[Info-vax] Dave Cutler, Prism, DEC, Microsoft, etc.

[JF Mezei]

Neil Rieck wrote:

> Now if you were referring to DEC after Olsen, it is anyone's guess
> what was going on at DEC. I'll tell you one thing, Robert Palmer did
> not have a passion for computing that was anywhere close to that of
> Ken Olsen.


I think there maybe stuff we don't know about Palmer's mandate.

About the same time Olsen was ousted, IBM had begun plans to dismantle
itself to pay off debts and be sold and/or avoid bankrupcy.

It is possible that the board realised that Digital was going in the
same direction and gave Palmer a mandate to "rationlize" instead of
"fix" Digital and then, seeing how rationalisation was making things
worse, told him to sell off parts that could be sold and seek a buyer
for the rest to try to maximize shareholder value.

Meanwhile, IBM hired Gerstner and he decided to put an end to the
"dismantle IBM" right away and fix the company, which he succeeded.