Re: 64 bit Windows...

Dear Rob,

I fully agree with your assessment. One of the
interesting ways IBM could choose to promote the i5 OS
- OS/400 capabilities would be to provide a low cost
demonstration version of the operating system, which
was compatible with the Power PC emulator program
known as PearPC (see http://pearpc.sourceforge.net/). 

As PearPC is compatible with the MAC, Linux, and
WinTel platforms, it means that you would be able to
run this version of i5 OS ? OS/400 on whatever desktop
platform your organization had selected for you. It
also means that IBM business partners could visit
prospective customers with laptop enabled
demonstrations of their products and they could also
provide limited proof of concept i5 OS ? OS/400
demonstrations using a desktop or laptop at a
prospective customer?s site without needing to
necessarily deliver an i5 ? iSeries hardware platform
just to run the demo.

Managed appropriately, I think this concept would help
promote the idea that there are solid alternatives to
using MS Windows for every business requirement
without subjecting the base i5 OS to a significant
increased risk of becoming a virus writers favorite
new target.

Best Regards,

/Paul
--
Paul Tykodi
Principal Consultant
TCS - Tykodi Consulting Services LLC
E-mail:  ptykodi@xxxxxxxxxx


>date: Thu, 28 Apr 2005 15:31:06 +0100
>from: Rob Dixon <rob.dixon@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>subject: Re: 64 bit Windows...
>
>Joe
>
>The trouble is that you are preaching to the choir. 
>We all understand what 64 bits means and the
benefits, >but the world out there does not, and they
won't do >until MS tells them that 64 bit is what they
need. >Then there will be further press articles about
how >Windows 64 is the first mainstream 64 bit
operating >system.  IBM should have told the world
about 64 bits >10 years ago, but they did not.
>
>On the basis of Windows releases so far, we, on
>Midrange, may assume that any 64 bit Windows OS will
>fall over continually, and require continuous
support.  >Even if we are right, it won't matter,
because a great >many Windows users have only used PCs
and their >operating systems that fall over
continually.  But >they believe that that is how
computing is.  Try and >tell them that, on an iSeries,
no rogue program can >bring down the whole system, and
that an iSeries is >rebooted very rarely, they just
don't believe you.  If >you do manage to get their
attention, and they find >out the base price of an
iSeries, and compare that >with a cheap Wintel server,
you have then lost them.  >After all, they know all
there is to know, have lots >of experience and I (and
probably quite a few others >on this list) are just
old folks who are years behind >the times.   I am
talking here not just about end >users, but IT staff
that I have met who have perhaps >15 years experience.
 Microsoft is the world's best >(or only to many
people?) software company.  They are >very >successful
- if their products were rubbish, >they would not be
so successful, would they?
>
>We know better, but we cannot put the world to
rights, >even though we keep on trying.  In my view,
only IBM >can solve the problem by starting to market
iSeries, >64 bits, etc., to the world at large.  They
would >still believe IBM.  But IBM has never done
this, and >despite recent flurries of activity, seems
unlikely >to start now.  They seem more interested in
selling >services and consultancy rather than systems
that >don't need these.
>
>Skype VOIP software is apparently being downloaded by
>155,000 users a day - quite an extraordinary take up
>for a fairly new product that is not marketed.
>
>Perhaps IBM could learn from this. They could produce
>the often discussed low price iSeries in an Thinkpad
>case. We know that they can do it. I am sure that
>this would sell and it would spread the word.
Ordinary >users and their IT staff would get the
opportunity to >use an iSeries - at present most never
come across >one.  Of course, they wouldn't sell Skype
quantities - >Skype is free, but I am sure that the
numbers would be >significant.
>
>So, rather than spending time debating, shouldn't we
>be trying to kick IBM?  Trouble is how do we do it?
>
>Rob
>



                
__________________________________ 
Do you Yahoo!? 
Yahoo! Small Business - Try our new resources site!
http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/resources/