> <3DF1B042.6603DDDE@easystreet.com> <3DF2A483.EC512CDF@adaworks.com> <8db3d6c8.0212091445.12594821@posting.google.com> <3DF628C4.7090607@cogeco.ca> <3DF6653D.3030603@cogeco.ca> <8db3d6c8.0212101850.51506572@posting.google.com> <3DF7901C.3000006@acm.org> <1039712678.466533@master.nyc.kbcfp.com> <3DF9A5B3.3CC0E2A3@praxis-cs.co.uk> <3DFA00D5.9010307@psu.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: d1.56.b7.3c X-Server-Date: 14 Dec 2002 14:16:04 GMT X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2314.1300 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2314.1300 Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:31820 Date: 2002-12-14T14:16:04+00:00 List-Id: Part of it was that they refused for *years* to do anything about Unix and only started heading in that direction when it appeared that they might sink unless they did. They wanted to keep pushing VMS - which might have been a good thing, but they also weren't willing to take the steps necessary to make VMS "The Operating System" (such as make it executable on more than a VAX or Alpha platform and license it easily to the rest of the world. Sort of the Apple "I want the whole pie" strategy to achieve business demise.) But it is a perfect example of getting to the market too late. Others had established dominance in the Unix field and DEC was just there with too little too late. Ada is free to make exactly the same mistake. "Gee. Everyone is jumping on C++ and the STL and the Java class libraries and other large libraries of stuff. Maybe we should try to get containers into the standard five years from now....." Sounds to me like a recepie for too little too late. MDC -- ====================================================================== Marin David Condic I work for: http://www.belcan.com/ My project is: http://www.jast.mil/ Send Replies To: m c o n d i c @ a c m . o r g "I'd trade it all for just a little more" -- Charles Montgomery Burns, [4F10] ====================================================================== Robert Spooner wrote in message news:3DFA00D5.9010307@psu.edu... > > > This is a good point. From my vantage point, one of the big mistakes > Digital Equipment Corp. (remember them?) made with their version of UNIX > was > that they didn't release it until if was up to (or at least close to) > their reliability standards. That put them in a bad competitive > position, and we all know what happened subsequently. I'm not saying > the demise of DEC was solely due to that, but I think it was a > contributing factor. >