tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3310794785584787219.post7487345317160261735..comments2022-12-05T14:05:56.776+00:00Comments on Occasional Jottings: So, Farewell Thenmarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03216609880351698334noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3310794785584787219.post-53486908821458675792013-03-07T22:35:20.291+00:002013-03-07T22:35:20.291+00:00I'm sorry you feel you "suffered" be...I'm sorry you feel you "suffered" being an IBM employee, Darren. I meant this post as a tribute to Lotus rather than a criticism of IBM, although I suppose it implicitly is.<br /><br />I don't want to get into the details of whether IBM "did right" by Notes, because I don't actually care. It does bug me that IBM has lost the team spirit that Lotus had, because I know from personal experience that, despite its size, it did used to have it.<br /><br />Before I went to university, I worked at IBM for a year. This was in 1987-1988, and the hanging gardens of Basingstoke (aka Mountbatten House) felt like a community to a naive 18 year old. I had a wonderful time: I travelled the country on expenses (I once flew to Greenock for a 30 minute meeting), fell in love with a beautiful girl, and got to play with technology for free. I could send emails all over the world (this was a big deal in 1987; I didn't know anyone outside IBM who could do this) and I could walk into any IBM building in the country - in the *world* - and be welcomed and fed.<br /><br />IBM is now the company that knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing (to quote Oscar) and this can be a little dispiriting. But I am lucky enough to work in a part of IBM - the software labs in Hursley - that retains a good community spirit and suits me very well.markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03216609880351698334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3310794785584787219.post-57202197153375736512013-03-07T20:17:45.636+00:002013-03-07T20:17:45.636+00:00I suffered being an IBM employee because I was sur...I suffered being an IBM employee because I was surrounded by friends and was immersed in the noble history of being part of the Lotus story. I wouldn't have chosen to work for IBM (in fact, I didn't chose to work for them, it just happened).<br /><br />Lotus may have been losing money, but they did it in the pursuit of trying to build a market for Notes. IBM's wider reach into customers boosted Notes for a few years but when they decided not to invest any marketing money, and went down the path of 'thou shalt be built on WebSphere' for a couple of years, the rot set in. Shame, as Connections is a great product, but I can't see it ever reaching the numbers that Notes once did.Darrenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09464043165359883973noreply@blogger.com