1 Jan
2006
1 Jan
'06
12:12 p.m.
Maybe, but consider the AT&T business model--there
was a lot more to it
than production floor issues.
AT&T and IBM, and a few others that leased equipment, were VERY much an
exception, and yes, the maintenance issues made a difference. For nearly
every other company, this was lower on the importance list. For example,
for every keypunch IBM leased, Zenith probably made 1000 TVs. For every
AT&T/WE PBX there were probably 1000 Commodore 64s. About the only
exception I can think of is the humble desk telephone set (and as some
have pointed out, they are amazing balances of clever engineering, cost
cutting, and maintainability).
Anyway, the AT&T/IBM leased market model practically died years ago.
William Donzelli
aw288 at osfn.org