IBM was one of the leading personal computer manufacturers until the early 1990s. The reason that you are more likely to see a Dell or Compaq on someone's desk rather than an IBM is because IBM had a dispute with Microsoft. IBM said that Microsoft's Windows programming was too complex, and Microsoft said that IBM's OS/2 was too simple. IBM broke away from Microsoft's Windows and MS-DOS in 1993 and used their own PC-DOS and OS/2. More people ended up liking Windows with their new Start menu and Taskbar, and IBM fell out of favor with most people. It was still possible to run Windows on an IBM computer, though.
After IBM split with Microsoft, its PC market share decreased dramatically as Microsoft implemented its software applications in a growing majority of PCs through agreements with many rival manufacturers, including Dell and Compaq. As a result, IBM was no longer a leading PC manufacturer. However, IBM still leads the computer industry in many of the areas it has always dominated, including the use of mainframes and supercomputing in business and industry. The reason that IBM's operating system never 'caught on' and became popular because, according to John Coleman, former IBM Systems Analyst, IBM decided it didn't want to spend time and effort trying to compete in the PC market (because it had 'bigger and more important' interests, such as taking care of the computing needs of large institutions).
After IBM split with Microsoft, its PC market share decreased dramatically as Microsoft implemented its software applications in a growing majority of PCs through agreements with many rival manufacturers, including Dell and Compaq. As a result, IBM was no longer a leading PC manufacturer. However, IBM still leads the computer industry in many of the areas it has always dominated, including the use of mainframes and supercomputing in business and industry. The reason that IBM's operating system never 'caught on' and became popular because, according to John Coleman, former IBM Systems Analyst, IBM decided it didn't want to spend time and effort trying to compete in the PC market (because it had 'bigger and more important' interests, such as taking care of the computing needs of large institutions).