Search 400

I thought that this may be of some interest to the group.  I just received this.


To:     Me
cc:      
Subject:        Why doesn't Search400.com run on an AS/400?


 
My name is Don Hawk, and I'm the founder of Search400.  A number of people have
emailed us, asking why Search400 isn't powered by an AS/400.  It's a legitimate 
question,
and I'd like to respond to it. Our original idea was to run the service on an 
AS/400, and
we still intend to do so.  Let me tell you why we're not there yet.

We launched Search400 because we had the same problem that all of you have:  we 
had
a tough time finding quality AS/400-specific information on the Web.  It was 
spread out
among tons of different web sites, and the major search engines weren't much 
help at
separating the good stuff from the junk.

Our solution to that problem has grown into something much larger than we 
originally
anticipated.  Today, we're the fastest growing AS/400 web site in the industry, 
and the
portal site of choice for thousands of users.  But when we started last year, 
we had no
idea of what to expect.  We set off on a shoestring budget, trying to build the 
best
possible site at the least expense, and working with a Web development partner 
that
I knew and trusted in order to bring this product to market as quickly as 
possible.

I didn't launch the site on an AS/400 because it would have taken us twice as 
much time
to get it to market, and frankly, we didn't realize that we'd grow as quickly 
as we have.
A more immediate concern is the fact that the software packages that we've 
integrated
to bring you the search, chat, and database functionality you've come to expect 
from
Search400 (including industry standards like IChat and AltaVista Search, plus a 
proprietary
middleware tool we use to manage the content) don't yet run natively on an 
AS/400.

Does this mean we're not committed to the AS/400 platform?  Absolutely not.  
We've spent
a lot of time considering how and when we can port this product to an AS/400.  
We've
approached IBM for help, without much success.  Nonetheless, as soon as the 
software
compatibility issues are worked out and it's feasible for us to make this move, 
we'll do
it.  We have an AS/400 already lined up and ready to go.  Believe me, we would 
have
loved to have an AS/400, with its 99.9% uptime, during our ill-fated chat event 
on Tuesday.

Thanks for your feedback on this subject.  Feel free to continue to let me know 
your
thoughts or ideas on this or other Search400 issues, at donh@the400group.com.  
Thanks
for your interest, and your continued use of Search400.



Eric Kempter
CommAir Mechanical Services, Inc.