Re: New list proposal - OSS400 - iSeries open source software

----- Original Message -----
From: <thomas@inorbit.com>
To: <midrange-nontech@midrange.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 09, 2002 9:18 PM
Subject: Re: New list proposal - OSS400 - iSeries open source
software


> On Wed, 09 January 2002, Martin Rowe wrote:
>
> > And let's face it, the iSeries is a niche server

Ýeah, the niche of scalable, reliable, professional, and  complete
application servers.

Any kind of company or organization. Any kind of business
application.

Tell me something that is not a 'niche server'? Give me three
examples please?

Unix is not a server, it is the basic building blocks of an
operating system that is thirty years old, and has dozens of
slightly different implementations.

The AS/400 is the rock solid applications server with tens of
thousands of applications that serves the businesses that have
transformed the world. If you could magically turn off all the
AS/400s in the world, everyone would be out of work by the end of
the week. If your business does not depend on an AS/400 directly,
it depends on other businesses who do use AS/400s.

When Linux can host OS/400, instead of the other way around, come
and toot your horn.

They AS/400 has done as much for the USA as the Interstate Hiway
System. No one would sit down today and write a new operating
system that looked like Unix. It's a fossil. Unix' number one
feature was its cheap price at a time when computer vendors could
no longer afford to continue proprietary operating system
development.

The AS/400 is so good, it has made a stellar success of itself
even powered by the world's ugliest programming language, RPG.

If open source is really open, you can use it in proprietary
packages also.  Otherwise it is just another ego-trip by
controlfreaks who are too chicken to stand up and be financially
responsible for themselves.

One man's opinion.

I've been there, done that, and own SEVERAL t-shirts.

And yes, I use Unix too - for mail servers and other
single-function general purpose servers. Had to pull the Linux
because it was too hackable.

Brad Jensen