Re: What after Year2000 -- MIDRANGE-L

Don,

In a message dated 97-06-14 11:45:00 EDT, you write:

<<snip>>
> n+2:  The programming environment of 2002 will be substancially different
>  than it is today.  GUI will be the name of the game and even though VRPG
>  and JAVA may not be magnum hits now, "windows" and "user friendly" (for
>  STUPID and LAZY users, jmho) will be the environment du jour...  IFF the
>  400 survives, it will serve as a server environment with thin client
>  (thanks for the good idea, Lou B.!) and not the box that we all migrated
>  our S/38 and (that glorified PC with VSAM support, aka s/36) onto back
>  several years ago.  Frankly, NT is driving this direction.
<<snip>>

You IFF statment implies that the AS/400 does not survive (S/36 OCL) :-)!
 After having just fired off a note to another forum on the GUI issue, I must
protest your "stupid and lazy user" statement.  Indeed, GUI has been FORCED
upon the user by stupid and lazy management that heard at some conference
that it was more productive, without relying on any studies to support this
assumption.

Heck, I've have users that REFUSE TO THIS DAY to give up their 5250's (yes,
some are still operational) because they LIKE them (and the accompanying
"rasberry", go figure).  Imagine a whole room full of 3477C or higher
terminals, with that ONE "white monster" sitting in the corner!  These users
"don't need no stinkin' GUI", just something that makes their lives easier.
 One of my major concerns over the new BPCS Client/Server (full mode) is that
it is just THAT -- GUI, PC-Based, one MORE thing for busy users to have to
learn that they don't want to.  Client/Server and GUI are to our industry
what JIT was to the manufacturing industry not long ago -- sounds good to
management, but the real-world answer is probably "some of both, and probably
less of the new".

GUI also introduces a level of instability that makes ALL of us look bad.
 Site licenses for PC applications usually involve running the router and/or
emulation software from the network.  What is the part of the system most
likely to fail?  Users don't separate mainframe from midrange, network from
PC, security from audit -- YOU'RE the computer person, and YOUR application
isn't functioning (even if caused by the gateway being down).  Users just
want to get their job done, hopefully in time to leave at 5:00...

JMHO,

Dean Asmussen
Enterprise Systems Consulting, Inc.
Fuquay-Varina, NC  USA
E-Mail:  DAsmussen@AOL.COM

"There is no such thing as a non-working mother." -- Hester Mundis
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