Ed, I guess I am confused. *Most* of the time, we like it when IBMers post what they know or think we should know. Is that now considered advertising? :-(
Timothy is one of the few IBM Software Architects posting to this forum. I, personally, have always found his posts to be informative, relevant and generally *without* personal bias. When he does show bias, he generally prefaces his comments. He is a major advocate for System z and a frequent blogger to www.mainframe.typepad.com . I saw no FUD in any of those posts you cited. Quite the contrary. I appreciated knowing that a major new workload was coming to System z (Cognos). While I prefer z/OS, any new workload for System z is good news. Having him explain RDz should have enlightened a few MVS folks. I did the very same thing at my last job to developers and MVS sysprogs alike. My CICS guy was the one that brought it to my attention. Multiplatform development is also good news for System z. I completely enjoyed his explanation of the new pricing announcements. I spent the last 5 years doing software asset management part-time and even I had a little trouble understanding *that* announcement. About your question, "Does a software vendor, offering a "free" workshop to discuss problems for which they provide priced "solutions" constitute advertising?" Perhaps, but as you astutely pointed out, you would attend some of them as follows" "it would be with eyes wide open. TANSTAAFL! ;-)" But there are times when you can get some *preliminary free education* about something you know nothing about, BEFORE you spend money getting good, targeted education. > Regardless of what you call them, are such postings consistent with the overarching "spirit" of IBM-MAIN? I believe they are. I do not believe that Timothy is attempting to hijack this forum for marketing purposes with his posts. Anyway, that's *my* opinion. :-) Bob --------------------------------------------------------- Robert B. Richards (Bob) US Office of Personnel Management 1900 E Street NW Room: BH04L Washington, D.C. 20415 Phone: (202) 606-1195 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] --------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
