Re: MAKEMONEY cmd

At 11:38 AM 4/2/00 -0400, you wrote:

Let us look at the bottom line:

1.      IBM doesn't care about the AS/400 (even though it is the best 
computer architecture in the world).  IBM only cares about their the fact 
that their MAKEMONEY command, which is the AS/400 and the S/390.  Despite 
this fact, they don't invest in marketing these platforms, because they are 
already profitable.

2.      IBM invests in marketing it's "strategic" platforms.  IBM invests 
in Netfinity because they fantasize that Netfinity can play in the server 
market.  IBM invests in the RS/6000 because they fantasize that the RS/6000 
can eat into the Sun marketplace.

3.      Neither of these "strategic" platforms will ever succeed.  This is 
because the awesome overhead at IBM will never permit them to be cost 
effective.  Mr. Gerstner effectively manages IBM to stock price.  The day 
that Lou announces his retirement, sell your IBM stock, and sell it 
short.  He has done a very efficient job of squeezing all of the 
intellectual capital out of IBM, where it didn't show on it's balance sheet 
(and didn't pay income taxes) and putting it onto the income statement (and 
consequently the balance sheet into retained earnings [there by paying 
income taxes to Mr. Clinton]).

4.      If IBM cared about the long term, they would do things like:

o       Invest in marketing the AS/400.  (The best computer architecture in 
the world.)
o       Not screw their employees by changing the retirement system.
o       Incent experienced employees to stay, and not incent experienced 
employees (their brain trust) to leave early.  Examples include Jim Sloan, 
Wayne Evans, Janet Krueger, and Bill Davidson.  Although these individuals 
have left IBM's AS/400 Division, they still support the AS/400 community.

The bottom line is that the AS/400 is here, and here to stay.  IBM is too 
smart to kill it, and too stupid to market it.  It's not going away, and 
neither is the S/390.  IBM is so political that any one platform will never 
win.

Personally, I have given up on IBM marketing of the AS/400.  We started 
complaining (as a user community) about the ineffective marketing of the 
AS/400 at COMMON in 1991.  IBM hasn't listened in nine years, and there's 
no reason to expect that they will ever listen.

Investing in marketing the AS/400 is good for IBM long term objectives, but 
IBM only cares about tomorrow, not next year.

Al

>Al, et al...
>
>I would submit that you need an additional parm on the MAKMNY *CMD:
>PRODREC with values of *HIGH, *MED, *LOW, *IGNOREDBYIBM, with the
>*IGNOREDBYIBM to be the current default.
>
>As we all know and as I discussed last week with some IBM Mgrs, until the
>product recognition for this brand is improved, the result of your MAKMNY
>function will be at the low end of the curve...
>
>Don inDC
>
>
>
>On Sun, 2 Apr 2000, Doug Lewis wrote:
>
> > Al,
> >
> > This would be nice if it was true, but when was the last time you attempted
> > to get a position without any experience?
> > AS/400 entry level jobs are hard to come by in the current market, almost
> > everyone wants experience. IBM does not have to convince students,
> > businesses need to hire them(required parm for MAKEMONEY cmd) and word of
> > mouth will do the rest.
> >
> > searching for the MAKEMONEY cmd in my text:-)
> >
> > Doug Lewis
> > AS/400 Student
> > Milwaukee Area Tech College
> > dougl1@execpc.com
> > 414.840.0730
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Al Barsa, Jr." <barsa2@ibm.net>
> > To: <MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com>
> > Sent: Saturday, April 01, 2000 4:22 PM
> > Subject: Re: The "greying of Common" Is it still true?
> >
> >
> > >
> > > What IBM has needs to do, and has failed to do IMHO, is convince college
> > > faculties and then students that after they learn after they learn those
> > > crazy CL commands, the byproduct will be to automatically execute the
> > > MAKEMONEY command.
> > >
> > > Al
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > +--------------------------------------------------+
> > > | Please do not send private mail to this address. |
> > > | Private mail should go to barsa@ibm.net.         |
> > > +--------------------------------------------------+
> > >
> > > Al Barsa, Jr. - Account for Midrange-L
> > > Barsa Consulting, LLC.
> > > 400 > 390
> > >
> > > Phone: 914-251-1234
> > > Fax: 914-251-9406
> > > http://www.barsaconsulting.com
> > > http://www.taatool.com
> > >
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+--------------------------------------------------+
| Please do not send private mail to this address. |
| Private mail should go to barsa@ibm.net.         |
+--------------------------------------------------+

Al Barsa, Jr. - Account for Midrange-L
Barsa Consulting, LLC.  
400 > 390

Phone:          914-251-1234
Fax:            914-251-9406
http://www.barsaconsulting.com
http://www.taatool.com
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| This is the Midrange System Mailing List!
| To submit a new message, send your mail to MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com.
| To subscribe to this list send email to MIDRANGE-L-SUB@midrange.com.
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