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PC age over, says IBM

But maybe Big Blue has admitted war is over

Lou Gerstner, CEO and president of IBM, said earlier this week that the age of the PC is over. But in a speech he gave to the Japanese press, the highlight of which was Lou demonstrating a ThinkPad that fits on your head, rather than on your feet, he failed to elaborate on whether it was just IBM that took that stance. Gerstner claimed that no-one needed the type of functionality PCs deliver on a desktop, and waxed lyrical about how well IBM's Global Services unit was doing. He did not give market figures on IBM's share of the PC market but the company, which introduced the first em, IBM compatible PC in 1981, has steadily lost market share to upstarts Compaq and Dell -- and others -- over the last two years. Sources close to IBM tell The Register that Gerstner now wants to concentrate on profitable parts of IBM's business. That, he said, explained why Big Blue had taken the decision to dump its two tier channel strategy, once Gerstner's pride and joy. ® Click here for more stories

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