IBM not investing in i5/OS was: iSociety

["Steve Richter" <stephenrichter@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Nov 14, 2007 4:39 PM, Lukas Beeler <lukas.beeler@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> On 11/14/07, Steve Richter <stephenrichter@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > I always err when I judge a language on syntax.   that example
>
> I've realized that the ILE environment has a few very cool features
> that are not found otherwise, or are harder to implement (per your
> example).
>
> But in order for the System i to sustain, it is vital and important to
> gain new people on the train, not just preventing existing customers
> from leaving. And for these new customers, the first impression is so
> very, very important.
>
> Take for example the HMC v7 GUI. It looks very polished, and like a
> good product. It probably was produced by the System p folks :)
>
> Now, take the QU2 Web interface, or iSeries Navigator (Branding!!!)
> that disables Aero even when fully up-to-date - iSeries Access
> (Branding!) is generally a PITA under Vista - and it's not like
> Vista's release was a surprise for everyone.
>
> Or the RPG language. I mean, when a customer's developer asks me in
> what language our product was written, i can only tell them that it is
> RPG - after which they'll ask me if i'm joking. This is not good.
>
> A young developer that has extensive experience with .NET and is told
> to get started on Java would probably say "same sh*t, different
> color".
>
> I remember a System i event here in Switzerland, back in 2005 (or 06).
> Some important IBM person said "WOW, we gained 2500 new customers last
> year -".
>
> I thought that it didn't sound that bad, all in Switzerland has only a
> population of around 7 Million people. But he continued
> "- WORLDWIDE"
>
> That sounded bad. But he moved on
> "- customers that haven't bought a System i in the last 5 years also
> count as new"
>
> And soon the "not so bad" numbers were "really, god damn, awful bad".

Lukas, your dispatches from the front lines of computing are great
reading.  Here is a video that illustrates in a small way how MSFT is
cleaning IBM's clock in the world of software applications:
http://channel9.msdn.com/Showpost.aspx?postid=356260
I think the only chance for i5/OS to flourish is for IBM to spin it
off as a standalone company.