Stigers, Greg [And] <[log in to unmask]>:

> I keep wondering what has gone wrong. Unless we are fundamentally wrong
> about what a great platform we have, why do we so very much lack market
> share?

This is nothing particular to MPE.  Other proprietary operating systems have
either disappeared or are declining: Unisys, Wang, Data General, DEC, Prime,
etc.  I'm tempted to quote the Highlander tag: "In the end, there can be
only one."  Well, it might be more than one, but it's not going to be many.
It can be predicted from computer economics.

If you are a software developer, where are you going to use your resources?
On a system with a large number of potential customers, many knowledgeable
programmers, many compilers and other software tools?  Or a system with just
a few customers, a few resources, locked into a single vendor for many
hardware and software categories?  Your development costs are likely to be
higher for an unpopular system and the number of potential customers smaller
(albeit with less competition).

If you are an end user, where are you going to spend your money?  Do you
want a platform with one vendor, few application, hard to find programmers
and administrators, that might disappear completely, or a popular system?

If you are a programmer, which system do you want to learn?  Which job are
you going to take?  The one with the brightest future.

The advantages of popular systems are self-reinforcing and will only grow.

Occassionally there will be a new technology that allows newcomers to enter
the market: minicomputers, microprocessors, local area networks, the
internet.  Thus we had DEC, Microsoft, Apple, Compaq, etc.

Eventually there has to be a shake-out, though, and most systems will go
away.

Is it too late for MPE? Yes.