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Simply put, to compare punch-card standards with interactive terminal standards is rather like comparing apples and prunes. The fact is that all Twinax terminals from the 3487 on have mouse support, and non-spece-consuming attributes, and a text semigraphics character set to support windowing. Moreover, the 3489 has full bitmapped graphics support (as did at least one previous model of Twinax terminal). Moreover, NO 5250 EMULATOR EVER MADE DOES THE JOB BETTER THAN AN ACTUAL RECENT-MODEL TERMINAL, PARTICULARLY IF WE CONSIDER BOTH FUNCTION AND AESTHETICS, AND FEW EVEN MANAGE TO COME CLOSE.
But that gets completely away from the original thrust of my National Model Railroad Association analogy, which is that model railroading is the way it is today, with practically everything freely interchangable, BECAUSE the standards were set NOT by manufacturers, but by A MANUFACTURER-INDEPENDENT GROUP REPRESENTING THE NEEDS OF THE END-USERS. And the computer industry is the way it is today, the way model railroading was seventy years ago, BECAUSE HARDWARE AND OPERATING SYSTEM VENDORS ARE DICTATING STANDARDS TO END-USERS AND APPLICATION VENDORS, AND JEALOUSLY GUARDING THE PROPRIETARY NATURE OF THOSE STANDARDS, AND IN MANY CASES THROWING THEM OUT CAPRICIOUSLY, FOR THE SAKE OF STIFLING COMPETITION.
-- JHHL
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