"Howard Schwartz" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > "Day Brown" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Howard, those are my (Bob George's) comments, not Day's. Just want to avoid
any confusion...
>
> > Well, the AS/400 is still very much an active platform. And IBM's
> > "mainframes" are still around, especially in big database environments
> > (airlines etc.) Although smaller machines have done a lot for the
individual
> > desktop, there are still some niches for the big guys, although those
are
> > admittedly dwindling as Sun and others progress. They have evolved
> > considerably, and the last I saw was a honeybee black and yellow IBM
> > "mainframe" that was the size of a 19 inch standalone rack.
>
> When I turned down a contract with the giant HMO, Kaiser, I discovered
> that long ago somebody fostered a long relationship between IBM and
> Kaiser. Kaiser is still using IBM everything (e.g., versions of Unix,
> data-bases, etc.) in perhaps most of its computer environments.
Yes, I've seen that too. In fact, that big ol' honeybee colored beast was
the result of just such a relationship. It's been interesting watching IBM
transform into a rather worthy competitor in the Internet world, and finally
leaving their hardware-focus behind.
> > Just like a PC, if you have an older machine that still does what you
need,
> > why "must" it be discarded? I think it's especially cool that Linux is
> > breathing new life into older platforms, whether they be PC, mini or
> > mainframe. Certainly not my bag, though!
>
> Isnt it funny, with the advent of Lunix and/or Windows-whatever, that
> humble old Dos is being actively used as the OS for many embedded
> devices.
Oh, I definitely think DOS has a role, and it's especially well suited to
exactly that sort of scenario. I'm NOT anti-DOS. I'm just pro-Linux. There
are situations where either offers unique strengths and weaknesses. And of
course, there are embedded OSen that share as rich a heritage as DOS,
preceding Linux by many years.
> Dispite its many, legitimately criticized, problems, it remains
> an OS that takes up far less disk (and memory) space than virutally all
> the popular newbies, is generally more stable and less prone to crashing,
> and does a lot for the single user with a little amount of code (e.g.,
> less that 1/2 a gig).
That's exactly where DOS shines. However, others WILL run rather well in far
less than 1/2 gig! :)
My comments were intended to illustrate the fact that Linux is breathing new
life into even the oldest of platforms. There is some neat hardware for
which no new software is being commercially produced, or has become
unaffordable for the organizations that may receive donations of such
hardware (old DEC VAX, 9000, S/390, NeXT, Mac/PowerPC etc.) I think it's
great that throwing away hardware -- including non-PC hardware -- is _not_
the only alternative these days. Hmmm... Surv-other-than-PC I guess.
- Bob
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