Re: Is AS/400 is dead ? You control the answer to that question! -- MIDRANGE-L

At 07:46 PM 8/6/01, you wrote:
>Ken:
>         You hit the nail right on the head.Just check out the courses 
> available
>in almost every other form of computing, and there are courses.
>         AS400 will probably die in a few years, simply because of marketing
>pressures, and lack of exposure by the computing community at large.

>Tom:
>After 6 years with the Department of Education supporting Teacher 
>Certification, I got a feeling for such requirements. I also got a feeling 
>for what they're worth!
>
>I know what you're saying. But I still feel the same and I suspect others 
>do also. And it's unfortunate that your final conclusion has validity. I 
>don't like it, but there's no path around it that's likely to be taken. At 
>least I sure don't know of one.

Ken & Tom (& the rest of you out there):

If we say that the AS/400 will die, then guess what ... SHAME ON US.

The ongoing life of the AS/400 depends on EVERY MEMBER of the AS/400 community.

I have little faith in organized exercises like the "iSeries Nation" ... 
collective responsibility is doomed to fail.  Also, members of that group 
are already sold on the AS/400.  The key is to reach individuals who are 
not part of the AS/400 family.

The key is for EVERY INDIVIDUAL to exercise INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY in 
helping the AS/400 to prosper.

The issues are clear ...
   -  Without new folks entering the AS/400 area ... the platform will die
   -  Without IBM marketing the AS/400 to the general computing community 
... the platform will die

The solutions are clear ...
   - Hire & train new staff in the AS/400 (we have done so for years)
   - Have your company be a IBM AS/400 Partners in Education sponsor for 
your local community college
   - Tell your friends about the AS/400 ... send a letter to your local 
press touting the AS/400 every time that you hear another "Code Red" 
like-Virus story
   - If ANYONE FROM IBM IS LISTENING ... PLEASE MOVE MONEY INTO THE 
MARKETING BUDGET ... EVEN AT THE EXPENSE OF NEW SOFTWARE FEATURES!!!

I would rather spend $10,000,000 telling the computing world about the 
benefits of the AS/400 than spend $10,000,000 enabling the AS/400 to run 
Linux.

The rumors of the name "OS/4i" appearing in this list may be an early 
indication that IBM is planning to "re-launch" the AS/400 (just like the 
AS/400 was a re-launch of the System/38 product).  If so, it will CERTAINLY 
be up to us to DO OUR PART!

<ADV>  And also run your (& your kids) sports leagues on AS/400-driven 
http://www.ScoreBook.com     </ADV>   ;-)

On that note, let's take this conversation off line (if you want to 
continue it) ...


John Myers
IBM Certified Specialist - AS/400 Technical Solutions
IBM Certified Specialist - Advisor for e-Business
Strategic Business Systems, Inc.
17 S. Franklin Turnpike, Ramsey, NJ 07446  USA
E-mail: mailto:jmyers@sbsusa.com   Phone: +1 (201) EASY 400   x131
Web:    http://www.sbsusa.com      Fax:   +1 (201) 327-6984

Free Sports League Management - Powered by AS/400
      http://www.ScoreBook.com

Get and route intelligence from your IBM AS/400 web site - WebSurvey/400
      http://www.WebSurvey400.com

Systems supporting the distribution operations of Motor Vehicle manufacturers
     http://www.VehicleSystem.com

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