Re: Midrange Computing is liquidating.

Here's a thought.  What if IBM thinks the only way the iSeries can survive is by
getting rid of RPG?  The thinking would go something like this.

   1. Customers are tied to their legacy applications by the programs they've
grown accustomed to.

   2. These legacy applications taint the iSeries when it's competing against 
the
latest technologies because competitors dismiss
       them as old green screen applications.

   3. Most of these green screen applications are in RPG and a lot of the more
valuable ones are interactive in nature.

   4. Now what happens if we suddenly make a seemingly unrelated marketing
change, breaking the pricing of the AS400 into
       two separate features, batch and interactive, and then charge a fortune
for the interactive segment.  And let's make it even
       more interesting by tuning CFINT so it really does succeed as a governor
when you move to versions 4.5.

   5. How long will it take for RPG and the high price of the interactive 
feature
to be linked together, making new technologies
       like Domino, JAVA, et al, more appealing because they conveniently run in
batch as far as the AS400 is concerned (even
       though this changes the definition of batch a bit)?  Thus through a 
little
sleight of hand the argument changes from language
       vs. language (with a company usually having to rely on its own in-house
programmers judgment) to an argument simply
       over dollars (with a company having more than enough accountants to make 
a
case against the legacy).

Just thinking out loud of course.  It also makes me wonder about the requirement
that you have to move to 4.5 (where the governor works very well) to get to an
820 box.  Some weekend when no ones on the system I'm going to start a bunch of
interactive jobs, set them to 0 priority, and see if they can give the governor 
a
run for its money.  (Of course I won't change the class priority value in case I
have to re-IPL to get QINTER functioning again.)



Jim Franz wrote:

> Many posts are asking or pointing to iSeries decline as the reason for MC's
> demise. It is clear the iSeries is not growing by leaps & bounds. But it is
> also clear the entire tech industry & many other publications are having
> similar problems. One of the biggest Internet & paper magazines, The
> Industry Standard www.thestandard.com has shrunk dramatically in size (more
> than MC & News) and is in the middle of dramatic layoffs & cutting. Compaq,
> Dell, Gateway are all slashing. HP's going to layoff 6,000 workers! Some
> fiber optics co just took a 45Billion hit. Lucent may die. And look who just
> posted a modest return?
> IBM! and the iSeries division still "made" money. The rumors of our demise
> are greatly exaggerated.
> jim
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Leif Svalgaard" <leif@leif.org>
> To: <MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com>
> Sent: Friday, July 27, 2001 2:01 PM
> Subject: Re: Midrange Computing is liquidating.
>
> > the not paying attention was just a take-off on your signature.
> > no need to be sorry.
> > and lots of other (most?) people are also in denial.
> > the good news is that IBM apparently foresee a
> > slow demise of the platform. Extrapolating their own
> > figures show a 1.5% decline per year. since the
> > fraction of IBM's revenue resulting from the AS/400 now
> > stands at about 10%, you can do the arithmetic.
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: Chris Rehm <javadisciple@earthlink.net>
> > To: <MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com>
> > Sent: Friday, July 27, 2001 12:27 PM
> > Subject: Re: Midrange Computing is liquidating.
> >
> >
> > > That so? So everyone else here has been expecting this but I was in
> denial?
> > > Wow, sorry.
> > >
> > > Chris Rehm
> > > javadisciple@earthlink.net
> > > If you believe that the best technology wins the
> > > marketplace, you haven't been paying attention.
> > >
> > >
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: "Leif Svalgaard" <leif@leif.org>
> > > To: <MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com>
> > > Sent: Friday, July 27, 2001 9:04 AM
> > > Subject: Re: Midrange Computing is liquidating.
> > >
> > >
> > > > maybe you just haven't been paying attention?
> > > > It is called denial...
> > > >
> > > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > > From: Chris Rehm <javadisciple@earthlink.net>
> > > > To: <MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com>
> > > > Sent: Friday, July 27, 2001 10:37 AM
> > > > Subject: Re: Midrange Computing is liquidating.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > > Well, I'm not sure it is all doom and gloom, but I know it isn't a
> > > > > _positive_ sign.
> > > > >
> > > > > I think it mostly says that the market for AS/400 specific
> technologies
> > > is
> > > > > getting smaller. Which would mean, I suppose, that if the iSeries is
> to
> > > > > survive it needs to compete in more popular marketplaces.
> > > > >
> > > > > But what it really says to me is that the market is much further
> along
> > > that
> > > > > road than I thought. I am very sorry to hear that! It caught me off
> > > guard,
> > > > I
> > > > > guess I thought I'd have heard more speculation about such an event
> > > before
> > > > > it happened.
> > > > >
> > > > > Chris Rehm
> > > > > javadisciple@earthlink.net
> > > > > If you believe that the best technology wins the
> > > > > marketplace, you haven't been paying attention.
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > > > From: "Don" <dr2@cssas400.com>
> > > > > To: <MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com>
> > > > > Sent: Friday, July 27, 2001 7:35 AM
> > > > > Subject: Re: Midrange Computing is liquidating.
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > > UH, What do you THINK is says?! :)
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > > At 09:17 PM 7/26/2001 -0700, you wrote:
> > > > > > >I've got to say, Don, this blows my mind. Unreal. What does that
> say
> > > > > about
> > > > > > >the state of the market?
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >----- Original Message -----
> > > > > > >From: "Don" <dr2@cssas400.com>
> > > > > > >To: <Undisclosed recipients:>
> > > > > > >Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2001 3:49 PM
> > > > > > >Subject: Midrange Computing is liquidating.
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > I just recieved a call from Shawnna Allison at Midrange
> > Computing.
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > The company is folding.  They told the employees that today is
> > > their
> > > > > last
> > > > > > > > day.
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > This is a bit of a shock.....
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > Don in DC
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > >
> > >
> > >
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