Thanks Alan!
What blows my mind is that we have talked about this over and over on forum
after forum, but the concept of a brand name of System i just does not
stick.
FWIW, IBM does NOT call it an eServer. IBM does NOT call it an iSeries or an
AS/400. There are IBMers who call it those names. There are IBM websites
with the old names. There are IBM manuals with the old names. There are
members of the System i community refer to it by all those names. There is a
lot of press who call it by those names. There are vendors who call it by
the old names. But, IBM - the company - has branded the platform System i,
and sells System i5 servers.
And it pains me to hear people say "or whatever name it is this week". If
you cannot spend a few minutes learning the brand name, are you really that
passionate about the platform? Or, do you wish to continue to ADD to the
confusion. For everyone who continues to call it an AS/400, a fairy loses
its wings... er.. different story! For everyone who calls it an AS/400,
there is one more nail in the coffin of the System i.
It is also strange that people say that the System i IS an AS/400. The brand
System i is an evolution of a server line that included the original AS/400.
When you say "it is the new name of the AS/400" - try saying "it has evolved
from the AS/400" so you add a subtle positive tone. Rather than suggest it
is the same-old server, we should all be inspired by the fact that we have
this amazing new technology in a System i - as represented by the System i5
server - which shows our strong heritage of AS/400, while leading the world
with the Power technology. When Aaron says he uses "'System i5' to be
synonymous with iSeries and AS/400", he is representing our modern server as
the same as something from 1988 - almost 20 years ago. How can we move
forward to preserve the wonderful legacy of our AS/400 if we wallow in that
20 year old past - even if it is just "for the sake of the text".
Obviously, the System i name will continue for some time. We are told by IBM
that the platform is heading towards convergence with other IBM platforms.
This means the hardware server name of System i5 may be different in the
future. What keeps us together is our OS-that-is-more-than-an-OS. Sure, it
may be i5/OS on a Power6, but it is OUR i5/OS - whether you like the name or
not.
My question is, how do we find a way to have the community (yes, ALL of us)
call it by its actual brand name. How do we conquer the stubbornness that
says "I ain't changing, you can't make me". If IBM is selling something, and
we are telling everyone that it is not that - but something else, then what
future do ~we~ have, let alone the platform? Unfortunately, since the
majority of us are still green screen PDM coders in a GUI WDSc world, it is
hard to change us. Shall we ride the AS/400 to the end, or move forward in
an i5/OS world?
I think it is possible - after all, earlier this year John Earl told me he
would call it whatever the customers called it, and now he is typing 'System
i' everywhere. There is HOPE! :-) Way to go John!
On 9/25/07 8:59 AM, "Cassidy, Alan" <CassidyA@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Aaron,
To help keep Trevor from repeating himself again again, I'll answer
that!... :)
Since the "System i5" machines hit the market, they renamed the midrange
line. The whole "family of servers" was rechristened "System i". So
now..
The "System i" includes the AS/400, the iSeries, and the System i5. The
System i5 the upgrade for the others.
Any AS/400 you have is now also System i.
Any iSeries you have is now also System i.
Any System i5, the latest in this "family of servers", is also a System
i.
We can call it i5, until such possible time as they come up with an i6.
Or, as Trevor suggests, maybe it is a good idea to go with the OS. Even
though the machine and the OS have been designed to work together, it is
the OS that makes it such a great machine.
BTW, before somebody says "confusing", keep in mind that everybody knows
what a Windoze OS is. But there's Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Window 98,
Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, and now Vista
(also a Windows OS).
--Alan
-----Original Message-----
From: midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of albartell
Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2007 7:58 AM
To: 'Midrange Systems Technical Discussion'
Subject: RE: I'm about to give up on "System i"
I am also in the middle of writing some documentation and I have started
to
simply use "System i5" as a way to describe the new name. At the
beginning
of the documentation I declare "System i5" to be synonymous with iSeries
and
AS/400 for the sake of the text. I chose to add the "5" because having
a
lower-case "i" in the middle of a sentence causes my mind to grind a
little
when reading that portion.
Am I incorrect in saying "System i5"? Am I referring to anything in
actuality?, being that I am not really specifying the OS (i.e. System
i5OS)
nor am I just specifying the hardware exclusively (i.e. System i).
Thoughts? Opinions?
Aaron Bartell
http://mowyourlawn.com
midrange.com
