Re: Opinion makes little difference - WAS: IBM investment in i -- MIDRANGE-L

errr.... you find this confusing? Why?

iBook
iMac
iPod
iPhone
iSeries

Neil, This whole mess is just a disgrace.
Examples of how to do it right are all over the place. Even now, we can look to how Ford resurrected the Mustang and the Thunderbird nameplate with HUGE success. An example of successful and profitable niche products include Saturn, the PT Cruiser, Jeep Cherokee, and the Hummer. IBM could do the same thing with this platform and avoid homogenizing their products.

IBM could do the same sort of thing with the AS/400 name plate and easily create a truly great niche for several more decades. Even if IBM does nothing more, there is little doubt that the platform will be around for at least a decade, maybe two. Thats a very long time in the computer business.

There is a certain cachet with the nameplate, and it could be exploited, not a "managed decline."

Neil Palmer wrote:

Trevor,

In answer to your first three questions, No, No & No.
I think #4 and #5 are basically the same question, and
on the theory that no publicity is bad publicity, I
think you could argue my article and this discussion
in Midrange-L are part of the answer.
Really, the fact we even have to ask what WE are doing
to promote the platform, instead of what IBM is doing,
is nothing short of an absolute disgrace. Name one
other company that refuses to advertise and promote
what should be one of its star products, to say why it
is better and to differentiate it from its
competition, and leaves it to its customers to do its
work for it.
I wouldn't care if they renamed it the Edsel - as long
as IBM mounted some sort of half decent campaign to
establish some brand recognition (which they have a
habit of throwing away every time they start) and
explain to the "uneducated masses" what it is, why
it's better than its competition, and why you would
want it to run your business. You know the answer to
that. I know the answer to that. Probably everyone
on this list knows the answer to that. The outside
world doesn't. Without the outside world knowing the
reasons they should look to and use this wonderful
product it WILL eventually wither away and die (yes,
like OS/2). The future of "i" is as a "functionally
stabilized" operating system that will run for years
on IBM hardware. Its main appeal is to existing
customers, and to the small number of new customers
who need an application that does not run on Linux,
Unix or Windows.
We all know WHY we will never see a concerted effort
on IBM's part to draw new customers to this platform. Simple economics. IBM makes most of its money on
services. Our platform doesn't generate enough
revenue for services because it's so integrated and
easy to use compared to its competition (praise be to
Rochester for that), therefore it is not in IBM's best
interests to expand the customer base for this
platform. It's a simple as that and no amount of
wishful thinking (or in my case I suppose you'd say
bitching) is going to change that. That doesn't mean
to say I expect either of us will give up trying to do
what we think is best for this platform.

SO - any sort of concerted marketing effort from IBM
to push this platform isn't going to happen. So how
do WE promote the platform? Simple, we will use all
the information provided on IBM's web site that
explains the benefits and advantages of "i" over AIX,
Linux & Windows. Its low total cost of ownership and
maintenance. All of the features that are integrated
into it. Its outstanding reliability and ease of use.
Its fiercely loyal, satisfied, dedicated and vocal
customer base. Why "i" is designed for business in
ways that Unix, Linux & Windows are not. Why you
should use it to run your business instead of those
other operating systems. Oh, wait a minute. I can't find any such pages on
IBM's web site. Could you point them out to me?
I'm not complaining about the past, just providing a
clear picture of the future: a product that, in spite
of what IBM propaganda says, is "functionally
stabilized". There will be no sudden moves, no
"withdrawal from marketing", no "withdrawal of
support". And no innovation. Just catch up.
Call this an AS/400's purist perspective if you must,
but I think the fate of our platform was sealed almost
before it was born, back when IBM won the anti-trust
law suit against the US government. If the General
Systems Division had been spun off into a separate
company back then things sure would have been
different. Somewhere there's an alternate universe
where Rochester controls its own fate and the AS/400
brand is as strong and respected as Apple, Ferrari and
Google. The only problem in that alternate universe
is that constitutional term limits have been abolished
and George W Bush, following the lead of Idi Amin, has
declared himself President for Life (yes, and King of
Scotland). ;-)

PS - you think sitting on your arse is easy? Wait
till you get hemorrhoids ! You don't have that
problem yet do you? Just checking. ;-)

...Neil

--- Trevor Perry <trevor@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Neil,

I have discovered an interesting division based on
the shenanigans on
midrange-L. There are the people who want to live in
the glorious past, and
there are those who care about the future of the
"platform". For those who
live in the past, it is ALWAYS hilarious to make the
joke about "what it is
called today".

As humans, it is easy to sit on our arses and
complain when our world is
significantly changed. And, from an AS/400's purist
perspective, the world
is no longer warm and green and fuzzy. They have to
deal with IBM's approach
to business. And most of the crap that is zinging
around this month is about
IBM having an approach to business that is not the
one that fits the
complainer personally. Well, bad luck. IBM has
changed the paradigm. And no
amount of complaining will bring back the glorious
green past. And no amount
of pointing out IBM's 'mistakes' will change
anything - it will just mean
more arses will get fatter sitting in a chair and
typing complaints to
midrange-L, or any other forum that can be annoyed.
Easy, but not
productive.

Anyone can have an opinion. And with midrange-L, we
all know about all of
them.
I ask you these questions - and everyone else who
has words on this topic.
- Are you simply complaining?
- Are you just pointing out IBM's apparent missteps?
- Are you pissed because it is not called what ~you~
want?
- What are you doing about the FUTURE of the
platform?
- What are you going to PROMOTE the platform?

Just checking,
Trevor

On 5/7/08 11:11 PM, "Neil Palmer"
<neilpalmer400mr@xxxxxxxx> wrote:

Trevor,

Just playing devils advocate here, because I KNOW

you

are dedicated to ________
(fill in the blank from the list:)
AS/400
eServer iSeries
iSeries
eServer i5
System i5
System i
i irene

and I really DO appreciate/envy your enthusiasm.

But (apart from the fact i5/OS, AIX & Linux have

been

running on the same hardware for years) if one

could

say IBM has brought "i" to the mainstream because

it

now runs on the same hardware platform as AIX &

Linux,

could one not also say IBM brought OS/2 to the
mainstream because it ran on the same hardware
platform as Windows?

;-)

...Neil

--- Trevor Perry <trevor@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

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