<s>
Workplace	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
is	O
IBM	O
's	O
ultimate	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
prototype	O
of	O
the	O
1990s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
the	O
product	O
of	O
an	O
exploratory	O
research	O
program	O
in	O
1991	O
which	O
yielded	O
a	O
design	O
called	O
the	O
Grand	O
Unifying	O
Theory	O
of	O
Systems	O
(	O
GUTS	O
)	O
,	O
proposing	O
to	O
unify	O
the	O
world	O
's	O
systems	O
as	O
generalized	O
personalities	O
cohabitating	O
concurrently	O
upon	O
a	O
universally	O
sophisticated	O
platform	O
of	O
object-oriented	B-Language
frameworks	O
upon	O
one	O
microkernel	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Developed	O
in	O
collaboration	O
with	O
Taligent	B-Operating_System
and	O
its	O
Pink	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
imported	O
from	O
Apple	O
via	O
the	O
AIM	O
alliance	O
,	O
the	O
ambitious	O
Workplace	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
was	O
intended	O
to	O
improve	O
software	B-Architecture
portability	I-Architecture
and	O
maintenance	O
costs	O
by	O
aggressively	O
recruiting	O
all	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
vendors	O
to	O
convert	O
their	O
products	O
into	O
Workplace	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
personalities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1995	O
,	O
IBM	O
reported	O
that	O
"	O
Nearly	O
20	O
corporations	O
,	O
universities	O
,	O
and	O
research	O
institutes	O
worldwide	O
have	O
licensed	O
the	O
microkernel	B-Operating_System
,	O
laying	O
the	O
foundation	O
for	O
a	O
completely	O
open	O
microkernel	B-Operating_System
standard.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
core	O
of	O
IBM	O
's	O
new	O
unified	O
strategic	O
direction	O
for	O
the	O
entire	O
company	O
,	O
the	O
project	O
was	O
intended	O
also	O
as	O
a	O
bellwether	O
toward	O
PowerPC	B-Architecture
hardware	O
platforms	O
,	O
to	O
compete	O
with	O
the	O
Wintel	B-Device
duopoly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
protracted	O
development	O
spanning	O
four	O
years	O
and	O
$2	O
billion	O
(	O
or	O
0.6	O
%	O
of	O
IBM	O
's	O
revenue	O
for	O
that	O
period	O
)	O
,	O
the	O
project	O
suffered	O
development	O
hell	O
characterized	O
by	O
workplace	B-Operating_System
politics	O
,	O
feature	O
creep	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
second-system	B-General_Concept
effect	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
1996	O
,	O
the	O
first	O
and	O
only	O
commercial	O
preview	O
was	O
billed	O
under	O
the	O
OS/2	B-Application
family	O
with	O
the	O
name	O
"	O
OS/2	B-Application
Warp	I-Application
Connect	I-Application
(	O
PowerPC	B-Architecture
Edition	O
)	O
"	O
for	O
limited	O
special	O
order	O
by	O
select	O
IBM	O
customers	O
,	O
as	O
a	O
crippled	O
product	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
entire	O
Workplace	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
platform	O
was	O
discontinued	O
in	O
March	O
due	O
to	O
very	O
low	O
market	O
demand	O
,	O
including	O
that	O
for	O
enterprise	O
PowerPC	B-Architecture
hardware	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
University	O
of	O
California	O
case	O
study	O
described	O
the	O
Workplace	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
project	O
as	O
"	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
significant	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
software	O
investments	O
of	O
all	O
time	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
largest	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
failures	O
in	O
modern	O
times	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Different	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
were	O
alien	O
to	O
each	O
other	O
,	O
with	O
their	O
own	O
proprietary	B-Application
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
envisioned	O
"	O
life	O
after	O
maximum	O
entropy	O
"	O
through	O
"	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
unification	O
at	O
last	O
"	O
and	O
wanted	O
to	O
lay	O
a	O
new	O
worldview	O
for	O
the	O
future	O
of	O
computing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
wanted	O
to	O
break	O
the	O
traditional	O
monolithic	O
software	O
development	O
cycle	O
of	O
producing	O
alphas	O
,	O
then	O
betas	O
,	O
then	O
testing	O
,	O
and	O
repeating	O
over	O
the	O
entire	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
—	O
instead	O
,	O
compartmentalizing	O
the	O
development	O
and	O
quality	O
assurance	O
of	O
individual	O
unit	O
objects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Coincidentally	O
,	O
Apple	O
already	O
had	O
a	O
two-year-old	O
secret	O
prototype	O
of	O
its	O
microkernel-based	O
object-oriented	B-Application
operating	I-Application
system	I-Application
with	O
application	O
frameworks	O
,	O
named	O
Pink	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
theory	O
of	O
GUTS	O
was	O
expanded	O
by	O
Pink	O
,	O
yielding	O
Workplace	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
described	O
its	O
new	O
microkernel	B-Operating_System
architecture	O
as	O
scalable	O
,	O
modular	O
,	O
portable	O
,	O
client/server	O
distributed	O
,	O
and	O
open	O
and	O
fully	O
licensable	O
both	O
in	O
binary	O
and	O
source	O
code	O
forms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
microkernel-based	O
unified	O
architecture	O
was	O
intended	O
to	O
allow	O
all	O
software	O
to	O
become	O
scalable	O
both	O
upward	O
into	O
supercomputing	O
space	O
and	O
downward	O
into	O
mobile	O
and	O
embedded	O
space	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Leveraged	O
upon	O
a	O
single	O
microkernel	B-Operating_System
,	O
IBM	O
wanted	O
to	O
achieve	O
its	O
grand	O
goal	O
of	O
unification	O
by	O
simplifying	O
complex	O
development	O
models	O
into	O
reusable	O
objects	O
and	O
frameworks	O
,	O
and	O
all	O
while	O
retaining	O
complete	O
backward	O
compatibility	O
with	O
legacy	O
and	O
heritage	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
's	O
book	O
on	O
Workplace	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
says	O
,	O
"	O
Maybe	O
we	O
can	O
get	O
to	O
a	O
64-bit	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
in	O
our	O
lifetime.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
base	O
of	O
Workplace	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
is	O
a	O
fork	O
of	O
the	O
Mach	B-Operating_System
3.0	I-Operating_System
microkernel	B-Operating_System
(	O
release	O
mk68	O
)	O
originally	O
developed	O
by	O
Carnegie	O
Mellon	O
University	O
and	O
heavily	O
modified	O
by	O
the	O
Open	B-Application
Software	I-Application
Foundation	I-Application
's	O
Research	O
Institute	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Officially	O
named	O
"	O
IBM	O
Microkernel	B-Operating_System
"	O
,	O
it	O
provides	O
five	O
core	O
features	O
:	O
IPC	O
,	O
virtual	O
memory	O
support	O
,	O
processes	O
and	O
threads	O
,	O
host	O
and	O
processor	O
sets	O
,	O
and	O
I/O	O
and	O
interrupt	O
support	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
top	O
of	O
the	O
IBM	O
Microkernel	B-Operating_System
is	O
a	O
layer	O
of	O
shared	O
services	O
(	O
originally	O
called	O
Personality	O
Neutral	O
Services	O
or	O
PNS	O
)	O
to	O
cater	O
to	O
some	O
or	O
all	O
of	O
the	O
personalities	O
above	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
[	O
Workplace	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
's	O
lead	O
architect	O
Paul	O
Giangarra ]	O
believes	O
that	O
locating	O
such	O
application-oriented	O
services	O
close	O
to	O
the	O
microkernel	B-Operating_System
will	O
improve	O
their	O
efficiency	O
by	O
reducing	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
function	O
calls	O
and	O
enabling	O
the	O
service	O
to	O
integrate	O
its	O
own	O
device	O
drivers.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Adaptive	O
Driver	O
Architecture	O
(	O
ADD	O
)	O
was	O
designed	O
for	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
layered	O
device	O
drivers	O
,	O
which	O
are	O
easily	O
portable	O
to	O
other	O
hardware	O
and	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
platforms	O
beyond	O
Workplace	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
which	O
consist	O
of	O
about	O
5000-8000	O
lines	O
of	O
device-specific	O
code	O
each	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
shared	O
services	O
are	O
common	O
only	O
to	O
select	O
personalities	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
MMPM	O
serving	O
multimedia	O
only	O
to	O
Windows	B-Application
3.1	O
and	O
OS/2	B-Application
personalities	O
,	O
and	O
which	O
is	O
alien	O
or	O
redundant	O
to	O
other	O
markets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Atop	O
the	O
shared	O
services	O
,	O
another	O
layer	O
of	O
userspace	O
servers	O
called	O
personalities	O
provide	O
DOS	B-Device
,	O
Windows	B-Application
,	O
OS/2	B-Application
(	O
Workplace	O
OS/2	B-Application
)	O
,	O
and	O
UNIX	B-Application
(	O
WPIX	O
)	O
environments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
further	O
hope	O
was	O
to	O
support	O
OS/400	B-Application
,	O
AIX	B-Application
,	O
Taligent	B-Operating_System
OS	O
,	O
and	O
MacOS	B-Application
personalities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1993	O
,	O
IBM	O
intended	O
one	O
release	O
version	O
to	O
be	O
based	O
upon	O
the	O
OS/2	B-Application
Workplace	B-Device
Shell	I-Device
and	O
another	O
to	O
be	O
based	O
upon	O
the	O
UNIX	B-Application
Common	B-Application
Desktop	I-Application
Environment	I-Application
(	O
CDE	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
explained	O
the	O
branding	O
:	O
"	O
Workplace	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
is	O
the	O
codename	O
for	O
a	O
collection	O
of	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
components	O
including	O
,	O
among	O
others	O
,	O
the	O
IBM	O
Microkernel	B-Operating_System
and	O
the	O
OS/2	B-Application
personality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Workplace	O
OS/2	B-Application
is	O
the	O
specific	O
codename	O
for	O
the	O
OS/2	B-Application
personality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Workplace	O
OS/2	B-Application
will	O
operate	O
with	O
the	O
IBM	O
Microkernel	B-Operating_System
and	O
can	O
be	O
considered	O
OS/2	B-Application
for	O
the	O
PowerPC.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
the	O
1995	O
final	O
preview	O
release	O
,	O
IBM	O
continued	O
,	O
"	O
When	O
we	O
stopped	O
using	O
the	O
name	O
'	O
Workplace	B-Operating_System
 '	O
and	O
started	O
calling	O
the	O
product	O
'	O
OS/2	B-Application
for	O
the	O
PowerPC	B-Architecture
 '	O
,	O
you	O
might	O
have	O
thought	O
that	O
the	O
'	O
Workplace	B-Operating_System
 '	O
was	O
dead	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
But	O
the	O
'	O
Workplace	B-Operating_System
 '	O
is	O
far	O
from	O
dead	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Workplace	O
OS/2	B-Application
was	O
intended	O
to	O
define	O
the	O
future	O
of	O
OS/2	B-Application
,	O
as	O
a	O
32-bit	O
clean	O
platform	O
and	O
free	O
of	O
internal	O
legacy	O
,	O
with	O
perfect	O
compatibility	O
for	O
source	O
code	O
of	O
OS/2	B-Application
applications	O
and	O
drivers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
originally	O
wanted	O
to	O
prove	O
new	O
development	O
models	O
on	O
Workplace	O
OS/2	B-Application
and	O
backport	O
them	O
into	O
OS/2	B-Application
2.1	O
for	O
x86	B-Operating_System
until	O
the	O
two	O
platforms	O
were	O
unifiedespecially	O
the	O
IBM	O
Microkernel	B-Operating_System
,	O
a	O
new	O
graphics	O
subsystem	O
,	O
fully	O
32-bit	O
system	O
code	O
with	O
a	O
flat	O
memory	O
model	O
,	O
Taligent	B-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
OpenDoc	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
intended	O
for	O
Workplace	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
to	O
run	O
on	O
several	O
processor	O
architectures	O
,	O
including	O
PowerPC	B-Architecture
,	O
ARM	B-Architecture
,	O
and	O
x86	B-Operating_System
which	O
would	O
range	O
in	O
size	O
from	O
handheld	O
PDAs	B-Application
to	O
workstations	B-Device
to	O
large	O
64-bit	O
servers	O
and	O
supercomputers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
saw	O
the	O
easy	O
portability	B-Architecture
of	O
the	O
Workplace	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
as	O
creating	O
a	O
simple	O
migration	O
path	O
to	O
move	O
its	O
existing	O
x86	B-Operating_System
(	O
DOS	B-Device
and	O
OS/2	B-Application
)	O
customer	O
base	O
onto	O
a	O
new	O
wave	O
of	O
standard	B-Device
reference	I-Device
PowerPC-based	O
systems	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
PC	O
Power	O
Series	O
and	O
the	O
Power	O
Macintosh	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Creating	O
a	O
unique	O
but	O
open	O
and	O
industry-standard	O
reference	O
platform	O
of	O
open-source	B-Application
microkernel	B-Operating_System
,	O
IBM	O
hedged	O
its	O
company-wide	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
strategy	O
by	O
aggressively	O
attempting	O
to	O
recruit	O
other	O
computer	O
companies	O
to	O
adopt	O
its	O
microkernel	B-Operating_System
as	O
a	O
basis	O
for	O
their	O
own	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
1991	O
,	O
there	O
was	O
an	O
internal	O
presentation	O
to	O
the	O
IBM	O
Management	O
Committee	O
of	O
a	O
new	O
strategy	O
for	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
products	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
included	O
a	O
chart	O
called	O
the	O
Grand	O
Unification	O
Theory	O
of	O
Operating	B-General_Concept
Systems	I-General_Concept
(	O
GUTS	O
)	O
which	O
outlined	O
how	O
a	O
single	O
microkernel	B-Operating_System
underlying	O
common	O
subsystems	O
could	O
provide	O
a	O
single	O
unifying	O
architecture	O
for	O
the	O
world	O
's	O
many	O
existing	O
and	O
future	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
initially	O
based	O
in	O
a	O
procedural	O
programming	O
model	O
,	O
not	O
object-oriented	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
design	O
elements	O
of	O
this	O
plan	O
had	O
already	O
been	O
implemented	O
on	O
IBM	O
's	O
RS/6000	O
platform	O
via	O
the	O
System	O
Object	O
Model	O
(	O
SOM	O
)	O
,	O
a	O
model	O
which	O
had	O
already	O
been	O
delivered	O
as	O
integral	O
to	O
the	O
OS/2	B-Application
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sometime	O
later	O
in	O
1991	O
,	O
as	O
a	O
result	O
of	O
the	O
Apple/IBM	O
business	O
partnership	O
,	O
a	O
small	O
exploratory	O
IBM	O
team	O
first	O
visited	O
the	O
Taligent	B-Operating_System
team	O
,	O
who	O
demonstrated	O
a	O
relatively	O
mature	O
prototype	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
and	O
programming	O
model	O
based	O
entirely	O
on	O
Apple	O
's	O
Pink	O
project	O
from	O
1987	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
,	O
GUTS	O
's	O
goals	O
were	O
greatly	O
impacted	O
and	O
expanded	O
by	O
exposure	O
to	O
these	O
similar	O
goals	O
—	O
especially	O
advanced	O
in	O
the	O
areas	O
of	O
aggressive	O
object-orientation	O
,	O
and	O
of	O
software	O
frameworks	O
upon	O
a	O
microkernel	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
's	O
optimistic	O
team	O
saw	O
the	O
Pink	O
platform	O
as	O
being	O
the	O
current	O
state	O
of	O
the	O
art	O
of	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
architecture	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
wanted	O
to	O
adopt	O
Pink	O
's	O
more	O
object-oriented	B-Language
programming	I-Language
model	O
and	O
framework-based	O
system	O
design	O
,	O
and	O
add	O
compatibility	O
with	O
legacy	O
procedural	O
programming	O
along	O
with	O
the	O
major	O
concept	O
of	O
multiple	O
personalities	O
of	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
,	O
to	O
create	O
the	O
ultimate	O
possible	O
GUTS	O
model	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Through	O
the	O
historic	O
Apple/IBM	O
partnership	O
,	O
Apple	O
's	O
CEO	O
John	O
Sculley	O
said	O
that	O
the	O
already	O
volume-shipping	O
OS/2	B-Application
and	O
MacOS	B-Application
would	O
become	O
unified	O
upon	O
the	O
common	O
PowerPC	B-Architecture
hardware	O
platform	O
to	O
"	O
bring	O
a	O
renaissance	O
to	O
the	O
industry	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
late	O
1991	O
,	O
a	O
small	O
team	O
from	O
Boca	O
Raton	O
and	O
Austin	O
began	O
implementing	O
the	O
GUTS	O
project	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
goal	O
of	O
proving	O
the	O
GUTS	O
concept	O
,	O
by	O
first	O
converting	O
the	O
monolithic	O
OS/2	B-Application
2.1	O
system	O
to	O
the	O
Mach	B-Operating_System
microkernel	I-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
yielding	O
a	O
demo	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
gain	O
shared	O
access	O
to	O
key	O
personnel	O
currently	O
working	O
on	O
the	O
existing	O
OS/2	B-Application
,	O
they	O
disguised	O
the	O
project	O
as	O
the	O
Joint	O
Design	O
Task	O
Force	O
and	O
brought	O
"	O
a	O
significant	O
number	O
"	O
of	O
personnel	O
from	O
Boca	O
,	O
Austin	O
(	O
with	O
LANs	O
and	O
performance	O
)	O
,	O
Raleigh	O
(	O
with	O
SNA	O
and	O
other	O
transport	O
services	O
)	O
,	O
IBM	O
Research	O
(	O
with	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
and	O
performance	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
Rochester	O
(	O
with	O
the	O
64-bit	O
,	O
object-oriented	B-Language
worldview	O
from	O
AS/400	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pleased	O
with	O
the	O
robust	O
,	O
long-term	O
mentality	O
of	O
the	O
microkernel	B-Operating_System
technology	O
and	O
with	O
the	O
progress	O
of	O
the	O
project	O
,	O
the	O
team	O
produced	O
a	O
prototype	O
in	O
mid	O
1992	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
initial	O
internal-development	O
prototypes	O
ran	O
on	O
x86-based	O
hardware	O
and	O
provided	O
a	O
BSD	B-Operating_System
Unix	I-Operating_System
derived	O
personality	O
and	O
a	O
DOS	B-Device
personality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
presentation	O
was	O
so	O
well	O
received	O
that	O
the	O
prototype	O
was	O
put	O
on	O
the	O
trade	O
show	O
floor	O
on	O
Thursday	O
,	O
as	O
the	O
first	O
public	O
demonstration	O
of	O
the	O
IBM	O
Microkernel-based	O
system	O
running	O
OS/2	B-Application
,	O
DOS	B-Device
,	O
16-bit	O
Windows	B-Application
,	O
and	O
UNIX	B-Application
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1992	O
,	O
IBM	O
ordered	O
Taligent	B-Operating_System
to	O
migrate	O
the	O
Taligent	B-Operating_System
OS	O
from	O
its	O
internally	O
developed	O
microkernel	B-Operating_System
named	O
Opus	B-Operating_System
,	O
onto	O
the	O
IBM	O
Microkernel	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ostensibly	O
,	O
this	O
would	O
have	O
allowed	O
Taligent	B-Operating_System
's	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
(	O
implemented	O
as	O
a	O
Workplace	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
personality	O
)	O
to	O
execute	O
side-by-side	O
with	O
DOS	B-Device
and	O
OS/2	B-Application
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
personalities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1993	O
,	O
InfoWorld	O
reported	O
that	O
Jim	O
Cannavino	O
"	O
has	O
gone	O
around	O
the	O
company	O
and	O
developer	O
support	O
for	O
a	O
plan	O
to	O
merge	O
all	O
of	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
computing	O
platforms	O
—	O
ES/9000	O
,	O
AS/400	O
,	O
RS/6000	O
,	O
and	O
PS/2	O
—	O
around	O
a	O
single	O
set	O
of	O
technologies	O
,	O
namely	O
the	O
PowerPC	B-Architecture
microprocessor	O
,	O
the	O
Workplace	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
,	O
and	O
the	O
Taligent	B-Operating_System
object	O
model	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
open	O
standards	O
for	O
cross-platform	O
development	O
,	O
network	O
interoperability	O
,	O
etc.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
1993	O
,	O
IBM	O
reportedly	O
planned	O
two	O
packages	O
of	O
Workplace	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
,	O
based	O
on	O
personality	O
dominance	O
:	O
one	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
OS/2	B-Application
Workplace	B-Device
Shell	I-Device
and	O
another	O
based	O
upon	O
the	O
UNIX	B-Application
Common	B-Application
Desktop	I-Application
Environment	I-Application
(	O
CDE	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
and	O
Apple	O
were	O
speaking	O
about	O
the	O
possibility	O
of	O
a	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
personality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
January	O
1994	O
,	O
the	O
IBM	O
Power	O
Personal	O
Systems	O
Division	O
had	O
still	O
not	O
yet	O
begun	O
testing	O
its	O
PowerPC	B-Architecture
hardware	O
with	O
any	O
of	O
its	O
three	O
intended	O
launch	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
:	O
definitely	O
AIX	B-Application
and	O
Windows	B-Application
NT	O
,	O
and	O
hopefully	O
also	O
Workplace	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Software	O
demonstrations	O
showed	O
limited	O
personality	O
support	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
dominant	O
one	O
being	O
the	O
OS/2	B-Application
Workplace	B-Device
Shell	I-Device
desktop	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
DOS	B-Device
and	O
UNIX	B-Application
personalities	O
achieving	O
only	O
fullscreen	O
text	O
mode	O
support	O
with	O
crude	O
hotkey	O
switching	O
between	O
the	O
environments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Byte	O
reported	O
that	O
the	O
multiple	O
personality	O
support	O
promised	O
in	O
Workplace	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
's	O
conceptual	O
ambitions	O
was	O
more	O
straightforward	O
,	O
foundational	O
,	O
and	O
robust	O
than	O
that	O
of	O
the	O
already-shipping	O
Windows	B-Application
NT	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
magazine	O
said	O
"	O
IBM	B-Application
is	I-Application
pursuing	O
multiple	O
personalities	O
,	O
while	O
Microsoft	O
appears	O
to	O
be	O
discarding	O
them	O
"	O
while	O
conceding	O
that	O
"	O
it	O
's	O
easier	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
robust	O
plan	O
than	O
a	O
working	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
with	O
robust	O
implementations	O
of	O
multiple	O
personalities	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1994	O
,	O
the	O
industry	O
was	O
reportedly	O
shifting	O
away	O
from	O
monolithic	O
development	O
and	O
even	O
application	O
suites	O
,	O
toward	O
object-oriented	B-Language
,	O
component-based	O
,	O
crossplatform	O
,	O
application	O
frameworks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
1995	O
,	O
Workplace	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
was	O
becoming	O
notable	O
for	O
its	O
many	O
and	O
repeated	O
launch	O
delays	O
,	O
with	O
IBM	O
described	O
as	O
being	O
inconsistent	O
and	O
"	O
wishy	O
washy	O
"	O
with	O
dates	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
left	O
IBM	O
's	O
own	O
PowerPC	B-Architecture
hardware	O
products	O
without	O
a	O
mainstream	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
,	O
forcing	O
the	O
company	O
to	O
at	O
least	O
consider	O
the	O
rival	O
Windows	B-Application
NT	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
1994	O
,	O
the	O
RISC	O
Systems	O
software	O
division	O
publicly	O
announced	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
first	O
attempt	O
to	O
even	O
study	O
the	O
feasibility	O
of	O
converting	O
AIX	B-Application
into	O
a	O
Workplace	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
personality	O
,	O
which	O
the	O
company	O
had	O
been	O
publicly	O
promising	O
since	O
the	O
beginning	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
IBM	O
Research	O
Fellow	O
led	O
a	O
team	O
of	O
fewer	O
than	O
ten	O
,	O
to	O
identify	O
and	O
address	O
the	O
problem	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
the	O
fundamentally	O
incompatible	O
byte	O
ordering	O
between	O
the	O
big-endian	O
AIX	B-Application
and	O
the	O
little-endian	O
Workplace	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
problem	O
is	O
endemic	O
,	O
because	O
though	O
the	O
PowerPC	B-Architecture
CPU	O
and	O
Workplace	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
can	O
perform	O
in	O
either	O
mode	O
,	O
endianness	O
is	O
a	O
systemwide	O
configuration	O
set	O
once	O
at	O
boot	O
time	O
only	O
;	O
and	O
Workplace	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
favors	O
OS/2	B-Application
which	O
comes	O
from	O
the	O
little-endian	O
Intel	B-Operating_System
x86	I-Operating_System
architecture	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
seven	O
months	O
of	O
silence	O
on	O
the	O
issue	O
,	O
IBM	O
announced	O
in	O
January	O
1995	O
that	O
the	O
intractable	O
endianness	O
problem	O
had	O
resulted	O
in	O
the	O
total	O
abandonment	O
of	O
the	O
flagship	O
plan	O
for	O
an	O
AIX	B-Application
personality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
late	O
1994	O
,	O
as	O
Workplace	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
approached	O
its	O
first	O
beta	O
version	O
,	O
IBM	O
referred	O
to	O
the	O
beta	O
product	O
as	O
"	O
OS/2	B-Application
for	O
the	O
PowerPC	B-Architecture
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
mid	O
1995	O
,	O
IBM	O
officially	O
named	O
its	O
planned	O
initial	O
Workplace	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
release	O
"	O
OS/2	B-Application
Warp	I-Application
Connect	I-Application
(	O
PowerPC	B-Architecture
Edition	O
)	O
"	O
with	O
the	O
code	O
name	O
"	O
Falcon	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
announcement	O
predicted	O
it	O
to	O
have	O
version	O
1.0	O
of	O
the	O
IBM	O
Microkernel	B-Operating_System
with	O
the	O
OS/2	B-Application
personality	O
and	O
a	O
new	O
UNIX	B-Application
personality	O
,	O
on	O
PowerPC	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Having	O
been	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
earliest	O
demonstrations	O
,	O
the	O
UNIX	B-Application
personality	O
was	O
now	O
intended	O
to	O
be	O
offered	O
to	O
customers	O
as	O
a	O
holdover	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
nonexistence	O
of	O
a	O
long-awaited	O
AIX	B-Application
personality	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
UNIX	B-Application
personality	O
was	O
also	O
abandoned	O
prior	O
to	O
release	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
developer	O
release	O
is	O
the	O
first	O
ever	O
publication	O
of	O
Workplace	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
of	O
the	O
IBM	O
Microkernel	B-Operating_System
(	O
at	O
version	O
1.0	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
IBM	O
's	O
internal	O
developers	O
had	O
been	O
running	O
privately	O
on	O
Intel	O
and	O
PowerPC	B-Architecture
hardware	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
software	O
essentially	O
appears	O
to	O
the	O
user	O
as	O
the	O
visually	O
identical	O
and	O
source-compatible	O
PowerPC	B-Architecture
equivalent	O
of	O
the	O
mainstream	O
OS/2	B-Application
3.0	O
for	O
Intel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
installer	O
only	O
supports	O
two	O
computer	O
models	O
,	O
the	O
IBM	O
PC	O
Power	O
Series	O
830	O
and	O
850	O
which	O
have	O
PowerPC	B-Architecture
604	O
CPUs	O
of	O
,	O
of	O
RAM	O
,	O
and	O
IDE	O
drives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Contrary	O
to	O
the	O
product	O
's	O
"	O
Connect	O
"	O
name	O
,	O
the	O
installed	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
has	O
no	O
networking	O
support	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
full	O
networking	O
functionality	O
is	O
described	O
within	O
the	O
installed	O
documentation	O
files	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
the	O
related	O
book	O
IBM	O
's	O
Official	O
OS/2	B-Application
Warp	I-Application
Connect	I-Application
PowerPC	B-Architecture
Edition	O
:	O
Operating	O
in	O
the	O
New	O
Frontier	O
(	O
1995	O
)	O
—	O
all	O
of	O
which	O
the	O
product	O
's	O
paper	O
booklet	O
warns	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
disregard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
system	O
hosts	O
no	O
compiler	O
,	O
so	O
developers	O
are	O
required	O
to	O
cross-compile	O
applications	O
on	O
the	O
source-compatible	O
OS/2	B-Application
for	O
Intel	O
system	O
,	O
using	O
MetaWare	O
’s	O
High	O
C	B-Language
compiler	O
or	O
VisualAge	O
C++	B-Language
,	O
and	O
manually	O
copy	O
the	O
files	O
via	O
relocatable	O
medium	O
to	O
run	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Upon	O
its	O
launch	O
,	O
Joe	O
Stunkard	O
,	O
spokesman	O
for	O
IBM	O
's	O
Personal	O
Systems	O
Products	O
division	O
,	O
said	O
"	O
When	O
and	O
if	O
the	O
Power	O
market	O
increases	O
,	O
we	O
'll	O
increase	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
's	O
presence	O
as	O
required.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
January	O
26	O
,	O
1996	O
,	O
an	O
Internet	O
forum	O
statement	O
is	O
made	O
by	O
John	O
Soyring	O
,	O
IBM	O
's	O
Vice	O
President	O
of	O
Personal	O
Software	O
Products	O
:	O
"	O
We	O
are	O
not	O
planning	O
additional	O
releases	O
of	O
the	O
OS/2	B-Application
Warp	O
family	O
on	O
the	O
PowerPC	B-Architecture
platform	I-Architecture
during	O
1996	O
—	O
as	O
we	O
just	O
released	O
in	O
late	O
December	O
1995	O
the	O
OS/2	B-Application
Warp	O
(	O
PowerPC	B-Architecture
Edition	O
)	O
product	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
...	O
We	O
have	O
just	O
not	O
announced	O
future	O
releases	O
on	O
the	O
PowerPC	B-Architecture
platform	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
no	O
way	O
should	O
our	O
announcement	O
imply	O
that	O
we	O
are	O
backing	O
away	O
from	O
the	O
PowerPC.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
November	O
22	O
,	O
1995	O
,	O
IBM	O
's	O
developer	O
newsletter	O
said	O
,	O
"	O
Another	O
focus	O
of	O
the	O
1996	O
product	O
strategy	O
will	O
be	O
the	O
IBM	O
Microkernel	B-Operating_System
and	O
microkernel-based	O
versions	O
of	O
OS/2	B-Application
Warp	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nearly	O
20	O
corporations	O
,	O
universities	O
,	O
and	O
research	O
institutes	O
worldwide	O
have	O
licensed	O
the	O
microkernel	B-Operating_System
,	O
laying	O
the	O
foundation	O
for	O
a	O
completely	O
open	O
microkernel	B-Operating_System
standard.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
planned	O
a	O
second	O
feature-parity	O
release	O
for	O
x86	B-Operating_System
and	O
PowerPC	B-Architecture
in	O
1996	O
,	O
and	O
version	O
2.0	O
of	O
the	O
microkernel	B-Operating_System
was	O
"	O
distributed	O
to	O
microkernel	B-Operating_System
adopters	O
"	O
early	O
that	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
version	O
was	O
described	O
as	O
final	O
,	O
with	O
support	O
for	O
x86	B-Operating_System
and	O
ARM	B-Architecture
processors	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
reportedly	O
tested	O
OS/2	B-Application
on	O
the	O
never-released	O
x86-compatible	O
PowerPC	B-Architecture
615	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
this	O
point	O
,	O
the	O
several-year	O
future	O
roadmap	O
of	O
Workplace	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
included	O
IBM	O
Microkernel	B-Operating_System
2.0	O
and	O
was	O
intended	O
to	O
subsume	O
the	O
fully	O
converged	O
future	O
of	O
the	O
OS/2	B-Application
platform	O
starting	O
after	O
the	O
future	O
release	O
of	O
OS/2	B-Application
version	O
4	O
,	O
including	O
ports	O
to	O
Pentium	O
,	O
Pentium	O
Pro	O
,	O
MIPS	O
,	O
ARM	B-Architecture
,	O
and	O
Alpha	O
CPUs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Workplace	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
project	O
was	O
finally	O
canceled	O
in	O
March	O
1996	O
due	O
to	O
myriad	O
factors	O
:	O
inadequate	O
performance	O
;	O
low	O
acceptance	O
of	O
the	O
PowerPC	B-Device
Reference	I-Device
Platform	I-Device
;	O
poor	O
quality	O
of	O
the	O
PowerPC	B-Architecture
620	O
launch	O
;	O
extensive	O
cost	O
overruns	O
;	O
lack	O
of	O
AIX	B-Application
,	O
Windows	B-Application
,	O
or	O
OS/400	B-Application
personalities	O
;	O
and	O
the	O
overall	O
low	O
customer	O
demand	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
only	O
mainstream	O
desktop	B-General_Concept
operating	I-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
running	O
on	O
PowerPC	B-Architecture
was	O
Windows	B-Application
NT	O
,	O
which	O
also	O
lacked	O
supply	O
and	O
demand	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Industry	O
analysts	O
said	O
that	O
"	O
the	O
industry	O
may	O
have	O
passed	O
by	O
the	O
PowerPC	B-Architecture
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1996	O
,	O
IBM	O
also	O
closed	O
the	O
Power	O
Personal	O
Division	O
responsible	O
for	O
personal	O
PowerPC	B-Architecture
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
stopped	O
developing	O
new	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
,	O
and	O
instead	O
committed	O
heavily	O
to	O
Linux	B-Application
,	O
Java	B-Language
,	O
and	O
some	O
Windows	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2012	O
,	O
IBM	O
described	O
Linux	B-Application
as	O
the	O
"	O
universal	O
platform	O
"	O
in	O
a	O
way	O
that	O
happens	O
to	O
coincide	O
with	O
many	O
of	O
the	O
essential	O
design	O
objectives	O
of	O
GUTS	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Reception	O
was	O
enthusiastically	O
but	O
skeptically	O
mixed	O
,	O
as	O
the	O
young	O
IT	O
industry	O
was	O
already	O
constantly	O
grappling	O
with	O
the	O
second-system	B-General_Concept
effect	I-General_Concept
,	O
and	O
was	O
now	O
presented	O
with	O
Workplace	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
and	O
PowerPC	B-Architecture
hardware	O
as	O
the	O
ultimate	O
second	O
system	O
duo	O
to	O
unify	O
all	O
preceding	O
and	O
future	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Very	O
little	O
of	O
the	O
new	O
platform	O
that	O
IBM	B-Application
is	I-Application
developing	O
will	O
be	O
ready	O
for	O
mission-critical	O
deployment	O
until	O
1995	O
or	O
1996	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1994	O
,	O
an	O
extensive	O
analysis	O
by	O
Byte	O
reported	O
that	O
the	O
multiple	O
personality	O
concept	O
in	O
Workplace	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
's	O
beta	O
design	O
was	O
more	O
straightforward	O
,	O
foundational	O
,	O
and	O
robust	O
than	O
that	O
of	O
the	O
already-shipping	O
Windows	B-Application
NT	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
said	O
"	O
IBM	B-Application
is	I-Application
pursuing	O
multiple	O
personalities	O
,	O
while	O
Microsoft	O
appears	O
to	O
be	O
discarding	O
them	O
"	O
and	O
conceded	O
that	O
"	O
it	O
's	O
easier	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
robust	O
plan	O
than	O
a	O
working	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
with	O
robust	O
implementations	O
of	O
multiple	O
personalities	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
analyst	O
was	O
quoted	O
,	O
"	O
The	O
customer	O
base	O
would	O
not	O
accept	O
OS/2	B-Application
and	O
the	O
PowerPC	B-Architecture
at	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
"	O
because	O
by	O
the	O
time	O
IBM	O
would	O
eventually	O
ship	O
a	O
final	O
retail	O
package	O
of	O
OS/2	B-Application
on	O
PowerPC	B-Architecture
machines	O
,	O
"	O
the	O
power/price	O
ratio	O
of	O
the	O
PowerPC	B-Architecture
processor	I-Architecture
just	O
was	O
n't	O
good	O
enough	O
to	O
make	O
customers	O
accept	O
all	O
of	O
the	O
other	O
drawbacks	O
"	O
of	O
migrating	O
to	O
a	O
new	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
alone	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2013	O
,	O
Ars	O
Technica	O
retrospectively	O
characterized	O
the	O
years	O
of	O
hype	O
surrounding	O
Workplace	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
as	O
supposedly	O
being	O
"	O
the	O
ultimate	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
,	O
the	O
OS	O
to	O
end	O
all	O
OSes	O
...	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
1995	O
,	O
four	O
years	O
after	O
the	O
conception	O
and	O
one	O
year	O
before	O
the	O
cancellation	O
of	O
Workplace	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
,	O
IBM	O
announced	O
the	O
results	O
of	O
a	O
very	O
late	O
stage	O
analysis	O
of	O
the	O
project	O
's	O
initial	O
assumptions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
concluded	O
that	O
it	O
is	O
impossible	O
to	O
unify	O
the	O
inherent	O
disparity	O
in	O
endianness	O
between	O
different	O
proposed	O
personalities	O
of	O
legacy	O
systems	O
,	O
resulting	O
in	O
the	O
total	O
abandonment	O
of	O
the	O
flagship	O
plan	O
for	O
an	O
AIX	B-Application
personality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
1997	O
,	O
a	O
case	O
study	O
of	O
the	O
history	O
of	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
Workplace	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
was	O
published	O
by	O
the	O
University	O
of	O
California	O
with	O
key	O
details	O
having	O
been	O
verified	O
by	O
IBM	O
personnel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
had	O
not	O
properly	O
researched	O
and	O
proven	O
the	O
concept	O
of	O
generalizing	O
all	O
these	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
personalities	O
before	O
starting	O
the	O
project	O
,	O
or	O
at	O
any	O
responsible	O
timeframe	O
during	O
it	O
—	O
especially	O
its	O
own	O
flagship	O
AIX	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
assumed	O
that	O
all	O
the	O
resultant	O
performance	O
issues	O
would	O
be	O
mitigated	O
by	O
eventual	O
deployment	O
upon	O
PowerPC	B-Architecture
hardware	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Workplace	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
product	O
suffered	O
the	O
second-system	B-General_Concept
effect	I-General_Concept
,	O
including	O
feature	O
creep	O
,	O
with	O
thousands	O
of	O
global	O
contributing	O
engineers	O
across	O
many	O
disparate	O
business	O
units	O
nationwide	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Workplace	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
project	O
had	O
spent	O
four	O
years	O
and	O
$2	O
billion	O
(	O
or	O
0.6	O
%	O
of	O
IBM	O
's	O
revenue	O
for	O
that	O
period	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
the	O
report	O
described	O
as	O
"	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
significant	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
software	O
investments	O
of	O
all	O
time	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
largest	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
failures	O
in	O
modern	O
times	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
