IBM, Motorola pull PC NT support

Electronic News, Dec 23, 1996 by Cynthia Bournellis, Sarah Cohen, Elaine Chen

Armonk, N.Y.--From now on, Microsoft will keep a closer eye on the PowerPC camp. The alliance's two biggest proponents, IBM and Motorola, said they will no longer support PowerPC-based systems running the Windows NT operating system.

Meanwhile, the chip side of the PowerPC camp said it will continue to produce chips for Windows NT systems, and competitor Digital Equipment is saying the decision by IBM and Motorola provides an opportunity for Digital to become the premier RISC/Windows NT systems supplier.

While the decision makes perfect sense according to IBM and Motorola, who said that the demand for NT workstations and servers on PowerPC just isn't there, Microsoft is altogether of a different mindset. "We see strong demand for Windows NT overall," said Pat Fox, group product manager for the Personal Systems group at Microsoft. "If tomorrow everyone said 'no NT on PowerPC,' then this would be powerful input toward our development."

Sources said IBM and Motorola's decision was influenced by Microsoft's disappointment over the lack of sales volume. Microsoft told its partners to pay a flat fee if they wanted to sell Windows NT and the PowerPC partners balked, sources close to Microsoft said.

Microsoft would not deny the rumor, but Mr. Fox said that over time the extent to which the PC companies show their support in terms of processor compatibility will be an important factor in determining to what extent Microsoft will develop NT for PowerPC. "It's hard for us to gauge the demand of Windows NT by hardware platform, so we rely on the PC makers to report back to us."

Apple Computer said it still sees NT on PowerPC as a viable method of expanding the Macintosh platform. Others vendors agreed. "NT is a good alternative for people wanting to explore other options," said Andy Chang, VP of Umax. "We will run NT 4.0 and whatever else is available, but CHRP systems will basically be Mac OS-based."

Unlike the systems sides of Motorola and IBM, Motorola's Semiconductor Products sector (SPS) and IBM Microelectronics maintain plans for future chips for Windows NT systems. Phil Pompa, director of marketing for Motorola's RISC Microprocessor division, said, "On the SPS side, our development staff in Austin and Seattle are still working with Microsoft to accommodate our unannounced OEMs with product plans for Windows NT, and we might delve into Windows NT 5.0 in the future.

"However, we anticipate our OEMs will re-evaluate their product plans, and if our OEMs re-evaluate their plans, we will do the same." Mr. Pompa added that SPS will, in either case, work with Microsoft to port Windows CE for handheld computing applications to the PowerPC platform.

Jesse B. Parker from IBM Microelectronics said, "The IBM Micro division is still working hard on NT, particularly in regard to the PowerPC common hardware reference platform (CHRP), which will run both the Mac OS and Windows NT on the same hardware. Our objective is to include Windows NT 5.0 when Microsoft introduces it."

This move by the systems side could, however, be another blow for the PowerPC initiative. The circle of PowerPC systems makers is very tight. And Apple Computer, for whom the PowerPC chip was designed, has been slow to bring systems to market based on CHRP. Serving up Windows NT on PowerPC was a move designed to increase demand for PowerPC sales. Right now, PowerPC customers include Be, Inc. and Macintosh clone developers Power Computing and Umax Technologies.

A spokesperson for IBM said the market wants Windows NT, in particular for low-end workstations, on Intel's platform. "People look at this by default as an NT solution, not PowerPC." IBM previously stopped developing a version of its OS/2 operating system to run on PowerPC computers. Instead, these systems will run IBM's AIX operating system and the Macintosh OS.

The time frame in which IBM and Motorola's support for NT on PowerPC will halt is different. IBM will stop shipments of its RS/6000 line running Windows NT 3.51 but will continue to support its customer base or help them transition to systems using NT or AIX on Intel. IBM will not ship Windows NT 4.0 systems.

Instead, the IBM PC Co. will build NT/Intel systems. IBM will support Windows NT versions 4.0 and 3.51 and the next-generation NT OS version 5.0 on Intel-based machines. The first round of entry-level to mid-range systems, which will be based on 200MHz Pentium Pro processors, is expected to begin shipping this quarter. "We are NT focused," said Jay Barrett, product line manager for personal products at IBM. "And NT on Intel is a pull proposition, whereas NT on PowerPC is a push proposition."

Meanwhile, Motorola said it will limit future applications of Windows NT on PowerPC after Microsoft releases NT 5.0. Until then, Motorola will continue to ship and support its PowerPC-based PowerStack II line of workstations and servers, which comes with Windows NT 4.0. PowerStack also supports AIX.

Motorola will redirect its resources in key markets and products where PowerPC is successful, such as the company's StarMax line. Only two months into the product's launch, 50,000 units will have shipped by year-end. Another area where Motorola believes PowerPC will shine is in the embedded market. "We are going great guns there, and we are also looking at emerging markets such as Windows CE, network computers and Internet connection devices," said a Motorola spokesperson.