RE: midrange modernization tour question -- MIDRANGE-L

I'll only bother with this once.  Afterwards, it's just giving you mind
space, Trevor, and since that's really just giving Bill mind space, it's
anti-iSeries.


> From: Trevor Perry
> 
> Joe, your biases are truly showing, but your reply has nothing to do
with
> the Midrange Modernization Tour.

No part of what I said was incorrect: Microsoft wishes to see the
iSeries dead.  And the MMT is actively sponsored by Microsoft.  This is
pretty simple stuff.


> Whatever your opinion, J2EE and .Net are both here to stay.

I never said otherwise.  Personally, I think .NET is an interesting UI
alternative.  It is far inferior to the iSeries as a server platform.
Few if any of your partners will say that, though.  Not Fujitsu, or
ASNA, or Sonata, or HiT Software, or Iteration2, and certainly not
Microsoft.


> I think the MMT
> is a good place to get information to understand what choices we have
with
> our iSeries to leverage that new world.

I find the MMT to be an unlikely place to find unbiased J2EE
information, or indeed unbiased information of any kind.


> If you truly believe there is a push to move us away from the
platform,
> why would you not educate yourself on how the MAP partners can fit
> INTO our iSeries world?

As I told Walden when we spoke, as long as ASNA Monarch (or any other
migration tool) is part of the MAP, I am entirely opposed to the
organization.  That's about as clear as I can make it.


> We have the best server on the planet, why are we not happy
> that it can integrate with all the tools in our toolbox?

I'm thrilled, and I think IBM has already made it clear that it embraces
openness.  I only wish Microsoft shared that, perhaps by creating DRDA
or native OS/400 interfaces to its products.


> And, if you
> understand how the MAP partners tools fit into our world, then we have
a
> chance to grow this platform.

An organization that embraces migration tools and vendors has nothing to
do with growing the platform.


> Hiding behind the Java wall throwing insults will not prevent the
world
> from changing.

"Hiding behind the Java wall throwing insults"?  Ah, here's where the
bias lies.  I hope everybody takes a clear note of this statement.

Note that it implies a number of things.  First off, it implies that I
have somehow been insulting.  Other than my crack about pigs flying,
nothing I said was remotely insulting.  It was just facts.  THIS
posting, on the other hand, is a bit more caustic, primarily because
Trevor is being obtuse and obfuscatory, and I hate that.

Second, note that Trevor has conveniently avoided actually addressing a
single fact from my previous message.  No, he talks about being "happy"
and how I need to "educate myself".  Standard doublespeak.  Ignore the
issues, pander platitudes, cast aspersions.

The "educate myself" bit goes along with "will not prevent the world
from changing".  Did you catch that?  He's actually calling me a
technical Luddite! <laughing>  I.E., if you don't get on the Microsoft
bandwagon, you're old technology!  Like, oh... RPG!  Or the iSeries!
Yes indeed, Trevor old bean, you're definitely showing your stripes. 

Finally, it's clear that Java has no place in this environment.  Anybody
who likes J2EE or WebSphere is "hiding behind the Java wall", whereas
those who embrace .NET are "changing the world".


Don't be fooled folks.  This is not about peaceful coexistence.  This is
about surrounding the iSeries with a bunch of .NET, and turning it into
a SQL engine.  Business logic will be migrated off, and once that's
done, there's no reason to keep the box (or those pesky RPG
programmers).

And if they try to sell you the RPG .NET snake oil, please be sure to
ask them why anybody with more than three brain cells would want to run
RPG on anything other than the iSeries.  That's sure to get you some
chuckles, starting with the standard "platform independence" malarky.


Back to bed.  The baby is quiet, and so is the house.  And so is my
conscience.  I keep thinking about that wonderful line from Lynyrd
Skynyrd: "Watergate does not bother me.  Does your conscience bother
you?  Tell me true!"

Replace "Watergate" with "Microsoft", and you have my opinion on the
whole thing down to a tee.  Microsoft doesn't bother me, because I don't
have to justify it!


Joe