After 70 years of the crappiest computers ever made, why does IBM exist?

As to why IBM exists today while it’s competitors from 50 - 100 years ago do not, it’s because IBMs leadership has kept the company evolving with current computing trends. They’ve been helped by IBM Research so that there was always someone who knew something about whatever direction IBM was headed, even as the company was pivoting. IBM pivoted from being about punch cards, typewriters, and tabulation (you know, “business machines”) to mainframe computers to PCs to e-commerce to AI and AI governance. You didn’t see Amdahl, Digital Equipment, CDC, or Unisys doing that. HP almost did it and they’re still in business (sort of - they’ve been split). Microsoft is a success story in pivoting from desktop to cloud and AI, but like IBM, the anti-monopoly consent order threw things into disarray for a while.

IBM mainframes are very solid. They run critical software that powers everything from credit cards to global reservation systems to government tax and accounting. They’re not sexy but they get the job done and have lots of redundancy and auditing features so there are no interruptions or surprises.

I disagree with the OP assertion that IBM makes crappy computers. I started my career using IBM PCs when they first came out, and forty years on, I still miss the feel of that keyboard. When IBM sold the PC division to Lenovo, one of the reasons they did so was that the PC market couldn’t afford the quality that went into IBM computers and IBM didn’t want to be associate with crappy computers. You can see that 25 years later, PC accessories are quite fragile, but they’re so cheap that it’s not a big deal to buy a replacement so no one complains. You can get a high quality keyboard similar to the original PC keyboard but it’s an add-on and will cost you and most people don’t want to pay that.

I’m wondering about attachment and transference with the therapist and the idea of escape and fantasy? How much do you think your strong feelings, constant thoughts, desires to be with your therapist are a way to escape from your present life? I wonder if the transference serves another purpose than to show us our wounds and/or past experiences, but is a present coping strategy for managing what we don’t want to face (even if unconsciously) in the present—-current relationships, life circumstances, etc. Can anyone relate to this concept of escape in relation to their therapy relationship? How does this play out for you?

Disclaimer, I do work for IBM, but my thoughts, especially about the PC, are from my own personal experience. My thoughts and experiences are my own and may or may not reflect the company position correctly.