Re: PDM/SEU -- RPG400-L

Dean,

>Tools at $100 apiece are _CHEAP_.  I have 
>legal licenses to two emulation products, nearly $400 apiece and no 
>development going on _THERE_!

So why did you need emulation products if you don't have a 400?  And
if $800 was justifiable for them, why is it such a stretch to pay $1K
for CODE?

>>  Hanging out a shingle as an independent programmer is actually kinda
>>  cheap, even if you have to buy a small AS/400.
>
>Then let me see _YOU_ do it Mr. 
>I-know-everything-and-you're-wrong-even-if-you've-been-doing-it-for-twenty-yea
>rs >8(!  

I started working on IBM midrange machines in 1979, and I don't
pretend to know everything -- I follow these forums to learn.  I do
have some very strong opinions on certain topics, the value of a PC
editor being one of them.

But as a matter of fact, I do have my own 400 in my home.  And I
didn't even go through PID to get it at half price or 1% of value  per
month lease.  And I didn't buy a used machine.  And I still thought it
was cheap.

Today with V4 licenses being legally transferrable, you could do it
for a fraction of the price I paid.  Go to
http://www.egghead.com/category/Servers.htm or eBay.  For just over
$2K you can get a RISC machine with legal V4 OS/400 in the P05
software tier.  Then just buy licenses for the compilers and program
products you need -- the P05 tier is affordable.  

If necessary, put that in a 2-3 year loan.  Add $40 per month for
software subscription for the P05 tier.

My phone bills cost more per month than one of those 400's would cost
me monthly across a couple of years.  I don't know what you charge per
hour, but if it is "nearly twice the average hourly rate" it would at
most cost you a couple of hours pay per month.

If that still sounds expensive for a machine that lets you develop
code compatible with your largest client's box, then there are also
the new timeshare machines available over the internet starting at
about $25 per month.  That wasn't an option when I bought my machine.
Neither were transferable OS licenses.

>Try putting aside your own ...

I know whereof you speak -- I'm self-employed too and have been for
all but about 4 of my years in this business.  I charge what I'd
consider to be under the "average hourly rate", and I still think
having a 400 is very affordable.

>YOUR shop in 
>particular might not require AS/Set, but most with BPCS _DO_.  Ditto COOL for 
>MAPICS, PRO-GEN in some shops.  You _ARE_ talking bringing these along if you 
>_ARE_ talking about a consultant being prepared for every single situation.  

Obviously it is not practical to license a copy of BPCS modules  or
JDE One World or SAP R/3 or whatever if that is your target market for
clients.  But I don't think anyone expects an IC to do that; that's
not what I meant when I questioned why it is unreasonable for an IC to
have their own copy of an editor.

Doug
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