It addresses 281 trillion bytes of data. And so, the reasoning goes, there's no immediate fear of outgrowing it. That's inducement 81 on a list of 101 compelling reasons to make the AS/400 your next business system.

The list was compiled by international software provider J.D. Edwards (JDE) and is but one bend in a river of useful information on a CD-ROM titled "Software Solutions Product Information Guide." Produced by IBM Packaging Development, it contains slick but sluggish multimedia overviews of programming and data management tools, complete with interactive demonstrations. The CD runs on a DOS/Windows-resident PC and delivers information through documents, video clips, storyboards, and interactive programs.

JDE should know a little something about the virtues of the AS/400. It has installed AS/400-based business and government software in 50 nations, in 20 different languages. Since I could only come up with seven reasons for purchasing an AS/400, I began to wonder what the other 94 might be.

When I clicked on the print icon, the CD flashed me the warning, "This could take some time." As an understatement, that competes with trying to pass off the Korean War as a police action. I visibly aged waiting for my 486 to print 15 graphic-intensive pages on my HP Deskjet color printer. But two hours later (I kid you not), I had the information in hand, and, so you won't have to age any more than is already apparent, I'm going to share it with you.

The usual suspects were there, of course: costs less to own, has a killer database, delivers the world's most advanced technology. Tastes great, less filling. But for prospective AS/400 buyers, the more interesting reasons were the less obvious ones I hadn't immediately discerned.

Like this one, for instance: The AS/400 has never had a virus. This jumped out at me because two years ago this March, my own PC was trashed by the Michelangelo virus. It would have been a total loss but several days later the system spontaneously painted my ceiling.

In a client/server environment, however-one that allows remote devices to access your network-protection against viruses is a sobering consideration. As JDE puts it, "the AS/400's capability-based addressing scheme makes the system virtually immune to viruses. After all, who knows where these devices have been?"

And this: The AS/400 has multiple personalities. For anyone who has ever dated someone with this feature, the advantages are clear. More subtle, however, are business requirements that may be highly interactive during the day and batch intensive at night.

I've worked on a number of machines that could do one or the other, but not both, and not at the same time. Add today's resource-pilfering applications like imaging and lesser systems respond with the speed of global warming. JDE notes that the AS/400 doesn't require multiple operating systems to support multiple computing environments. "It's designed to support real-world applications-those that don't fit neatly into any one category."

The AS/400 configures itself. On the simplicity meter, attaching devices to a network can vie with attaching braces to a shark's teeth. But an AS/400 server not only identifies an add-on PC, but knows how to deal with it-automatically. JDE notes a further advantage, "the integrated security system ensures that unauthorized devices don't make it onto the net."

For businesses that span national boundaries, the AS/400 is multilingual. It speaks not just several languages, but a melting pot full-forty in all. And like diners in a U.N. cafeteria, it can speak them simultaneously. JDE summarizes, "your French, German, Italian, Japanese, and American employees and partners can use the same machine at the same time in their own language."

Post-sale provisions ensure that the AS/400 has a warranty second to none. For the quasi-committal, there is a 90-day money back guarantee, and, although the proviso is seldom used, it offers an added measure of confidence and courtesy for those who may wish to test the product in their own business environment. The customer's investment is further protected by a year of free service.

Reasons 34 and 35 speak to the AS/400's range and JDE's desire as a business consultant to hedge its bets. It's good for downsizing, boasts JDE, and if that doesn't float your boat, it's good for upsizing, too.

For current AS/400 owners, the wealth of software solutions alone makes this CD-ROM worth viewing. Regrettably, in its effort to be high-tech, multimedia, gee-whiz, leading-edge, it is not very practical. You need a minimum 486/SX25 PC with video capabilities and a sound system to get the full jolt, and not all functions work (I couldn't get the form demo to run at all).

To compensate, when the program encounters a PC without full motion video and sound, it automatically provides the system with video capabilities, but, alas, not sound. With some astute lip reading, however, you too can determine that the guy who introduces the program is named Don.

The most detailed information, however, is provided in documents (white papers, product overviews, marketing brochures) that are, unfortunately, difficult to read online. Viewing size is limited by a command box on the right side of the screen. There's this thing that looks like a blue pizza lying in a magenta box. You navigate through a document by clicking on a pizza slice, which moves the document relative to the angle of the slice. It's an awkward way to read, so eventually you'll opt to print. That's when you'll get the elegantly understated "This could take some time" message. My advice is, believe it.

But if you can repress your need to print, you can point and click through screens of acronyms, thick as spring clover, in a thorough review of the programming and data management tools available from the planet's leading software provider.

Subjects include, but are not limited to: application development, third and fourth generation client/server languages, and client/server implementations on the enterprise, departmental and workgroup levels. Also included are segments on database management, personal productivity tools, system management, data replication, front-end decision support, and engineering/scientific programming.

Additionally, a host of interactive product demos are provided: ADM, ADS, ADTS, CODE, ILE, PROG, DB2, IMS CS/2, QMF, VisualAge, and the ever-popular Parallel Sysplex Data Sharing (PSDS). All these acronyms should not suggest that this CD is for IBM internal use only. But the viewer should assume some prior knowledge will be helpful.

In truth, it must be difficult to design a CD that shows off IBM's technical prowess while accommodating an unpredictable variety of hardware platforms and the needs of prospective and actual customers.

Even the best intended efforts may fail to please everyone, as I once learned. Years ago, I invited my parents to tour the Silicon Valley facility where I worked. I intended to surprise them by writing an interactive program that interfaced in Polish, their native tongue.

After touring the computer room, my mother (who prior to that time had never as much as seen a computer) sat down at a console and, with my help, logged on. A series of questions appeared (in Polish) and, based on how she answered them, the program generated some elementary graphics and humorous replies. She seemed delighted, but after playing with the program a while, she took me quietly aside and taught me a profound lesson in seeing the world through the end- user's eyes.

"Victor," she scolded, "I not think your computer be very smart." I looked at the million dollar machine. "Why is that, Mom?" I asked. "'Cause it not spell all the words right."

Victor Rozek has 17 years of experience in the data processing industry, including seven years with IBM in Operations Management and Systems Engineering.

The "Software Solutions Product Information Guide" can be ordered by calling 800-IBM-3333 and requesting STAR 707.

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