Re: Saving the System i: Fight Rather Than Switch

["Trevor Perry" <tperry@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Mark,

Most people here know my thoughts on this. GUI can improve productivity by 
30 to 80 percent. And, it costs MORE for green training in today's modern 
world. Data entry is human-error-prone outdated and can be replaced by 
myriads of choices. Green screen is simply kept for familiarity and 
resistance to change.

I think that the System i can ALREADY be defined as matching the GUI 
definition you have - it has an HTTP server. I think it is YOUR applications 
that are not up to speed. That is what is giving the System i the bad rep - 
not the OS..

Trevor


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "M. Lazarus" <mlazarus@xxxxxxxx>
To: "Midrange Systems Technical Discussion" <midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, December 11, 2006 12:16 AM
Subject: Re: Saving the System i: Fight Rather Than Switch


> Trevor,
>
>  For the record, from a practical, business data entry standpoint, I
> don't think that a GUI has a major advantage over green screen (the
> exception being navigation.)  In fact, it may be a hindrance.  But,
> when it comes to identifying a screen / panel as being modern of old,
> a half decent GUI will look and fell more comfortable to the average
> user and manager and person in a software purchasing position.
>
>  Enhancing an application is a lot different than making it a
> crucial part of your application.  If I require a third party GUI
> application to market together with my software, then it's usually a
> non-starter.  It might be OK as an optional component.
>
>  BUT, and here's the key, you can throw as many 3rd party GUI
> vendors as you out there into the mix, but the system won't be known
> in the marketplace as having a native GUI.
>
>  As far as the name is concerned, if IBM was truly pushing the brand
> name - AND added the modern, very visible components, then I think
> that it would make a difference.  Anything else and it doesn't make
> much difference.
>
>
>  -mark