Re: OS/400 i5/OS -- MIDRANGE-L

Scott,

It is simple, but as I said in a previous email, most people arethinking/living in the past. There is the source of confusion. It IS thissimple, so my question is - why are so many people unable to see thesimplicity of it. The confusion reigns in not looking at the now, butclouding the present with the past. Sure, it is not intuitive, but if I candescribe it in three bullet points, then it ~is~ simple.

And this ~is~ my point. If we start calling it an iSeries, then more peoplewill realize it is something other than an AS/400. And then, we have reasonsto convince those living-in-the-past managers to upgrade the skills of theirorganizations. I am excited because I hear those managers telling me thatthey know what the users want, and can dictate how, when and where to dotheir job. IT is at a crossroads, and SOA is going to leave a lot of thesepeople behind. The more they live in the AS/400 world, the harder it will befor them to survive as a business.

True, using the new name is not enough. But it IS the starting point thatwill tip the scales, IMO. Isn't it time we DID something, instead of theconstant whining about names on this forum, for example? Welcome to the 21stcentury!


Trevor

----- Original Message -----From: "Scott Klement"

Subject: Re: OS/400 i5/OS

Trevor,
It seems to me that most techies in our world are just not willing tolook outside their small green box. Here are some simple facts:
1) eServer is the BRAND
2) iSeries is the FAMILY
3) i5 is the current generation
4) AS/400 is something that is no longer sold
5) Websphere is a BRAND
6) Websphere Application Server is a Websphere PRODUCT
7) WDSC is a Websphere PRODUCT
If this is so simple, then why are so many people confused? Even the "inthe know" people don't understand that i5 is a generation rather than areplacement for the name "iSeries". Certainly the average end consumerdoesn't.
Yes, technically each of these things has a distinct meaning, and yes, ifyou want to explain what they are, it's possible to explain.
But it's not intuitive.  And that's the point.
And, if we keep whining about it, then our IBM marketing folks might dosomething! Oh WAIT!!! THEY ARE!! It is time to stop whining about it, andget with the program. If we wish for the industry to consider ourplatform outdated technology, then we should keep talking AS/400. If wewant our platform to flourish, then we should get behind it and promotethe new era of computing that iSeries has ushered in...
I agree that people should use the term iSeries. I always do, both incasual conversation, and in the things that I publish.
I dont' see why you're getting so excited, though. Around 30% of iSeriesapplications are still being written and maintained in RPG III! These areold clunky green screen applications like the ones written in the 70's and80's. Another 30% of applications are written in RPG IV, but withoutmodularity, without ILE concepts or an MVC design. They're the samemonolithic 70's and 80's programs that people wrote in RPG III, withslightly different syntax.
Heck, I just read a message on RPG400-L where someone wants to writee-mail validation software in RPG III. To me, that's sort of like buyingan iPod for an Amish person.
As long as our programmers continue to churn out outdated, ugly,1980's-style software, and that's the main base of applications for theiSeries, all of this marketing stuff is going nowhere.
We need to reach the managers running iSeries shops and make it clear tothem that it's time to focus on upgrading their employee's skills, andupdating their software to at least the 1998 level of sophistication, ifnot to 2005.
Only then will we be able to project the newer, more modern, image. Usingthe new name isn't enough.