On 4/4/2011 9:52 AM, john gilmore wrote:
Steve Comstock writes:
<begin snippet>
He looks like a bright young man, the kind we want to sustain our
favorite platform - but he can't find a job. And we on this list
know he is not alone.
This is the kind of reality we face if we don't, collectively and
individually, take positive actions.
Promote z/OS, get current ourselves, tell the stories of cool things
you can do in z/OS.
</end snippet>
has prompted me to reflect that, while it is certainly true that
there are cool things that can be done with z/OS, I have not seen
a cool new z/OS application in many, many years.
IBM code, ISV code, or the like for z/OS that is cool? Yes, sure.
But a cool new application? No, emphatically no.
To describe the applications I see routinely as pedestrian would be
to overstate their merits. The platform is very largely in the hands
of fatuous, mediocre, risk-aversive crackpot realists who avoid new
technology reflexively: Les courtisans qui l'entourant n'ont rien
oublié et n'ont rien appris.
New blood and new ideas are certainly needed, but how to infuse
them into this tired environment is not at all clear to me.
Steve's post has the great merit that it does not look at our
current situation through rose-colored glasses.
John Gilmore Ashland, MA 01721-1817 USA
But one of my points was: if you don't see it, _you_ should create it!
Perhaps some sort of surreptitious "skunk works" operation to develop
a demonstrable "cool application". You could lead the project in your
copious spare time, assisted by your merry band of cohorts. (Or is it
"band of merry cohorts"? I'm never quite sure.)
About two years ago I offered to prepare a small set of webpages tailored
to each requestor. I got three requests, so I built small sample websites,
including their corporate logo, and shipped them out. As far as I know,
no one ever got around to installing them. Each sample included 10 html
files as well as a number of supporting files.
I personally think hosting a website on z/OS (without WebSphere or
other charge for products) is pretty cool. It's not too hard to do, so
I tried to make it even easier. On to the next idea.
My current project is to create a page for our website that lists a
number of cool things to do in z/OS with links to our courses where
you can learn how to do those cool things. I hope to have it up in a
day or two.
--
Kind regards,
-Steve Comstock
The Trainer's Friend, Inc.
303-393-8716
http://www.trainersfriend.com
* To get a good Return on your Investment, first make an investment!
+ Training your people is an excellent investment
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