At the other end of the scale, IBM Corp has big problems of its own: after delaying the PowerPC-based Power Personal systems for a whole year while they wait for OS/2 for PowerPC, insiders now concede that while the machines will be launched in May, the operating system may not be made generally available until early next year. The story, which came a day after it was suggested OS/2 for PowerPC would be delayed to the summer (CI No 2,630) was sourced by the New York Times to IBM executives and others familiar with the company’s plans. These guys don’t have a hope of shipping OS/2 anytime soon, said an industry executive familiar with IBM’s plans. IBM said it was still planning to introduce its Power Series machines sometime this spring, and that OS/2 would play a large role at the event. But an IBM ex-ecutive who requested anonymity admitted that the software would be far from complete: We will have a good show when we launch, he said. How far we will be from general availability of OS/2, we don’t know. Some analysts have interpreted the decision to go ahead with the PowerPC introduction this spring, before OS/2 is commercially available, as evidence that IBM’s senior management has abandoned its strategy of closely linking the PowerPC with OS/2, but IBM strenuously denied this.
