Re: Reliability, Reliability, Reliability

Nina wrote that we cannot go to our local book stores & pick up 
"AS/400 for Dummies" & she railed against the sparcity of AS/400 education.

> From: franz400@triad.rr.com (Jim Franz)

>  There is nothing at the local stores to run anything but a tiny business.
>  Word processing, spreadsheets, and Access don't run businesses. 
>  They are good departmental tools. 

> Education-What about the Manta training on cd's? or 400 Group cd's? or
>  others. Also the IBM Satellite Training (etNetworks.com)? For an annual
>  subscription they give you satellite dish & install it! Round the clock
>  courses!
>  10 channels! Cost less than a 1 week course in Rochester! It is out there.

I agree with Jim that there's lots of AS/400 education out there, but 
I am in Nina's camp ... it is invisible to most of the people who want it, so 
there is the general perception that AS/400 education is non-existant.

I get various AS/400 publications & advertising & I try to sell management on 
the notion that my power users ought to get an opportunity to go to this or 
that seminar on AS/400 topics that is being held in a city near home on 
topics that we use every day but could stand to be more proficient in.  
Sometimes I buy a manual on Query/400 or our ERP applications & it 
permanently sits in one person office & does not get shared with other people 
who could get more benefit out of it.

The end user on AS/400, at a site where the MIS staff is either swamped or 
not good at end user training, needs to be able to pick up education to help 
them do their departmental duties, as economically as they can pick up 
"Access for Dummies" or "Windows 98 Visually."  They need to be able to 
locate the education when motivated to go look for it. 

If they come ask me ... I can tell them ... there's tons of books, different 
ways of viewing so if you comfortable with CD, or video, or audio tapes, lots 
in each method of information delivery ... here are some URLs ... tell me 
specific topics that interest you & I will loan you some AS/400 magazines 
with articles on those topics & I have many manuals that I periodically 
reference, but I am not using them constantly & some have sections suitable 
for beginners & I can post it note recommended chapters.

But usually they do not ask me this kind of question - they ask me to modify 
some software, or how to get at some data in the system - I am looked upon as 
a resource for getting productive value out of our system, not neccessarily 
as someone with wider know-how & the first I know someone struggling to learn 
AS/400 is a co-worker tells me he taking a class in RPG at local college & 
has some questions for me ... when I ask what led him to study RPG, well he 
wanted to understand the AS/400 better & thought that would be a good idea.  
If end users do not go to ask their MIS dept where AS/400 education is 
available, then their only choice is what is taught in local academia.

There needs to be something in the local book stores that includes a window 
into AS/400 educational opportunities.  Given all the places that advertise 
in the guides to AS/400 that are distributed to the MIS choir, I imagine they 
would love to advertise in a publication going to general book store shelves, 
which would bring down price of such an effort.

When we got our first AS/400, IBM offered us a free subscription to AS/400 
magazine & we took them up on it, but this is like buried in tons of other 
documentation whose surface we never scratch ... what about the IBM customers 
that do not get that subscription.

I also get News/400 & used to get some other trade press.  
I found out about these publications from other people in our profession.
How are people expected to find out about such things in the first place.

It is like how science fiction conventions are a secret.  You go to one & you 
find out about others.  But how is an SF fan supposet to find out in the 
first place ... they are advertised only inside the SF magzines, not SF 
books, not SF movies.

You look at the events list & pass up on the banquet because it is so 
expensive, until you accidentally passing a room one day at a con & there is 
a ROAST going on with famous SF authors battling against each other & oh wow 
I want to join that audience.  No ticket no admittance.  So after I had been 
going to SF cons for 20 years, I learned that banquet is code name for roast. 

AS/400 education is like that ... if you find one source, it leads you to 
many others that advertise to the choir ... but how is the general AS/400 
public to find out where the education opportunities are located?

Al Macintyre  ©¿©
MIS Manager Green Screen Programmer & Computer Janitor of BPCS 405 CD Rel-02 
running on AS/400 V4R3 http://www.cen-elec.com Central Industries of 
Indiana--->Quality manufacturer of wire harnesses and electrical 
sub-assemblies
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