> No longer can you talk to an IBM person directly unless you have a signed > contract in hand and in the other hand a certified check.
I certainly do, and all the time. As recently as week before last. > the AUDITOR calling someone at IBM to make sure that the package came from IBM I would guess that a certificate-signed distribution -- yes, even over the dread Al Gore Googlenet -- is more secure than a phone call to IBM. Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of Federal Express. 2048 bit RSA keys, however, do not lie. Charles -----Original Message----- From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Edward Gould Sent: Monday, March 26, 2018 2:58 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Software Delivery on Tape to be Discontinued > On Mar 26, 2018, at 3:47 PM, Charles Mills <[email protected]> wrote: > > Goofiness. > > Why didn't they convert to Windows when IBM stopped distribution on > 9-track tape? Or when the 2540 card reader was discontinued? Or the 407? You are missing the point. It is called the INTERNET. They do not want *anything* that a. Came through the internet. b. Does not come via FEDEX(or UPS) from IBM with signatures/id card c. And 1 or two more things that I am not sure of. All tape must be delivered to the auditor and the department takes care of authenticating everything (not my responsibility nor authority to question) I have heard vague rumors of the AUDITOR calling someone at IBM to make sure that the package came from IBM (I cannot confirm this). I also heard that the company looked into having a armed carrier truck pick the tape up at IBM but again cannot confirm this. This company is beyond security conscious, I cannot explain it as the origins predate me by 20 or so years. I have tried to bridge this a couple of times and was told to shut up and don’t say anything again. > > If this is how your management makes business decisions I know what > should be replaced, and it's not z/OS. Management in a lot of areas is great and in others the stone age. The tape thing is stone age. I am sure we have a lot of overhead of people checking things like this out. Yes and it might be arcane but the company is thriving and management (at least mine) will not rock the boat. I am here as sort of advisor and I am not getting paid. If they want to be this way that is their decision not mine. I can’t even get a finger in to see what the decision process is in these types of matters. I tried one time to get a finger in and it was almost chopped off. This is fine with me, IBM as I suspected does not listen to its customers and really does not care. I have seen IBM go from a world class company to operating at the whims of people who have lost touch with its customers. I think the 43xx box was the death of IBM, thats my opinion. No longer can you talk to an IBM person directly unless you have a signed contract in hand and in the other hand a certified check. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
