Also - to add to PoC's argument, it's not just hobbyist machines, but also dev/test/training.
I'm currently at a very large i shop that is struggling big time with finding fresh meat to maintain/develop for our infrastructure here. We are currently considering moving from a leased model to a purchasing model for our POWER systems so we can trickle through the hardware from PROD to DEV/TEST to TRAINING.
For DEV/TEST the cloud argument is very valid, but for TRAINING it's not. If we want to train a new generation of sysp's fresh out of school, we need to be able to give them hands-on time with a machine, give them the opportunity to break an install and then sit through the process of rebuilding it all etc. This is not something we can do with cloud instances, and doing this with the obsolete models means we can do this fully separate from PROD/TEST/DEV, so if someone accidentally manages to destroy the vgroup that contains the partition data on VIOS, it will just be a teaching moment.
For these sorts of use cases, P8s (or even P7s) are still very valid, and the newer features can be taught on the new machines as soon as they get their footing, similar as to how you learn how to drive on a clunker.
On top of this, there is very little effort required to keep issuing *PERM keys, e.g. as a PRPQ.
Also - for the argument that other vendors do this, this is not necessarily what other vendors do. It's common for those so-called other vendors to give you a perpetual fallback license, either at the end of the service life or at the end of your subscription, so the hardware and software version you currently have will keep on working, but with no guarantees. If you decide to renew (or resubscribe), they charge an additional 'reconnection' fee or reset the loyalty discount that they give you.
On 04/09/2023, 09:07, "MIDRANGE-L on behalf of Patrik Schindler" <midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> on behalf of poc@xxxxxxxxxx <mailto:poc@xxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
Hello Larry,
Am 04.09.2023 um 01:21 schrieb Larry DrFranken Bolhuis <midrange@xxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:midrange@xxxxxxxxxxxx>>:
Personally I think IBM is using this to assure you pay for your SWMA. Under the current system you can stop paying and keep using the system forever effectively.
The industry has done so for decades. Since a while this changes to charge customers regularly for their "agile" crap of never finished pile of banana software. Thanks!
I understand that hunting down those bugs also needs resources but that's the general problem the industry is facing: Everything gets more complex (often just for the sake of declaring progress) and employees need to buy food and pay the rent.
It's a comprehensible situation. The devil takes the hindmost.
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But: Today's workhorses are tomorrow's hobbyist machines. Soon it's not a mere question of luck to obtain a system with intact license keys, but guaranteed to not have a big but P10 as a hobbyist machine in 2030! Instead, IBM is contributing to the already much too big pile of electronics scrap!
It's highly appalling to see that IBM now uses another measure to have their fingers on their machines, eventhough you paid hard $$$ to make sure it's yours. And since nobody will risk to lose a lawsuit, they will get away with it. Just as this nuisance "system password", at least for older machines.
Well-done, tie-wearers! The bliss of being a monopolist. And IBM Rochester *is* a monopolist in terms of IBM i.
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If after a decade you decide to upgrade, you pay a 'currency access fee' which only covers a part of the missing revenue.
This is comprehensible, albeit a questionable practice.
Meanwhile, though, IBM still has o pay for all the development and support activities the system required. So effectively you're getting a bargain!
I'd not call this a bargain. What's there to gain for the customer compared to the way it's currently? Nothing! IBM Rochester already calculates their fees to be at the maximum bearable value without customers complaining too much. Almost every vendor does so! Occasionally throwing in a treat to calm down those grumbling too loud.
Leaving aside tax-related issues, this is all but a bargain. It's another case of milking customers regularly instead of just once. But since tax-related issues are applicable to almost all IBM i customers (because they're businesses) IBM can claim that it's a bargain because taxes can be reduced by their step. They throw in treats, "free" giveaways to sweeten the taste. If you look closely, those have most likely been licensed by almost all customers anyway. Just another case of mixed calculation by IBM.
I can live with that, because it's not affecting me at all. But I still have an opinion about that.
What's left is no afterlife for the machines. Unless IBM starts to officially recognize the hobbyist community and starts to think about issuing licenses to non-business poeple. An eye IBM Rochester is largely blind on, despite them RPMing more and more software, at least initially being created by (not necessarily IBM i) hobbyists. Double-standard, anyone?
:wq! PoC
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