Re: free-format move *USA date value to 6-digit numeric in YMDformat

On 1/4/06, Joe Pluta <joepluta@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > From: Bob Cozzi
> >
> > I don't know anyone that believes in IBM anymore, do you?
>
> I do.  Wholeheartedly.  I especially believe in the iSeries community within
> IBM.  I believe in the WebSphere folks.  I believe in the Domino folks.  I
> most certainly believe in the RPG team.  I am a huge fan of the WDSC team.
> I talk to all of these people on a regular basis and I believe in them
> because they believe.
>
> IBM is not a monolithic entity, and for a long time some major players in
> IBM got blinded by the "Java is everything" rhetoric, but then again so did
> the whole industry.  During that time, the iSeries people were twisting in
> the wind and you could tell it from their voices.  Nowadays, though, the
> iSeries people are being listened to, the corporation is making huge strides
> in incorporating the iSeries as one of (if not THE) major players in its
> initiatives, and there is a level of excitement I haven't seen in years.
>

Where is the evidence for these strides in terms on technical advances
on the system? MSFT has in the last few years added generics and LINQ
( language integrated query ) to C#, its version of Java.  It has also
integrated managed code into the Windows OS. Something neither Linux
or i5/OS is doing.  The next advance from MSFT is going to be windows
presentation foundation:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/06/01/WindowsPresentationFoundation/

( WPF is interesting in terms of the question of how will Java be used
to write WPF compliant applications. If the look and feel of a gui
application that uses WPF can only be accomplished by running on
Windows, will the Java programmer, coding in a language with a run
anywhere mandate, not be able to code to the WPF? )

I would not say I dont believe in IBM anymore. For me they dont do
anything lately that grabs my attention technically and I dont see how
they survive going forward as a company that sells operating systems
and computer languages.

What I do believe in is that the cause is not lost. There are a lot of
ways to improve the OS and the languages of the iSeries. What has to
happen is the IBM technical managers and decision makers have to be
replaced. I have no specific knowledge of who they are and how long
they have been running the show. My assumption is that while the sales
executives have come and gone over the years, the technical managers
have stayed constant. As constant as the features of ILE :)

-Steve


> I for one am thrilled at the focus IBM has put on the iSeries.  Print ads,
> webinars, TV ads.  They're even going so far as to officially bless the OMNI
> Annual Technical Conference; you'll be seeing announcements on IBM
> letterhead going out very soon.
>
> So, yes, I believe in IBM and the future of the iSeries.  And so do a whole
> lot of people in the trenches.
>
> Joe
>
>
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