RE: Ain't it the truth

Poor IBM.

They get pilloried on this list for not marketing our machine and they
get pilloried on this list for marketing our machine.  In this case,
they have my sympathy and I think your criticism is unfounded.

There is a reason that our favorite cereals, laundry detergents, and
computers need to come out with a "new and improved" version from time
to time.  For those who rejected the AS/400 in the past, they might
reconsider with an iSeries.  If AS/400 means green-screen, iSeries can
mean something more modern and attractive.

For those of us who will give up our 5250 when they pry our AS/400's
from our cold dead fingers, please remember that we are not the only
audience for IBM's marketing efforts.  If we sit back and commend
ourselves on our smart choices in choosing the best server on the world
and grouse when IBM tries to portray it as something new, we should also
remember to turn out the lights when they pull the plug on us.

It may not be the best marketing effort in the world.  It may not even
be an effective marketing effort.  But it is a marketing effort.  It is
sad that so many of their efforts seem to be targeted at their installed
base, but they are doing something.

It would be worthwhile to cut them some slack.  It might even be
worthwhile to let people know what a great machine the iSeries is, and
how much it has improved over the AS/400.  We're not the audience.  We
know that the iSeries has gradually evolved from the Systems 36 and 38,
through the AS/400, and now to its present name.  It has been an
evolution, not a revolution.  But for marketing purposes, it may be a
good idea to celebrate the revolution.

My two cents,
Andy Nolen-Parkhouse
(not by any means a marketing guy)

> admin@midrange.com] On Behalf Of Norm Dennis
> Subject: Ain't it the truth
>
>
> This is from NEWS Wire Daily:
>
> **FROM DAN DYBWAD, via e-mail:
> It's great that the new iSeries 890 has such superb performance, but
> Rochester needs to remember that the "iSeries" was only a name
> change. I defy anyone to tell me that the 890 would run any slower
> if it carried an "AS/400" logo on the front cover instead.
>
> The AS/400 went through a large number of major technological
> changes in its lifetime and still worked fine when it was called an
> "AS/400." The change of the name to the "iSeries" is only a marketing
> gimmick to "freshen" the product.
>
> Ian Jarman seems to "dis" the AS/400 in his recent comments
> regarding how fast the 890 is -- performance the "AS/400" couldn't
> match. He needs to remember that there are a couple hundred thousand
> AS/400s in use, operated by a few hundred thousand proud and
> extremely loyal AS/400 users. Ian, just tell me how great the new
> stuff is, don't bad-mouth the old stuff.
>
> My 820 says "eServer" on the front, but it knows it's really an
> "AS/400" inside.