I've been a dyed-in-the-wool OS/2 user for the past four years. I don't follow the industry hype; I try to get work done. And I do this extremely well with Warp. What is disparaging is that I've heard so much FUD from the press over these same years. Writers seem to think they will be committing career suicide if they aren't the first to publicly yell "jump ship!" This is not what I expect from magazines like OS/2 Professional; I expect the press to tell me how to use Warp better. If something is to be done about the effect that this press has on potential users of Warp, the time is now. A better strategy for marketing Warp is in order.

Many lessons can be learned from other marketing successes. Consider Microsoft. Lesson Number One: Microsoft never eats one of its own children, be it Windows 3.1, Win95, Word, or whatever. It always has glowing things to say about them. Microsoft has a diversified bundle of software so that if one product or another fails (and they do), it can still unequivocally support the bundle.

Lesson Two: In many ways, Windows 95 is developed and sold like a GM truck, or to play with prescience, a GM truck is developed and sold much like Windows 95. Fleet sales of trucks, like operating system licenses to OEMs, keep forecasted production fairly constant, which then prevents a lot of the uncertainty about development cycles. Few people care how the truck works, as long as it:

• has "driving excitement!" ("GUI excitement!": icons, animated windows, wallpaper, screen savers)
• comes with dual air bags and anti-lock brakes (the OS doesn't lose data or business); and
• impresses people who see you motoring around (is popular).

We, the users of Warp, should be praising it in public. It is GUI, it is an excellent OS, and it is popular.

Consider the first Macintosh, a great machine and OS (for its time). Its marketing was simply elegant. Apple didn't push RAM, "power-using" or functionality. Apple showed us that Macs could be fun, really fun. And that Steve Jobs guy---a Playboy interview when he was 29? The fact that Apple computers are almost revered by their users sends an important message: show people that Warp is fun to use, and they will come around. Don't get me wrong, I do use Warp for C/C++ and SAS, I just think it should be fun too.

Mazda Miatas are developed and sold a lot like Apple Macintoshes. Miatas are engineered to both get you to work as well as to be enjoyed (Mac's ease of use), they convey Japanese reliability (no noticeable or memorable bad Mac press), and Miata drivers just look happy buzzing around (Macintosh: The Religion). More important than whether Macs are in fact this user-friendly is the public's impression is that they are.

What about Warp? I get the impression that we have to prove that Warp is better than Win95 and MacOS. Well, of course it is. One million licenses in December is very impressive, and I'm glad that many were to corporate and government users. A recent Price Waterhouse study of operating systems usage (based on 1994 sales and planned 1995 sales) shows Warp ahead of Sun Solaris, a respected workstation platform. We don't have to prove that, it's a fact.

But little is ever "proved" in marketing nor does it need to be. We and IBM are not selling Warp right. Until "Deep Blue the computer" gives a Playboy interview we are without a Bill Gates or Steve Jobs mascot. Maybe Warp's mascot should be a blue, machine-looking fur-ball, a happy-go-lucky user-friend with "Deep" underlying power who waddles around saying "Think!" The machine that talks and listens to your kids, manages your office, spars with Kasparov, and runs the Olympics and Indianapolis 500? I need to think about it a bit first. And I'm in want of a car analogy.

Short of a mascot, users are the best representatives of Warp. Warp will last a long time because we the users will support it for a long time. When people ask what I use, I say Warp. When they imply that I should use Win95 since everybody does, I explain the difference between a herd of users and a critical mass: that although a herd is sufficient to guarantee continued use, a critical mass of intelligent, innovative users is all that is necessary to keep us productive. I'd call thirteen million copies of OS/2 a critical mass.

So my job is to tell others that I enjoy Warp, start-to-finish, soup-to-nuts. And that I'll be using it for a long time. Sure it's powerful, but it's also fun. Sure it is "document-centric" and has the "object-oriented technology" stuff and has the best and brightest programmers behind it, but personally, I just love dragging documents to the printer, dragging drives to the backup tape, dragging URLs to WebExplorer and making little REXX CMDs so I can drag files onto them too. It's kind of like a motorcycle: once someone shows you how to ride it, you're hooked. Said another way, part of marketing Warp is no deeper than letting others see us enjoying it, and showing them how to use it.

What have I learned from all this? That while IBM can and will continue to improve and refine the power of the family of Warp products, it's our job as users to show others that we use and like it. Be visible. Sell Warp first as functional and easy to use, only then rattle off about 32-bit multitasking etc., etc. Help one person install or configure Warp. Speak highly of OS/2 to new computer users, not lowly of Microsoft; Calling Windows 95 "Lethal Weapon MCV" will get us nowhere. Creating a visible subculture of cutting edge, ESPN2-type users will get Warp everywhere. Let's go!

letter to the editor.

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