Tilting at windmills.
Nathan Andelin
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Neil,
The itjungle article titled "IBM Changes Name Back to AS/400, Promises
Return to Glory, TV Ads" was just an April Fools joke. It appears that
you took the article way too seriously! The article's author
(Cervantes) should have given you a clue that it was only a spoof.
Cervantes was actually the author of "Don Quixote". Don Quixote's mind
became so myopically focused on fictional tales of knightly intrigue
that he began interpreting every event of ordinary life in the context
of his fictional readings, and provided a premise for dozens of
hillarious stories of how Don Quixote drew erroneous conclusions about
the people and events he faced.
It appears that your view of IBM i has become so myopically focused,
that you're drawing the erroneous conclusion that it's fate is the same
as OS/2.
The cure may not be simple, but it may help if you were to install Zend
core, or one of the other new technologies that run under IBM i, and see
if it broadens your view. You somehow need to get past CPF.
Nathan.
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On Thu, May 8, 2008 at 5:47 AM, Neil Palmer wrote:
Anne,
I really appreciate you taking the time to reply.
A few comments - it seems I'm equally addicted to
writing books.
(Sorry for the length of this, but unfortunately for
everyone out there I've had insomnia the last few
nights). ;-)
You initially said you only believed what IBM
executives said - you didn't say which ones. I
wouldn't expect you to say on this list which IBM
executive(s) you believe and don't believe, but your
statement seems to confirm what I said - there are
some IBM executives you can not believe. We both know
that at COMMON the execs are often pandering to the
audience. I don't particularly blame them for that -
after all we expect that from alll politicians.
I'm not alone in taking what IBM's "here today, gone
tomorrow" executives say with a grain of salt. And
yes, although Mark Shearer is still around, he is no
longer General Manager, his division no longer exists,
he no longer has sole responsibility for "i", and no
longer has any budgets.
You say you checked and were told the R&D budget was
relatively the same and you believe every word you
heard. I checked with several sources before I made
my comments at COMMON, I was given specific budget
numbers (not a general statement), and I believe every
word I heard. What's more the evidence I have seen
over the past few years confirms what I've heard.
Yes IBM are investing dollars in products for
businesses in the mid-market. I'm sure there are
plenty of companies whose are investing in "products
for businesses in the mid-market". But are they
investing in (OS/400 i5/OS "i") ?
You're a little off in your dates. The letter "i"
became part of the product name in 2000, not in 1996
as you stated. eServer was introduced as the brand
(note - the brand was NOT iSeries) in 2000. In fact
IBM'ers were specifically ordered NOT to refer to it
as simple iSeries, it was always to be referred to as
eServer iSeries. An "i" somewhere in the product name
has only been around for 8 years. Implying that the
product name hasn't changed in those 8 years is
stretching things a little.
The eServer rebranding has to rank up there with New
Coke as one of the biggest marketing blunders ever.
Mark Shearer admitted that at the COMMON Innovation
Awards dinner in Chicago, and to his credit has stated
the same thing on several occasions since then. He
has said that if he had been General Manager for
iSeries before he had his previous job (Marketing for
all of "STG") he never would have introduced eServer
(IBM eServer iSeries - that lovely name that just
rolled off the tongue). Then his successor in STG
Marketing (Anil Menon - he who stated a year ago in
the UK "It is wrong to say that the System i is dying. It's already dead.")
came along and did to Mark what
Mark had done to Tom Jarosh - changed the name again
(to System i).
Trying to hide dissent about the way things are going
within the family isn't going to change anything.
Sometimes the emperor needs to be told publicly that
he has no clothes. Keeping things quiet reminds me of
the "security by obscurity" approach. Would you
expect IBM to ever "officially validate" the
information I quoted? Several IBM'ers whom I trust
implicitly have told me the same thing, and that's as
good as I'm going to get. Anyone wanting to find out
what customers think about the future of "i" could
simply use Google to find these comments in the
Midrange-L archive anyway. Despite that however, I
DO consider IT Jungle and System i Network to be part
of our family. I presume you don't.
Don't get me wrong - I fully expect there to be a
hardware platform around that will run "i" (and its
valuable partner products like RPG) for the next 10 to
15 years to keep the present customer base going. IBM
did that for OS/2 & VSE users and I have no reason to
expect they won't do the same for "i". I just don't
see there being any investment being made in enhancing
"i" (beyond mandatory things like IPv6, encryption, or
whatever governments may mandate to allow you to still
sell your product to them), in attracting new business
to "i", and advertising "i". And I know even you
aren't going to disagree with that last point ! ;-)
The point is that no one (apart from those in the
"family") know what "i" is because it's never been
promoted, yet everyone knows what Unix & Linux is.
IBM explicitly forbade any major advertising for "i"
on it's own (back to the "we're a services company"
argument there, and "i" just doesn't generate enough
money for them on that front - and we're all eternally
grateful for that!). If IBM is so anxious to promote
"i" will there be money to advertise why it's superior
to UNIX, Linux & Windows as an operating system for
business? Sure - as soon as the Toronto Maple Leafs
win the Stanley Cup again. (OK - may have lost you
there - how about "as soon as Hillary Clinton is sworn
in as President"). ;-)
Yes, Ross Mauri did say some nice things about 'i' at
COMMON. IBM executives always do. See my comment
above about pandering to the audience. Will he repeat
those same comments to large audiences outside of the
"family"? Somehow I doubt it, and I have a feeling
that deep down you do too. Somehow I can't picture
UNIX and Windows as part of "our" family. Unless you
mean in the sense of the "funny uncle" that no one
wants to talk about. :-)
Yes I agree, "Hardware is a commodity...it is the OS
that's important." Our operating system did not just
expand to give us more options - our hardware platform
did. Yes the hardware platform has a nice budget.
What about "i" ?
"Manage the decline" were the words Don R mentioned he
heard from one of his sources. The words I heard from
one of my sources, from a conversation they had with
Tom, were "keep this thing alive for as long as
possible". I suppose that person will decide to whom
they will speak.
As I said before, I have no doubt whatsoever about
your commitment and dedication to "i". Have I grown
more cynical over the years? I wouldn't argue with
that. I guess one thing we can do is agree to
disagree on what IBM's future has in store for you,
and "i".
...Neil
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