Monday announce - interactive tax

Last week I posted the following:

> I listened to it today via www.ignite.org.  Call me jaded, but I wasn't
> impressed.  I didn't hear anything that I hadn't heard before.
>
> I was especially displeased with his answer to the "interactive tax"
> question.  He didn't answer the caller's question, IMO.  Zeitler stated
> that IBM was going to make it easier to get "capacity-on-demand" I think
> he called it.  He didn't say anything about the $$$.  The caller's
> complaint was not that he couldn't _get_ the capacity he needed for
> interactive, the complaint was why IBM _charged so much_ for the 5250
> and thereby penalized long-term green screen customers.  He never
> answered that question.  IBM has been asked that repeatedly and never
> answered it.
>
> The 'new mainframe' thing also supports the complaint heard repeatedly
> that IBM is interested only in the large customers.  What about us
> really little guys?
>
> I hope the announcement(s) Monday is better.

Anne Lucas forwarded it to Kim Stevenson, who sent me the following:

> Jeff, thanks for your candid feedback.  I hope you will dial in on Monday
> to hear the latest.  As you can imagine, if Bill had given away the details
> of our announcement on the 23rd, there would be no announcement on the
> 29th.  He was not intending to ignore the question but rather point the
> group to Monday's call.
>
> Kimberly S. Stevenson
> Vice President,  Marketing Operations
> T/L 826-4970, (914) 766-4970, FAX (914) 766-4842, T/L 826-4842
> Kantwell@us.ibm.com

I was unable to listen yesterday because the phones were out.  A couple
of questions:

1) I didn't see anything in the handout I downloaded regarding the
elimination of this interactive tax.

2) All I saw was that it was now easier for IBM to get our money for the
interactive tax because, if I read it right, you can now have the
hardware that will get you additional interactive capacity _already
installed_ when you get the iSeries.  You just don't have to pay for it
until you actually tell IBM you want to use it.  Then IBM will charge
you.  Mind you, the hardware (read "IBM investment") has been there,
installed,  all along.  Did I understand this correctly?

3) Was there anything for the little guy?  Was the little guy even
acknowledged?

--
Jeff Crosby
Dilgard Frozen Foods, Inc.
P.O. Box 13369
Ft. Wayne, IN 46868-3369
260-422-7531

The opinions expressed are my own and not necessarily
the opinion of my company.  Unless I say so.