Stardate 20010627.0635 (On Screen): Those who ignore the past, and all that. In the early days of the computer industry, a visionary named Adam Osborne created the first practical portable computer. It would fit under an airline seat. Costing less than $2000, it was a great commercial success. Then Osborne Computers made
a massive blunder: they announced their next model before it was ready, while still having a huge supply of the first one. Sales collapsed as people decided to wait for the next model, sticking Osborne between the horns of inventory expense and declining sales. The company eventually went bankrupt.
Palm did the same thing to itself this last quarter. With huge inventories of monochrome units, it announced its color units -- and sales collapsed. It remains to be seen whether it will survive this debacle. (discuss)
