> On Apr 26, 2018, at 6:08 AM, Timothy Sipples <sipp...@sg.ibm.com> wrote: > > ....I'm utterly mystified. Yes, OK, you have to use a DVD reader instead of > a tape drive. There's a media change and a drive change...and so what? > Media and drive changes are also nothing new since there have been multiple > tape cartridge format changes in the past decades, and you're assuredly not > using a 20+ year old parallel channel attached tape drive to read what IBM > is sending today. IBM stopped shipping 7-track, 9-track, 3480, and 3490 > tape cartridges a long, long time ago.
OK, now I only know part of the story and can tell you what has been told to me. We have some pretty sensitive files on our system. The owners of these files are zealots when it comes to security. I have no idea (and frankly don’t care what data are in these files). I am not allowed to say much more. The people who are the owners take their job seriously , They read and follow (or at times exceed the US government requirements on security) They take their job extremely seriously and spend most of their time at work making sure there are no holes in out security of everything and including these files. The data that is in these files are only known by the President of the company and I think one VP. The President’s boss work’s in another country and the board is scattered around the world, if I met one in the hallway I would not know him. The “board” is only known by the President. Where the money comes from that pays us, I have no clue as we do not (AFAIK) publish or see or exchange anything that would bring $$ into the company. All I know is that everyones gets paid (well) and there hasn’t been a person dismissed/fired/let go/asked to find another job. The company was in the building when I started here and it is cut off from the world electronically There are several power generators that generate our own electricity, If the city power goes out we are till fully functional. > > *Hypothetically* you could probably hire a trusted intermediary firm, > staffed only with citizens of Country X with security clearance level Y, to > accept DVD or electronic delivery from IBM, write those products to tape > cartridges, then ship you those tapes. (In armored cars?) I guess that'd > "work." If you do pursue that Rube Goldberg method, just get in touch with > IBM through official channels to make sure IBM is OK with the arrangement. > This is copyrighted and licensed software, after all, so that approach > would require IBM's permission. (And permission from other vendors if > you're trying to do the same thing with their software products.) Timothy, This week I am supposed to have meetings with our network people and the PC people. Both of these people have been through this exercise before and were told NO. As I said last time I have to figure out a backup plan but from little option I can come up with is for some company to deliver the tape to us like it was done before. Time will tell. The only thing I have going is that it is for the MF and that might be enough. Timothy supposedly an internal IBM person knows about our situation and will jump in if needed. We are a black box within IBM and they generally know what the company does and all have top top secret clearances. Ed > > ....Or just find the people who are already dealing with every other > vendor's software products, and do what they're doing and have been doing > for decades. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
