Re: FW: OS/400 upgrades for CISC

[Neil Palmer <neil@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

That's irrelevant.  How many old Corvettes are there out there compared
to the new model ?  Do you think if you ask GM nicely they'll build a
new 1996 Corvette with the new engine for you ?


On Sat, 19 Apr 1997, Dave Mahadevan. wrote:

> You seem to be very sure CISC is dead.  I am curious, as to how many
> CISC is out there vs RISC.  Anybody have these numbers?
> 
> DAsmussen@aol.com wrote:
> > 
> > Bob (and, indirectly, Dave)
> > 
> > In a message dated 97-04-18 19:30:46 EDT, you write:
> > 
> > > I am forwarding to all of you an e-mail that I sent to Mr. Zeitler back in
> > >  March.  As was the case with Dave Mahadevan, I received a reply from
> > Wynndel
> > >  Watts.  I'd post the response here but there's no sense in taking up the
> > >  space (besides which I've since deleted it) - you've already seen it.  
>The
> > 
> > >  response that I received back was 100%, word for word, IDENTICAL to the
> > >  response that Dave received to his e-mail (hmmm ... perhaps Wynndel Watts
> > is
> > >  an autobot?).  It is very difficult to believe that IBM takes this issue
> > >  seriously when their response is to send a 'canned' reply.  I'm curious
> > ...
> > >  has anyone else received the same canned response that Dave and I have?
> > >   Show of hands?
> > 
> > Like I told Dave when he posted this, CISC is dead whether you like it or
> > not.  You don't like or agree with it, I don't like or agree with it, but
> > this is IBM's direction.  All I can say is be glad that you're
> > software-obsolete rather than hardware-obsolete like the /36'ers, and that
> > I'm happy IBM is keeping the platform current.
> > 
> > The CISC platform is EIGHT years old, and I'm suprised that IBM has come up
> > with such an elegant exit for it.  The upgrade from S/36 to the AS/400 was
> > MUCH more difficult (even to the /36 environment) than is the upgrade from
> > CISC to RISC.  Part of the problem with the /36 upgrade was that SSP (the
> > 36's operating system) supported functions from the S/34 and even the S/3
> > that had to be excised when you were upgrading.  CISC to RISC does not have
> > such a problem.
> > 
> > Bob, I don't know about your and Dave's environments, but I can cite 30+
> > sites that have AS/400's here.  All but 5 of those 30+ sites have gone less
> > than 4 years without upgrading their processor, and those 5 need to but were
> > too cheap to do it.  Business increase and need for added functionality
> > dictated an upgrade.  So what if the latest processor upgrade requires a
> > little software maintenance on the side?  You're probably going to need it
> > anyhow.
> > 
> > Then again you CAN stubbornly hold out like all of the /36'ers and, in
> > another eight years, IBM will come out with an Advanced/CISC.  This is NOT
> > meant as a slam, I just wonder what the big deal is.  My customers average a
> > processor upgrade every 1-2 years -- mainly due to business increases, a
> > desire for more detailed history online, or finally admitting that the
> > "acceptable" response times that they spec'd weren't all that acceptable.
> >  Many of the new features that you want are dictated by the hardware, so why
> > fight so hard to stay on CISC?  Just curious...
> > 
> > Regards!
> > 
> > Dean Asmussen
> > Enterprise Systems Consulting, Inc.
> > Fuquay-Varina, NC  USA
> > E-Mail:  DAsmussen@AOL.COM
> > 
> > "There is no abstract art.  You must always start with something." -- Pablo
> > Picasso
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> > umidr
> 
> -- 
> Thank You.
> 
> Regards
> 
> Dave Mahadevan.. mailto:mahadevan@fuse.net
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> umidr
> 
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