[TenTec] "Remember, it's a computer."

[George Skoubis]

Hi,

Actually the majority of 'critical' applications probably still run on
OS390 mainframes.

Big Bank processing, insurance companies, large retailers, all still use
COBOL to do their most critical processing (PAYROLL / Check production
are the ones I'm most interested in!).

I'm a "big iron" programmer as well as a unix programmer, we have a good
time teasing the unix admins about moving our critical stuff to their
"toy" boxes when they start running 24/365 like OS390 (we do still have
to cycle OS390 and unix boxes for certain system upgrades, don't let
anyone tell you different, it's not true). 

There are more applications switching to unix and linux everyday as the
servers get faster and more reliable, but OS390 is still king for big
business...

Since our network drive servers, printer servers, and desktops switched
to Win2000 variants our desktop systems have become more reliable also.
My work desktop hasn't crashed in months and I run 2 mainframe
emulators, 3 unix emulators, word, excel, IE, MS Messenger, and
UltraEdit simultaneously every work day. 

When I set up my home computer I do it in a scientific manner.  Install
the bare OS (XP Pro and Win 2k Pro for my computers, Win 98 SE for the
kids gaming computers), install the most important application and
configure it, test it thoroughly to ensure it runs without errors, image
the disk, install the next application, configure, test, etc...  I have
multiple partitions with multiple operating systems on all of my
computers, if there is a new application I want to try out I install and
test it on a "test" operating system before it makes it to my
"production" operating system.

I do admit that I run linux on my home domain server / print server /
back up all my important files (including the whole writelog directory!)
to a network drive because I feel having important data on a couple
different operating systems reduces the risk of a virus destroying all
my data files.
    
73,

George / KF9YR

-----Original Message-----
From: tentec-bounces at contesting.com
[mailto:tentec-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of tongaloa
Sent: Sunday, March 16, 2003 12:37 PM
To: tentec at contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TenTec] "Remember, it's a computer."

You guys missed my point completely.

I did not say, "ugh, unix good, mmm, windoze bad"

I said that I considered the MS OS offerings to be immature.

Stability running a single application isn't enough.
The binary adder I built with discrete components back in
high school was solid as a rock. It never 'crashed'.

To clarify...

I do not consider an operating system that must be halted and
restarted in order to install or upgrade an application to be
very mature.

As for business purchases of MS products, it's worth noting that
the majority of 'critical' applications run under UNIX. These would
include:
telephone switching
transaction processing
large database applications
billing systems
manufacturing systems
transportation routing and control systems

As for voting with their pocketbooks...
It's not always the better product that sells.
VHS beating out Beta for example.

People are comfortable with the familiar. Many executives
making IT spending decisions are operating from a position
similar to that of the timid traveler who will only eat at
McDonalds...Never mind that the best seafood pizza ever
made is being offered out of a brick oven mounted in the
back of an old pickup truck down by the wharf. (Papeete
1989 :-)

I've seen many businesses with a wall of rack mount
compaq servers and a legion of button pushers all dedicated
to handling the same email that could be taken care of by
a $5k unix box and a few hours a month attention from a
sendmail knowledgeable sys admin . Same for DNS.

-Bob






David W LeJeune, Sr wrote:

>The 'curious toy' you refer to powers 95% of all US Businesses
computing
>needs.  A secretary running Word, or an accountant running an
accounting
>program under windows rarely has system crashes, primarily because they
are
>using a 'stable' piece of software.  As a software developer who
started in
>1961 programming in Autocoder, I can tell you it's rarely the operating
>system that causes program crashes.  We have gotten smarter in
protecting
>the journeyman programmer from himself, but he still manages to screw
up
>periodically.  Don't get me wrong, I prefer Linux/Unix to Windows, and
early
>windows had some serious problems.  The MAC OS, until the most recent
>version, was even worse.  But businesses that spend lots more money
than
>I'll every have continue to buy Windows based systems.  They vote with
their
>pocket books.
>
>Dave
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Ken Brown" <ken.d.brown at verizon.net>
>To: <tentec at contesting.com>
>Sent: Friday, March 14, 2003 3:45 PM
>Subject: Re: [TenTec] "Remember, it's a computer."
>
> 
>


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