Re: COMMON -- MIDRANGE-L

-----Original Message-----
From: jpcarr@TREDEGAR.COM <jpcarr@TREDEGAR.COM>
To: MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com <MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com>
Date: Wednesday, August 02, 2000 2:45 PM
Subject: Re: COMMON


>>You wasn't payin' me no rabbit-ass mind when I said something earlier this
>>year, on this list, 'bout hardware, commodities and OS's running on a
>>common
>>platform...  <SEG>
>You're right Bruce I didn't.


You know, this may be a bad move...  but...

IBM is not distinct in it's hardware platforms (Save one, the 400). The 390
class machines are not distinct. The RS/6000 machines are not distinct. The
NetFinity machines are not distinct. ONLY the 400 is distinct in hardware.
Today.

IBM is trying to build a software company that runs it's software everywhere
(oops, that's AnyPlace now... <vbg>) any platform. Just buy from IBM and
your software will work. (It's good to have goals! <VBG>)

Since the 400 is now a PCI based system, yes there may be stability issues
concerning drivers on down the road, but again, it's the OS not the AS that
we really want.

Remember Nicolai? He _desperately_ wanted rack mount servers for the 400.
Now he may get his wish. Maybe someday soon, not only will he rackmount a
piece of hardware that runs Linux, but one that runs OS/400, or OSsomething
that supports RPGIV, ILE, CL, etc.

There is too significant an investment in the RPG code that runs businesses
today, to simply eradicate the software that supports it. Again, that's
software, not hardware. That IS where ALL the money is now, in the software.
And don't forget that this is what OS/400 was ALL about! Change the hardware
underneath the covers, no change in software. It got us through processor
complex changes on the 38. It got us from 38 to 400. It got us from CISC to
RISC. The only question now is not where, but when do we change the
processor again. It's still OS/400.

And as much as people still say that OS/2 is dead, there are plenty of
corporations still silently running it. The difference between the "dead"
OS/2 and the "possibly terminal" OS/400 is that there were not many
applications available for OS/2. The 400 has thousands of applications and
performs mission critical application processing. Yet even with the dearth
of applications, OS/2 is _still_ a good choice for certain situations.

just close your eyes, click your heals and repeat after me... "it's only the
hardware... it's only the hardware..."


and if this doesn't open a floodgate somewhere...        ;-)

===========================================================
R. Bruce Hoffman, Jr.
 -- IBM Certified Specialist - AS/400 Administrator
 -- IBM Certified Specialist - RPG IV Developer

"Those who would give up essential Liberty,
  to purchase a little temporary Safety,
  deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

     - The Papers of Ben Franklin



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