Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Worse, in September 2011, BlackBerry's network had a massive network fail-
ure that disconnected U.S. customers for several days and garnered huge amounts
of negative publicity. This was front-page news and was even mentioned on na-
tional television news shows.
In spite of increased competition and significant layoffs, BlackBerry continues
to be a major player in the smartphone business. Its newest models are getting
good reviews. In 2013, RIM changed its name to BlackBerry.
The history of RIM and BlackBerry shows that having a good idea and a good
invention do not ensure long-range success. Companies such as RIM need to keep
current with industry trends and hopefully stay ahead of them. They also need to
keep up with quality and reliability, since poor quality is a market killer.
Borland
The history of Borland is a sort of microcosm of many Silicon Valley software
companies, with a few unique factors as well. Borland was founded in Scotts Val-
ley, California, in August 1981. The founders were three Danish citizens: Niels
Jensen, Ole Henricsen, and Mole Glad. The most famous founder, Philippe Kahn,
joined forces with Borland later. Kahn was Chairman, President, and CEO from
1983 until 1995, when he left.
The company's first product was a CP/M add-on, but Borland soon got into
a different niche that was more successful. Its 1983 products of TurboPascal and
SideKick had large sales and made Borland one of the more successful program-
ming language companies. SideKick was a forerunner of features that later ap-
peared on PDAs to keep track of calendars, address books, phone numbers, and so
on.
Borland had a successful IPO in 1989 and again in 1991. Both were oversub-
scribed and generated substantial capital.
Through a combination of acquisitions and internal development, the Borland
products expanded to include Turbo C, Quattro Pro, dBASE, and Paradox.
Borland had an unusual copyright lawsuit with Lotus, which had charged copy-
right violations over the Quattro spreadsheet. This was one of the first “look and
feel” infringement cases. The case was decided in favor of Borland by the First
Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, Massachusetts.
What happened next was unusual. Lotus appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
One of the nine justices, John Paul Stevens, recused himself, leaving only eight to
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