[Info-vax] Out with Hurd, in with OpenVMS

[JF Mezei]

Michael Kraemer wrote:

> after which he was ousted and left Palmer the mess
> that finally killed DEC.

Palmer was no CEO material, just like Curly Capellas was no CEO material.

Gerstner took over IBM in a FAR WORSE SHAPE than Palmer took over DEC.

Gerstner immediatly stopped the slash and burn that had been begun under
his predecessor. Deals were already in place to split IBM into a
gazillion pieces to downsize IBM so it could pay its debts.

Gerstner was then a good enough leader to quickly realise that CULTURE
was a big problem at IBM and that it needed to be changed. And he did
that through good leadership and choosing the right people to support him.

Of all people, Palmer, having worked at DEC and lived though the various
Alpha vs Prism vs VAX 9000 debates, should have known that there was a
big problem of culture and that Olsen's technique of internal
competition no longer worked. But he was of no calibre to change that.

So he changed the colour of the DEC logo, made the dot on th i round
instead of square and then listened to Wall Street Casino Analysts who
wanted to see heads roll. So he started to lay people off and sell off
divisions.

Yeah, Olsen failed to correct DEC's direction. But at the time he left,
DEC was fairly easily correctable with the right actions.