RE: AS/400 heritage and iSeries Nation Emergence

[mcrump@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Don,

Very well put.

Couple of thoughts.  Did anyone listen to how Malcolm said things on the
Webcast?  For a couple of AS/400 capabilities his comparison's were very
non-IBMish.  I'll have to go back and listen to it again to be able to quote him
properly.  However, he mentioned at least twice that I know of that a capability
of the AS/400 was the best in the industry and pointedly mentioned that was
outside of IBM or even inside of IBM.  I almost fell of my chair (thank god I'm
short).  An IBMer (one of our favorites of course) actually said publicly that
an AS/400 could do something better than other IBM computer systems.  I waited
for Malcolm to be nailed by a flying cookie and it didn't happen.....

<rant mode on>
I just attended the IT Exists roadshow.  It was fairly benificial.  They start
the show with a cute commercial (long running, somewhat geekish, we'll never see
it on TV) that touted the integrated benefits of the AS/400 compared to other
machines (unmentioned of course).  Pretty good start.

Maybe it's just me but we did have to endure listening to why IBM had to rebrand
it's machines.  Mentally, I was pretty close to tuning out the speaker and
replaying my favorite fantasy (all very g-rated mind you).

But it just absolutely irked me to hear them talk about the zSeries and state
that they are the ' Most reliable, mission-critical data transaction servers on
earth'.  You could just see people in the room look at each other.  I almost
wished I was feeling aggravated enough to ask the speaker how they could say
that when we all know what is the most reliable, mission-critical data
transaction server on the earth.  For what it is worth, we migrated from one of
those lameframe boxes so we could improve our reliability.....

I suppose I'm being picky but that kind of stuff is almost an insult....sorry if
I'm taking life to serious here....
<rant mode off>

Hey do you think we will ever see the Cookie Man at COMMON again? lol

Michael Crump
Saint-Gobain Containers
1509 S. Macedonia Ave.
Muncie, IN  47302
(765)741-7696
(765)741-7012 f
(800)428-8642



|--------+----------------------->
|        |          Don          |
|        |          <dr2@cssas400|
|        |          .com>        |
|        |                       |
|        |          05/03/01     |
|        |          08:14 AM     |
|        |          Please       |
|        |          respond to   |
|        |          MIDRANGE-L   |
|        |                       |
|--------+----------------------->
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  |                                                                            |
  |       To:     MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com                                      |
  |       cc:     (bcc: Mike Crump/IT/SGContainers)                            |
  |       Subject:     RE: AS/400 heritage and iSeries Nation Emergence        |
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JT, et al...

For starters, the folks on the editorial staff of iSeries have done one
helluva job of turning the old rah-rah rag poor excuse for a marketing
press release magazine of 4 or so years ago into a rather decent little
tech journal with some nice and useful tech and management stuff in it.  I
know that they've still got some of the old stigma from before they took
over, but guys they've make some really decent changes.  I think you
should give them credit...and as ANY of them will tell you, I was one of
their largest critics back then and "back then" I flat out refused to
waste my time reading the pub.  Today I see good reason to read through
the pub...and it's not just because I write a one pager for them.

Things have changed ALOT.  And they continue to.  And it's now a
publication that has earned respectability for the calibre of its contents
and editorial and techincal staff.  Frankly, Rock, Hoover and Tardy
deserve a "atta boy" for thier turnaround!

Now, guys, I fully understand the frustrations your feeling with the
half backed cookie chef wannabe thats in Armonk.  If you want to get
pissed with his lack luster performance, fine!  But do it where it will do
some good.  Target Lou directly!

Personally, EACH AND EVERY article you read that has Gerstner in it, you
should be calling that author up and blasting them for not asking him why
he's being such a dork on iSeries marketing.  Why is he letting iSeries
sales plummet due to lack of proper market present of proper perception?!

I'm not talking just Computerworld, I'm talking Wall Street Journal, IBD,
Business Week, Bloomberg, Fortune, Forbes.  Lou ONLY answers to dollars
and you'd be surprised how these folks can wing sentiment.

Then call you broker up, ask them who the analyst is that covers IBM.
Then call THEM and blast THEM for not holding Lou's feet to the fire and
letting iSeries sales drop from no advertising/marketing.   That you think
their estimate of the price of the stock is wrong and they're not taking
this into account....  Once the market starts to reflect things like last
quarters drop in iSeries sales, some idiots in Armonk will put their
crumpets down and take notice!

Then go do the same thing for CNBC, CNNFC, etc....

Folks, the new jobless rate just came out this morning and it's well into
what's considered recessionary territory.  This hurts.  And not having a
product to work on that people know about sucks even more!  Imagine having
to go job hunting and nobody knows the system that you've got 15 years
experience on!?  THAT you need to blame Gerstner for, not the editorial
staff of a tech magazine!

IBM'ers, you NEED to stop positioning the iSeries as just another NT or
eunochs server in the eyes of the public.  To have a major manager get up
on in effect equate it to the heap of generic clone NT or eunochs boxes
did you a major disservice.  You NEED to stop  playing all those
propaganda advertizements for us at COMMON and play them on the Super Bowl
instead.  Frankly, I don't want to see any more of them at this Common.
I'm damn tired of IBM only wanting to preach to the choir, but that
appears to be the only target market Lou will let them preach to.

Ever wonder how much Microsoft Stock Gerstner might own?

You're going to hopefully see more of this on a web page coming to a
browser near you soon...along with names and phone numbers to call.  I
just hope you have the balls to match your mouths and fingers when it
comes to taking REAL action.

Until then, get ready for the REAL emergence of The iSeries Nation....:)

Don in DC....

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