Keith said:
On Thu, 05 Aug 2004 04:17:33 +0000, Dean Kent wrote:
Actually, Dean, yes it is. SOftware that's lost its source decades ago
still runs. Software rules enterprise hardware, not the other way around.
I'm really surprised, given your background that you don't understand
simple reality. IBM's FS was still-born precisely because backwards
compatablility is far more important than hardware.
Keith, given my background I think I have fair visibility into the
*customer* side of things. This is something you obviously do not have.
Though it doesn't surprise me that you believe the IBM press releases. IBM
did not become a giant solely because of backward compatibility. It became
a giant because of anti-competitive business practices as well, which caused
a *lot* of angry customers to hail MS and Intel as the saviors of the
computing industry in the '80s. Arguing that MS is only a giant because of
evil practices, while IBM got there due to nothing but goodness is either
naive or extremely disingenuous. As you indicate below, I am willing to
give you the benefit of the doubt...
Oh, Pkease Dean! This all stopped dead with the '56 consent decree.
Neither of us were in the business (I was almost ready for kindergarten
and I doubt you were alive_ when this was entered into.
Excuse me? The anti-trust lawsuits against IBM I am referring to are from
the 70's and 80's. If you actually care to be knowledgable, you can read a
bit about them here:
http://www.hagley.lib.de.us/1912.htm#series1
There was obviously far more to it than that. The OEMI interface was a
standard long before (see above). Printers were not part of the system.
Yes, I'm calling you misinformed (benefit of the doubt given,
reluctantly).
Sorry Keith. I was there, you were not. I am not misinformed - you are. I
realize that this is a very difficult thing to accept, sometimes.
The allowable "tactics" were well laid out by the '56 consent decree.
Laid out or not, IBM angered many customers with their tactics, but since
they were effectively a monopoly until the PC era there was little customers
could do. It is no coincidence that IBM lost much of their industry
influence when many fled to other platforms when they realized they could.
I was a customer then, you were not. I was a member of IBM user groups. I
know what the sentiment was. Denial ain't just a river in Egypt!!!
My bet is that the box was leased. Otherwise you were free to have anyone
blow it up. Yes, there were *many* problems with add-on memory. Some
understood, some not so. In any case GM doesn't warrant a Ford engine in
thier cars. If you blow the tranny, too bad.
Yes, the box was leased. The problem wasn't that IBM wouldn't touch it - it
was that they wouldn't allow Amdahl to touch it but had no problem with the
customer doing it himself. Sort of like telling you that you can't use
anyone but a GM mechanic to install aftermarket parts, unless you do it
yourself. Wacky. This was simply an annoyance, of course, but helped
contribute to the attitude that IBM was not so customer oriented as the
press releases want you to believe.
Has always worked for me! ;-)
You should get out more often. It helps to get a dose of reality on
occasion. ;-).
I know you dropped out of the groups for a while.
Only those infected with politics, where the main discussion tactics are ad
hominems, innuendo, character assasination and arguments based upon deceit
and fallacy. I also avoid most web forums for the same reason. There are
a few relatively untainted ones left, however. While I have a great deal
of respect for you, and your knowledge, I am also somewhat surprised that
there are a few subjects where reason seems to get left behind.
Perhaps you were having
a lobotomy? IBM hasn't been able to force *anyone* to lease since the
'56 consent decree.
Again, I suggest you read the IBM press releases with a grain of salt. You
aren't in Kansas anymore, Toto.
If your management chooses to lease, then it's their
business decision. M$ will force everyone to "rent" their OS. Indeed
their data will no longer belong to them, if you believe the license
agreements. No, you're being "disingenuous" again Dean.
Since when has MS *forced* you to buy Windows, or upgrade? It is a business
decision as well. One can always choose not to use the software. But, just
as with zOS, it is very difficult to find a replacement, so as long as you
have the hardware investment you are pretty stuck on the OS vendor. Fact
is, from what I can tell, MS is wanting to use the mainframe software
license model for their business. It provides a *huge* profit for IBM.
Let's see, last I heard zOS related revenues were close to 50% of all IBM
revenues (hardware, software and services), yet there are only about 11K IBM
mainframes in the world. How odd! BTW, have you heard of 'computing on
demand'? IBM will own the hardware, and you can 'rent' what you need -
along with the expertise to manage it, and any software necessary to run it.
Have you heard of Hercules? Funny thing is that it is virtually impossible
to get a license to run zOS on it, even though it works perfectly well. You
*can*, however, get a license for running it on top of Flex-ES - for a huge
fee. While IBM wishes to give the impression that they are supporting Open
Software, and are the saviors of the software world by helping to free us
from MS, they only support it where it competes with Microsoft. Now, why
would that be? Couldn't be another business decision, could it?
The point is this: When you license the software, you cannot assume support
and upgrades will be free. MS *will* provide support if you pay for it -
and so will IBM. Are you suggesting that IBM will provide *free* support
for any OS that they own? How about hardware? Either you pay for it as
part of your license, or you pay for it when you need it. MS is little
different here, from what I can tell. Buying shrink-wrapped software for
$99 certainly does not pay for any support.
Yes, I understand that MS is the devil incarnate to all IBM employees.
. Anyway, end of discussion. I know where it is headed, and I won't
follow it down. You know my email address if you care to discuss it
privately.
Regards,
Dean