Re: Interactive tax Eliminated?

[Jan Megannon <jmegannon@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

SCarter@rsrcorp.com wrote:
> Has anyone else heard about this?
>
>
> from insider weekly e-mail
> <snip>
> Interactive fees eliminated: IBM will also announce that maximum 5250
> Interactive CPW will come at no charge in most of the new configurations.
> This action reflects IBM's success with GreenStreak, which pushed hardware
> sales without the burden of the interactive tax (IW 11/25/02).
Wow!

 If this is the case, I can think of more than just a few customers 
that are going to be quite riled at this! Would IBM compensate them them 
by means of something like a discount when they upgrade, in view of the 
fact that they were part of a VERY expensive marketing (or lack thereof) 
exercise? Or are they going to raise the price of the non-interactive 
machines to be closer to that of the interactive boxes?

Forgive a stupid question, but is this possibly a case of IBM 
acknowledging that they (legally, technically or any other way) were 
unable to kill FAST/400?

Hopefully those customers who were considering to move off the 400 due 
to this tax will rethink their decisions. Hope it is not too late.

Cheers.

Jan.