IBM shows off its latest mainframe gear, outlines plan to bolster faltering line

IBM debuts about twenty new mainframe-computer products, but the chief of the company's mainframe group, Nick Donofrio, predicts that its sales will drop again in 1993. IBM also laid out plans to incorporate microprocessor technology in all of its computers within the next few years. This means that the days of IBM's water-cooled mainframes are numbered. The announcements include new high-end mainframes, better performance, a new feature that will save data-storage space, and the abolition of a price list for the new computers. Donofrio stresses the value of IBM's MVS operating software for mainframes, which is renowned for its stability and security. Analysts generally praise the honesty of IBM's announcements, but say the company has little margin for error in delivering on its new strategy.