Re: Outsourcing ==> iSeries as MAC

[John Myers - MM <jmyersmm@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Mark,

The similarity of the iSeries and the MAC has been a long-time issue with 
me ... if Apple had put 5250/3270 emulation and a token ring LAN port in 
the early MAC's, Bill Gates would still be successful, but not the richest 
guy on the planet.  Apple's "corporate culture" wouldn't permit it ... and 
eventually needed a $250,000,000 bailout from Microsoft to survive.  The 
MAC could have been what WinTel is on the desktop!

If IBM hadn't harvested the AS/400 product line ... and USED THE CASH THAT 
IT THREW OFF to grow the Unix and Windows server businesses FOR MARKETING 
THE AS/400, the iSERIES would still be a star ... rather than the fallen 
star that it is today ...

My company sells a specific software package that is the only one of its 
kind sold in the USA ... period.  Our customers' alternative is to invest A 
LOT OF MONEY to write their own.  On about 50% of our sales calls, our 
customers give us a "hard stop" in the sales cycle ... and things stop dead 
in their tracks ... this moment comes when they learn that it runs on an 
IBM iSeries processor ... ONLY.  They don't care about the quality of the 
hardware or the value that our software adds to the business ... they are 
allergic to the iSeries platform PERIOD!

I teach an AS/400 curriculum in a local community college ... few, if any, 
of my students know what an AS/400 or iSeries eServer is ... as you can 
guess, getting sufficient enrollment to justify a class is a BIG problem.

While I have been one of the biggest bigots around in favor of the AS/400, 
I can't afford this.  All new software that we create will run on multiple 
platforms ... perhaps also under OS/400 if there is demand.

John

At 09:55 AM 8/15/2003, you wrote:
> This week's Cringely article is very appropos to some discussions that
> have been going on recently on this list.
>
> It mainly covers the issue of sending IT jobs to India, but it begins with
> some stuff about why more IT groups do not use Apple.  You could easily
> substitute iSeries for Apple.
>
> http://www.pbs.org/cringely/