Hello
I found this news today.
--
https://talkingbiznews.com/media-news/dvorak-early-tech-journalist-dies-at-80/When I was young I used to read the PC Magazine in spanish, so I guess much of the OS War was filtered in Latin America.
I remember reading some John C. Dvorak articles, but never focused on OS/2.
Rest in peace John.
I asked Gemini for John C. Dvorak position about OS/2, just to have a clearer view.
John C. Dvorak held a surprisingly **enthusiastic yet frustrated** view of OS/2.
Unlike his often cynical take on emerging software trends, Dvorak genuinely admired OS/2’s underlying technology. However, he was deeply critical of how IBM managed the platform and how Microsoft undermined it.
---
## Key Pillars of Dvorak’s View on OS/2
### 1. Genuine Technical Admiration
Dvorak considered OS/2—especially from version 2.0 onward—to be technically superior to Windows 3.x and MS-DOS. He praised its true 32-bit preemptive multitasking, rock-solid stability, and memory protection.
His commitment to the platform went beyond his tech columns: he co-authored ***Dvorak's Guide to OS/2*** (1993) alongside David B. Whittle and Martin McElroy, where he documented how to maximize the operating system's capabilities.
> *"I was always a fan of OS/2, once I got acquainted with its capabilities, and so it was something of a disappointment that as good as the product was in its heyday, it didn't catch on..."*
> — **John C. Dvorak**
---
### 2. Blame on IBM’s "Bumbling" Marketing
While Dvorak praised IBM’s engineers, he famously skewered IBM’s corporate culture, executives, and marketing department. He frequently argued that IBM had a world-class operating system but had no idea how to market software to everyday consumers or third-party developers. In his eyes, IBM was its own worst enemy, letting Microsoft outmaneuver them at every turn.
---
### 3. Calling Out Microsoft’s "Dirty Tricks"
Dvorak was one of the prominent tech journalists who explicitly called out Microsoft's aggressive competitive tactics against OS/2.
* **"Microsoft Munchkins":** Dvorak coined the term "Microsoft Munchkins" to describe online sockpuppets and Microsoft evangelists who flooded early bulletin boards (BBS), Usenet, and CompuServe forums to spread FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt), derail discussions, and attack OS/2 enthusiasts.
* **Unfair Competition:** He noted how Microsoft leveraged its dominance with MS-DOS/Windows agreements with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to squeeze OS/2 off pre-installed PCs.
---
### 4. Sadness Over a "Lost Revolution"
Dvorak viewed OS/2's eventual demise as a tragedy of personal computing history. He believed that if OS/2 had succeeded, the PC industry would have achieved crash-resistant, true 32-bit multitasking years earlier than it eventually did with Windows 95 and Windows NT. He attributed its loss to a "complex web of intrigue" driven by IBM's incompetence and Microsoft's ruthless strategy.
