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IMHO: MC's Technical Editors Debate Current Issues

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IBM is transforming the architecture of the AS/400 into what they call an "open system." They're offering more connectivity options, improved application portability, and RISC technology. All of this is designed to give AS/400 customers more choices and outside vendors an opportunity to tap into the AS/400 market.

But why stop there? To make the AS/400 a truly open system, IBM could allow customers to choose from a number of different operating systems and databases. In fact, IBM already sells an AS/400 that runs SSP, the S/36 operating system. While that seems like a step backwards, it proves that IBM has the technology to run other operating systems on the AS/400.

So why doesn't IBM really open up the architecture and allow other vendors' operating systems and databases to run natively on the AS/400? Just think, customers could choose Windows NT or NetWare instead of OS/400. Or they could select SQL Server, Oracle, or Sybase rather than DB2/400. The competition would be healthy. It would encourage IBM and its competitors to produce better products selling at a lower cost and give customers more choices than they ever dreamed possible.

But unless IBM gets the message, the only operating systems that will ever run natively on the AS/400 will be IBM's own. Other vendors may get their foot in the door by running in an emulated mode or on a separate add-on card with its own processor, but these options will never be as fast or full-featured as native implementations. At least for the foreseeable future, customers will always be forced to buy an IBM operating system with every AS/400 purchase. That doesn't sound like an open system to me.

-Robin Klima

Businesses survive and grow not by supplying what they think customers need, but by supplying what customers think they need. IBM doesn't understand that, and IBM's senior management in Armonk seems to be doing its best to make sure the company goes out of business.

Robin's point, I think, is openness (the general concept), not any specific operating system. If I started debating the OS/400-NT-OS/2 issue, I'd be missing the point. The point of openness is to allow the customer to select how the system is used. IBM doesn't care what the customers want, because Armonk seems to want to padlock the doors at Rochester.

IBM is sitting on a wonderful desktop PowerPC system that runs Windows NT. I saw that system last October. I played with it for a while, shocked by how fast it was even with the 601 in it. I was so depressed that I had just ordered a Pentium 90 for home use, especially when I heard the price point for the PowerPC system I was using.

I asked when they would start shipping this system, thinking that if it was fairly soon, I might just cancel the order for the Pentium system. I was told six to nine months. (My jaw dropped.) I couldn't figure out why. It was clear that the version of Windows NT for the PowerPC was nearly complete. It had only taken a few people a few weeks to port NT to the PowerPC-what were they waiting for?

"It will take us six to nine months to port OS/2 to the PowerPC," was the answer I received. In that moment, I heard IBM screaming, "I don't care what customers want, I want to go out of business!" Think about that next time you ante up 100 or 200K for an AS/400.

-Jim Hoopes

Opening up the AS/400 to other operating and database systems is a good idea for the customer, especially new ones, but consider the reality of the business world.

Software accounts for a significant amount of IBM's profits, and I believe IBM is very much interested in continuing to make money from software. Therefore, it's in their best interests to promote their own software. OS/400 and DB2/400 are a big reason the AS/400 is so successful. So why should IBM introduce competing operating systems and databases? If their plan was to just manufacture the hardware for the AS/400, it would make sense but, as I stated, I think IBM is interested in software and its profit potential.

Offering competing major software components for the AS/400 would be like GM deciding to allow customers to choose between a Ford, Chrysler, or GM engine. It will probably never happen because GM is too interested in making money on their own engines.

Besides, OS/400 is a mature, multiuser operating system. Right now, OS/400's internal code is being replaced with a new object-based kernel designed to take full advantage of the new 64-bit RISC architecture. This means OS/400 will be better equipped to manage the applications of the future. Consider the fact that Windows NT is a 32-bit operating system.

While Windows NT's user interface is obviously superior to a text-based interface, it doesn't make the underlying operating system better, just easier to use.

-Richard Shaler

Think of the different facets that make up a diamond. Each is a unique view of a well-organized structure. A well-crafted diamond is flawless, beautiful, and unique.

Now, think IBM. Not quite the same mental image, I'll wager, but Lou Gerstner is taking IBM in directions that will make it a corporation of gemstone beauty and efficiency. However, there are some flaws in the path IBM is apparently following. Each of these flaws will chip away at the IBM diamond.

Why has IBM soldered the Intel 486/66 CPU into the AS/400 file server input/output processor (FSIOP)? This is a monumentally stupid idea. My cat can change CPUs in my computer, thanks to a ZIF socket. I have virtually unlimited upward CPU growth potential with my PC, but not with my FSIOP. (Chip!)

Why does the AS/400 use proprietary RAM chips that cost a fortune compared to those available elsewhere? (Chip!)

When will IBM abandon the product whose picture is in my computing dictionary under the heading "Me-Too": OS/2? Microsoft won the desktop OS battle, and IBM lost. (Chip!)

Why is IBM frittering away its lead in the Power PC market by not releasing IBM PCs with the clearly superior Power PC CPU? (Chip!)

When will IBM come cocoa on the Power PC-based AS/400 black box? If they build it, we will come. (Otherwise...chip!)

I am absolutely convinced that Gerstner and IBM at large intend to position the AS/400 as the ultimate server, a "box for all seasons." IBM builds the best hardware in the industry, employs some of the brightest minds in the world, and has filed for more U.S. patents than any other company. IBM is a diamond in the rough, but, unless IBM recognizes the client/server, power-processing, networked, open system, interchangeable technology facts of today's market, IBM's diamond will lose its luster.

And a diamond is, after all, only an advanced form of coal.

-Kris Neely

Yes, the AS/400 is evolving, although the term "Open System" reminds me of Ali Baba kneeling at the console, reciting the secret words "OPEN SYSTEM!" and hoping that all the treasures within will be his. For years, IBM has tried to control the opening of the AS/400-with the introduction of real APIs, standard hardware interfaces, and a steady migration toward the Open Systems standards. And, with the introduction of the technology of the file server input/output processor (FSIOP), other operating systems like OS/2 LAN Server are available, with Novell NetWare set as a statement of direction.

The real beef is that we feel boxed in with the AS/400. There are limited suppliers of both the hardware and the software. And if the AS/400 and its operating system remain proprietary, this sensation of claustrophobia will always persist.

For some of us, however, opening up Ali Baba's secret door to the AS/400 must create a two-way street. Allowing other operating systems to run on AS/400 hardware is great, but greater still would be the OS/400 running on other platforms. Imagine the full capabilities of this premier multitasking, fully integrated operating system portable to HP, PC, or RS6000!

This may not be as crazy as it sounds. IBM is creating a microkernel architecture-rewriting all of its OSes with common code interfaces for greater portability. As hardware moves away from the CICS-based CPUs to RISC-based processors, it will be feasible and profitable for IBM to make its various OSes run on any number of hardware platforms. Shouldn't OS/400 be there too?

Until then, however, IBM should continue to work on those magic words, "Open System!" Until they get that passageway clear, we dedicated AS/400 users and programmers will continue to wander away with Microsoft, Novell, or some band of 40 thieves.

-Thomas M. Stockwell

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