Re: Midrange Computing is liquidating.

Until they, like IIR with Midrange Computing, decide that it isn't 
generating ENOUGH profit !   ;-)

As an aside, I'd like to see the business plan that shows how long they 
expect it to take to recoup the BILLION dollars they are reportedly 
investing this year in Linux.  Although when you think about it, I guess 
it's just going to end up helping Global Services make money hand over 
fist the way they do with NT - doing what the iSeries already does - 
integrating the system and applications and keeping them up and running. 
And no need to quote me any "statistics" on how Linux doesn't require 
that.  It may not for the techies, and organizations large enough to be 
able to afford to employ them, but you can't tell me the average Ma & Pa 
small business is going to find Linux as easy to run as OS/400.  IBM sees 
the growth is in services, not hardware, and iSeries - OS/400 does not fit 
into that future very well because it doesn't generate huge services 
revenues like operating systems that were designed for a toy computer, or 
designed by drug crazed hippies from the 60's on acid trips, do.
(As we all know, those fine upstanding people in Minnesota who designed 
CPF back in the 60's didn't ingest anything more dangerous than corn and 
John Hardy's Bar-B-Q).

No insult intended to any hippies from the 60's who may now be fine 
upstanding members of the midrange community !  ;-)

...Neil





"Chris Rehm" <javadisciple@earthlink.net>
Sent by: owner-midrange-l@midrange.com
2001/07/28 20:14
Please respond to MIDRANGE-L

 
        To:     <MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com>
        cc: 
        Subject:        Re: Midrange Computing is liquidating.


Leif,
    Your words were very specific, that's why I quoted them. If you wish 
to
change your statements, go ahead and say so.

    I agree that it seems the AS/400 is close to the point in its life 
cycle
where it is simply a supported legacy system. However, I do see that IBM 
is
working hard to keep that from happening. For the simple reason they want 
to
make money with it. I want them to, also. I am hoping that some of the
directions IBM is taking with the AS/400 (iSeries) will pay off and it 
will
be around for a long time to come. Even if it only brings in $10 billion
annual, IBM should keep it around.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Leif Svalgaard" <leif@leif.org>
To: <MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com>
Sent: Saturday, July 28, 2001 4:17 PM
Subject: Re: Midrange Computing is liquidating.


> you are reading much too much into my words.
> All I'm saying is that in any product's life there comes
> a point where it is more profitable to let it die, and
> that that point is real close for the AS/400,iSeries, etc.
> Letting it die in such a way that you extract the maximum
> amount of dollars from it requires careful execution.
> IBM is good at this.
>
> Now, after the platform is dead, you'll find that it will
> live on in small niche-markets, just like MS-DOS,
> the PDP-11, the Amiga, etc still live.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Chris Rehm <javadisciple@earthlink.net>
> To: <MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com>
> Sent: Saturday, July 28, 2001 5:56 PM
> Subject: Re: Midrange Computing is liquidating.
>
>
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Leif Svalgaard" <leif@leif.org>
> > To: <MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com>
> > Sent: Saturday, July 28, 2001 2:30 PM
> > Subject: Re: Midrange Computing is liquidating.
> >
> >
> > > From: Chris Rehm <javadisciple@earthlink.net>
> > >
> > > > So you think that the whole reason IBM developed the AS/400 in the
> first
> > > > place was to milk it to death today?
> > >
> > > II don't think you can draw that conclusion
> >
> > You are the one who stated that conclusion. I was merely trying to
clarify
> > your statements.
> >
> > > > How did they know?
> > > >
> > >
> > > Every product that has built up a user base gets into that phase
> > > sooner or later, so this is not hard to know.
> >
> > But didn't you state that reaching this point was part of a "carefully
> > planned
> > and executed strategy." Are you revising that to state that you feel 
the
> > AS/400 has reached "that phase" as part of a normal process of "every
> > product?"
> >
> > Personally, I don't know that the AS/400 has necessarily reached "that
> > phase" if you mean the phase where it is just dying and the vendor
simply
> > makes his money maintaining the installed base. I think that might 
very
> well
> > be the state of the green screen apps. But the iSeries is being 
marketed
as
> > a server and there are many uses for servers. We'll see if it can grow
into
> > some other markets.





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