23
Sat, Nov
1 New Articles
  1. You are here:  
  2. Home
  3. IT Infrastructure
  4. Operating Systems
  5. Linux / Open Source
  6. Open Source/400

Open Source/400

Typography
  • Smaller Small Medium Big Bigger
  • Default Helvetica Segoe Georgia Times

OS/400 is not free! That realization is starting to rile some of IBM’s prized AS/400 customers, especially in light of the burgeoning open source movement. And what is Open Source? It’s a loosely organized group of computer professionals dedicated to the rapid advancement of computer technology through Internet distribution of source programs (www.opensource.org).

Open source is a real antiestablishment movement within the software industry. It relinquishes some of the original developer’s intellectual property rights so that the “opened” application can attract more coders to enhance the product. The logic of this scheme is really quite utopian. When source code is freely distributed across the Web, any software company can potentially tap the combined developer brainpower of the entire Internet. But why would a company want to do this? Simple: The more developers you have working on a project, the faster that product can be developed. By the same token, the more people you have fixing nasty bugs, the better the quality of the final application. As a model for software development, open source fulfills a developer’s ultimate fantasy: unbridled access to unlimited brainpower. But isn’t this the same as “shareware”? Well, yes—and no!

Netscape: Software Development on Steroids

The concept of “shareware” software has been kicked around for more than 10 years in the PC circles: Freeware and shareware were early economic models that tried to buck the tide of commercial software manufacturing and distribution. In the shareware model, a single developer creates a single application and distributes it to thousands of users via the public networks. The open source movement, however, reverses the equation. Imagine thousands of developers around the world working on a single application for free! Who wins? Everyone! The user obtains better applications, and the developer obtains market dominance, and market dominance means higher stock prices. That’s the theory of the power behind the open source movement. But does it work?

Last year, Netscape announced it would make the source code of its Communicator browser free to anyone who chose to enhance it. By increasing the number of developers who had the browser source code, Netscape hoped to technically compete against Microsoft’s massive developer resource advantage. Of course, in a previous incarnation of software technology, something like the open source movement would have faltered

because software source code was unwieldy and monolithic. However, modular object- oriented programming (OOP) technology solved that problem, and Netscape proved that a single application could be successfully developed and modified by a diverse, decentralized group of developers, each working separately. Within the first week of the Netscape announcement, fans of the Communicator product sent Netscape thousands of patches and fixes. Although Netscape was ultimately acquired by America Online (AOL), Communicator still lives on as a growing and evolving entity.

Linux Opens the Source Blanket

Today, a little more than a year later, the Linux (pronounced with a short I as LIH- nucks) operating system has become the most significant and tantalizing offshoot of the open source movement. It is a free UNIX-like operating system that is distributed under the GNU (which, oddly, stands for “GNU’s not UNIX”) General Public License (www.gnu.org). GNU is a direct offshoot of the 1980’s open systems UNIX movement, and the merger of GNU/Linux into the welling stream of the open source movement last year marked a new computing watershed.

On January 25, 1999, the long-awaited GNU/Linux Kernel 2.2 was released to the public (www.linux.org). The 32-bit kernel supports x86, SPARC, Alpha, Ultra, m68k, and PowerPC servers, making it a direct competitor to Windows NT (Windows 2000), Sun, SCO, and IBM’s AIX. Moreover, because it runs on Intel platforms, it is even competing against IBM’s newest NetFinity platform. Why not on an AS/400? Why not at least on an AS/400 Netfinity Server card? Not in the plans, says IBM.

Is Microsoft Just Another Proprietary OS?

Of course, the next question is “Is Microsoft worried about Linux?” You bet! If Linux proves to have the right feature-function set that your business network needs, it will make you think twice about investing in Windows NT/2000 for your workplace. And with the number of Linux users currently at over 8 million and growing at 282 percent annually (estimated by IDC), Linux’s user base could conceivably overpower Windows NT/2000’s user base. More importantly, with so many developers fueling the Linux system and so many hardware platforms from which to choose, business managers may find ample reason to begin treating Windows as just one more proprietary operating system. That’s what really has Microsoft worried.

OS/400: Where’s the Beef?

All of this brings us back to some disgruntlement on the part of some AS/400 managers. What, exactly, are they paying for? How does the cost of an expensive proprietary 64-bit operating system created and maintained by a small group of programmers in Rochester, Minnesota, stack up against a free 32-bit operating system with a development team of thousands worldwide? (And although Linux doesn’t yet scale to a full 64-bit system, how long will it be before that problem is solved?) It seems to these managers that IBM should provide significantly better service and support, lower the price of OS/400, or start thinking about newer, faster, and cheaper ways to increase the speed of its development labs.

So what do you think? Open Source/400? The question deserves asking. The answer deserves careful thought on IBM’s part.

Thomas Stockwell

Thomas M. Stockwell is an independent IT analyst and writer. He is the former Editor in Chief of MC Press Online and Midrange Computing magazine and has over 20 years of experience as a programmer, systems engineer, IT director, industry analyst, author, speaker, consultant, and editor.  

 

Tom works from his home in the Napa Valley in California. He can be reached at ITincendiary.com.

 

 

BLOG COMMENTS POWERED BY DISQUS

LATEST COMMENTS

Support MC Press Online

$

Book Reviews

Resource Center

  • SB Profound WC 5536 Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application. You can find Part 1 here. In Part 2 of our free Node.js Webinar Series, Brian May teaches you the different tooling options available for writing code, debugging, and using Git for version control. Brian will briefly discuss the different tools available, and demonstrate his preferred setup for Node development on IBM i or any platform. Attend this webinar to learn:

  • SB Profound WP 5539More than ever, there is a demand for IT to deliver innovation. Your IBM i has been an essential part of your business operations for years. However, your organization may struggle to maintain the current system and implement new projects. The thousands of customers we've worked with and surveyed state that expectations regarding the digital footprint and vision of the company are not aligned with the current IT environment.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT Generic IBM announced the E1080 servers using the latest Power10 processor in September 2021. The most powerful processor from IBM to date, Power10 is designed to handle the demands of doing business in today’s high-tech atmosphere, including running cloud applications, supporting big data, and managing AI workloads. But what does Power10 mean for your data center? In this recorded webinar, IBMers Dan Sundt and Dylan Boday join IBM Power Champion Tom Huntington for a discussion on why Power10 technology is the right strategic investment if you run IBM i, AIX, or Linux. In this action-packed hour, Tom will share trends from the IBM i and AIX user communities while Dan and Dylan dive into the tech specs for key hardware, including:

  • Magic MarkTRY the one package that solves all your document design and printing challenges on all your platforms. Produce bar code labels, electronic forms, ad hoc reports, and RFID tags – without programming! MarkMagic is the only document design and print solution that combines report writing, WYSIWYG label and forms design, and conditional printing in one integrated product. Make sure your data survives when catastrophe hits. Request your trial now!  Request Now.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericForms of ransomware has been around for over 30 years, and with more and more organizations suffering attacks each year, it continues to endure. What has made ransomware such a durable threat and what is the best way to combat it? In order to prevent ransomware, organizations must first understand how it works.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericIT security is a top priority for businesses around the world, but most IBM i pros don’t know where to begin—and most cybersecurity experts don’t know IBM i. In this session, Robin Tatam explores the business impact of lax IBM i security, the top vulnerabilities putting IBM i at risk, and the steps you can take to protect your organization. If you’re looking to avoid unexpected downtime or corrupted data, you don’t want to miss this session.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericCan you trust all of your users all of the time? A typical end user receives 16 malicious emails each month, but only 17 percent of these phishing campaigns are reported to IT. Once an attack is underway, most organizations won’t discover the breach until six months later. A staggering amount of damage can occur in that time. Despite these risks, 93 percent of organizations are leaving their IBM i systems vulnerable to cybercrime. In this on-demand webinar, IBM i security experts Robin Tatam and Sandi Moore will reveal:

  • FORTRA Disaster protection is vital to every business. Yet, it often consists of patched together procedures that are prone to error. From automatic backups to data encryption to media management, Robot automates the routine (yet often complex) tasks of iSeries backup and recovery, saving you time and money and making the process safer and more reliable. Automate your backups with the Robot Backup and Recovery Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAManaging messages on your IBM i can be more than a full-time job if you have to do it manually. Messages need a response and resources must be monitored—often over multiple systems and across platforms. How can you be sure you won’t miss important system events? Automate your message center with the Robot Message Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAThe thought of printing, distributing, and storing iSeries reports manually may reduce you to tears. Paper and labor costs associated with report generation can spiral out of control. Mountains of paper threaten to swamp your files. Robot automates report bursting, distribution, bundling, and archiving, and offers secure, selective online report viewing. Manage your reports with the Robot Report Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAFor over 30 years, Robot has been a leader in systems management for IBM i. With batch job creation and scheduling at its core, the Robot Job Scheduling Solution reduces the opportunity for human error and helps you maintain service levels, automating even the biggest, most complex runbooks. Manage your job schedule with the Robot Job Scheduling Solution. Key features include:

  • LANSA Business users want new applications now. Market and regulatory pressures require faster application updates and delivery into production. Your IBM i developers may be approaching retirement, and you see no sure way to fill their positions with experienced developers. In addition, you may be caught between maintaining your existing applications and the uncertainty of moving to something new.

  • LANSAWhen it comes to creating your business applications, there are hundreds of coding platforms and programming languages to choose from. These options range from very complex traditional programming languages to Low-Code platforms where sometimes no traditional coding experience is needed. Download our whitepaper, The Power of Writing Code in a Low-Code Solution, and:

  • LANSASupply Chain is becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable. From raw materials for manufacturing to food supply chains, the journey from source to production to delivery to consumers is marred with inefficiencies, manual processes, shortages, recalls, counterfeits, and scandals. In this webinar, we discuss how:

  • The MC Resource Centers bring you the widest selection of white papers, trial software, and on-demand webcasts for you to choose from. >> Review the list of White Papers, Trial Software or On-Demand Webcast at the MC Press Resource Center. >> Add the items to yru Cart and complet he checkout process and submit

  • Profound Logic Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application.

  • SB Profound WC 5536Join us for this hour-long webcast that will explore:

  • Fortra IT managers hoping to find new IBM i talent are discovering that the pool of experienced RPG programmers and operators or administrators with intimate knowledge of the operating system and the applications that run on it is small. This begs the question: How will you manage the platform that supports such a big part of your business? This guide offers strategies and software suggestions to help you plan IT staffing and resources and smooth the transition after your AS/400 talent retires. Read on to learn: