Re: EGL vs. Java

Yeah, I get that Jon, from a realistic standpoint. I just hate to see it because it doesn't seem to help move the platform forward as easily as I hope. And, with the p and i hardware moving together and i5/OS becoming the differentiator, the "uniqueness" of i will be diluted even more.

I keep trying to think of THE thing that will jumpstart this amazing platform. Wish we had the magic bullet. Instead, we'll just have to keep plugging ahead even though it seems an uphill battle some days.

Pete

Jon Paris wrote:

On 31-Jan-08, at 1:00 PM, wdsci-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

Are they making money in tools? My answer would be, "Who cares?" as
long as the "net" of System i sales is positive when the "cost" of the
tools is factored in.

It would be wonderful if that were true Pete - but in any practical sense it is not.

There is not _an_ IBM. There are _many_ IBM's. There is one that makes the System i hardware and therefore benefits from those sales. There is another (Rational) that makes the compiles and tools. There is some cross funding for certain things that the hardware group need, but effectively they are different companies.

Microsoft gave away the tools because they are (mostly) a single company and when they give away tools they are effectively selling more copies of the OS, which sells more copies of Office, which ...

It is a pity IBM doesn't work the way we'd like - but it doesn't and this is one of the consequences.


Jon Paris

www.Partner400.com
www.SystemiDeveloper.com