>>> What language do you think IBM will focus on for the next decade?
>>
>>Hmmm... maybe COBOL. With IBM you never know. <s>
>
>
>In the mail today I found a course listing for IBM Authorized Education and I counted the courses and the languages used:
>
>Java 13
>Cobol 4
>RPG IV 4
>PL/1 2
>C 2
>VB 0
>
>So it's pretty clear what direction IBM is going.
>
>I also looked up the annual sales:
>
>IBM $81 billion
>Microsoft $21 billion
>
>
>I would wager that if IBM was the only company pushing Java, it would still succeed.
>
>Peter

But how much of those sales are hardware and service, and how much is software? (I'm not arguing, just making a point). IBM didn't have the push to make its superior OS2 win out.