Great post, and lots to think about. The only thing I didn't get at all was why the old IBM logo was labeled “Islam of the 1970s”, since Islam was still around. Wouldn't “Islam of the Computer Industry circa 1970″ be clearer?

Mike

Have you read Eddies latest post? Seems to carry a rather 5GW element through Christianity in regards to North Korea.

Google attacking Microsoft symmetrically. Hence Writely (now Google Docs & Spreadsheets [1,2]) as a “pearl harbor” moment [3,4]. Other Microsoft competitors have taken the same tact. The war between Microsoft and Google is essentially between one NetWar firm and another. So I guess you could say it's one 4th Generation Application Provider v. another 4GAP.

Mike,

Thanks!

The IBM was of 1970s was the Islam (submission to one ruleset) of the 1970s. The faith of Muhammed is the Islam (submission to one ruleset) of our world.

Jay,

Eddie's post is beautiful. I need time to think about it.

There's definitely 5GWish features of Christianity, and they are worth exploring (Luke 10:3-4, etc etc). Eddie's post appears to focus more on Christianity as a mass movement, though, essentially hoping to tie the fates of Christianity and American statecraft together. I have some thoughts on that….

[1] http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2007/02/google-docs-spreadsheets-vs-microsoft.html
[2] http://docs.google.com/
[3] http://platformwars.blogspot.com/2006/03/writely-microsofts-pearl-harbor.html
[4] http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=2695

Every time we schematize (abstract) or compare by analogy, we then have to use “is like” rather than “is”. But you continually write as if abstractions and analogies had the same truth status as observable facts.

For example: “Mr Cheney is a rabid dog. Rabid dogs should be shot. Therefore Mr Cheney should be shot” does not follow, because the first sentence is an analogy, i.e. “Mr Cheney is like a rabid dog.”

“No one ever got fired for buying Big Blue, and no one ever got beheaded for embracing Islam.” so IBM is “the Islam of the 70s”? Plleeease.

Great post!

This and your Christian Love = urge to create public goods post has me stirring on an religion, economics and 5GW post. When I get back to blogging that is.

On careful consideration I got what you were trying to say, and I agree with your point. I was just trying to highlight that the current caption can confuse simple-minded folk like me. You geniuses have blind spots like that.

Mike

so where is Google? 5GW?

It's not often a tdaxp commentator has his own wikipedia page [1] or has been featured by the international press [2]… so welcome to this humble blog!

Your warning on the use of analogies is well taken. It would be foolish to say that 1970s IBM was islamic merely because both were safe choices, in certain times and places. Rather, my argument is this: 1970s IBM was islamic in that it argued for a single-vendor. single-path way of doing business. The Islam that swept aside the Roman and Persian Empires did this too.

Thus, while IBM and Islam /were like/ each other, both IBM are Islam /were/ single-vendor, single-path solutions.

Mike,

Good point (and thanks for the kind words ). Yet the chance to be both accurate and provocative is a rare one, so I'll keep it for now.

Purpleslog,

I'm looking forward to it! In the meantime, I've given an example of Microsoft's “love” [3]

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Jelliffe
[2] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/01/26/wmicrosoft26.xml
[3] http://www.tdaxp.com/archive/2007/03/15/microsoft-drinks-from-the-cup-of-love.html

Somewhere out there, some Mac and Linux fans' brains are going into meltdown. . .

God established wealth, and certainly there is nothing wrong and much right with money, but to the extent Microsoft is an advocate for Microsoft's shareholders, Microsoft uses love to glorify mammon.

So perhaps the Mac and Linux zealots would like the analogy more if Microsoft is seen as a daughter of Mystery Babylon the Great….

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Rev.%2017&version=31