RE: Development ideas -- MIDRANGE-L

Catherine,

I figure I may as well weigh in on this discussion.  (Either that, or I
cain't resist trying to hep a damsel in distress.)


I've read over the posts on this thread a couple times..

..and I agree with ALL of them...!  That's the problem with going with the
400 platform, right there...  You're able to get a real good look-see into
the future of Server platforms, on the iSeries that's available today.  (As
Dr. Soltis had said, in an iSeries Network interview not too many months
ago.)

"Such a problem to have."  ALL the options people here are discussing
actually WORK and are AVAILABLE...!! (or WILL be, on the schedule that IBM
announces they will be.)  Some will obviously work better than others,
depending on Your business requirements.  So.. naturally this list seems
like a bizarre bizarre of contrasting opinions.

The point is:  In finding this list, You've found THE place that attracts
many who are MOST eminently qualified to speak on these subjects.  That's
because they actually DO the things they're discussing, more than mainly
JUST talking about how "great it'll be if You do thus-and-so"...!!!



If I was just to highlight a couple of posts I'd agree MOST strongly with,
(I'd be in a heap of trouble probably, but here goes anyhoo...;-) I'd hafta
highlight these, of which I've just snipped a bit of the good stuff:

| [mailto:midrange-l-admin@midrange.com]On Behalf Of Shahan, Ray
| Sent: Friday, October 18, 2002 11:35 AM

| We, as a collective industry, tend to forget that we are here to solve
| business problems, not to prove that we can use/adapt to new technologies!


| [mailto:midrange-l-admin@midrange.com]On Behalf Of Booth Martin
| Sent: Friday, October 18, 2002 11:03 AM

| Here is a thought for your planning:  Do NOT rush, take a minimum of a few
| months to survey and do site visits. Attend a few conferences. Budget some
| realistic amount of money for travel and for advisors.  Let your guys run
| with a couple of wild ideas, make a few proof-of-concept ideas.

And the one of Jamie Coles had a lot of merit, im(ns)ho (the one sans the
advairteasemonh...;-)


My own PERSONAL preference would tend towards those ideas of Joe Pluta.  And
I'm not just suckin' up to Him because He was Chief Architect of SSA back
when they (from what I've heard, mainly from Joe...;-) had very strong
code...  He also asked some astute questions.

I don't recall anyone asking, but what experience do You have on Staff, in
addition to VB and SQL...??  I'm NOT trying to kick sand in anybody's face,
but there's a lotta truth to the old saw "Don't send a boy to do a man's
job."  (The gender neutral just didn't sound right.)  The good thing, from
Your POV Catherine, is that it's a BUYERS MARKET right now, in the 400 arena
as elsewhere, and there are a lot of VERY qualified, and hungry, people
available.  Caveat Emptor, of course.

Whatever talents Your staff has, (both programmers and operators).. people
from many different platforms have found the 400 to be "relatively easy" to
convert to and learn, and there are many shops that have little to no
technical staff for that very reason.

And one GREAT advantage of moving off the mainframe is that it will almost
HAVE to be MUCH cheaper (TCO-wise), ESPECIALLY if You go with the iSeries.

Best-o-luck, and looking forward to additional posts from Ya, Catherine (IF
you feel to venture back into the "bizarre" atmosphere of this list...;-)

jt


| -----Original Message-----
| [mailto:midrange-l-admin@midrange.com]On Behalf Of McBride, Catherine
| Sent: Thursday, October 17, 2002 10:10 AM

<snip>

| The programming staff would like to be able to
| develop and test
| quickly, and have a full complement of programming tools to work
| with.  The
| programmers who would be writing this system have VB and SQL server
| experience.
<snip>