Why old technologies are still kicking

The mainframe stands as a telling case in the larger story of survivor technologies and markets. An old technology or business often finds a sustainable, profitable life.
(From The New York Times)

The story "Why old technologies are still kicking" published March 23, 2008 at 4:45 PM is no longer available on CNET News.

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[Commander_Spock]

"The company invested and updated the mainframe software, so that banks,...

... corporations and government agencies could still rely on the mainframe as the rock-solid reliable and secure computer for vital transactions and data, while allowing it to take on new chores like running Web-based programs...". It would have been good if IBM had done the same thing for the OS/2 Operating System; but wait - from: "OS2LDR and OS2KRNL -- The Secret Handshake": ( http://www.edm2.com/0703/hshk.html ); ( http://translate.google.com/translate?prev=/language_tools&u=http://ru.ecomstation.ru/showarticle.php?id=175 ); work on the "OS2LDR and OS2KRNL" may well be on the way by some "S-M-A-R-T" RUSSIANS that would likely see some "rolled heads/raised eyebrows" at Armonk and Redmond (for having held back on the enhancement of the OS/2 KERNEL for years). :-) ;-) :-) !

[Commander_Spock]

So, how goes the "State" of the "financial markets and much of global...

... commerce" including that of the U.S. Housing Market; since this article talks about - "Today, mainframe sales are a tiny fraction of the personal computer market. But with the mainframe facing extinction, IBM retooled the technology, cut prices and revamped its strategy. A result is that mainframe technology--hardware, software and services--remains a large and lucrative business for IBM, and mainframes are still the back-office engines behind the world's financial markets and much of global commerce". The big question is: Should not the U. S. Housing Loans which are taking the U. S. "financial markets" south be a "combination" of that of an "housing loan and "commercial" loan (re: for e-commerce...ya know, all those Back-To-Back Letters Of Credits....commerce) then the home-owners' desktops would mind the power of the IBM Mainframe against that of OS/2 Desktops with the sounds of Lotus "SYMPHONY". Against this background of "old technologies are still kicking" then it should be "very high marks" for the current U.S. Presidency. Just where lies the blame for the current "State Of The Union" - the "Banks" or the "High Tech Companies (IBM, INTEL...). :-) :-$ ;-)

Long Lives OS/2!

[Commander_Spock]

Very, Very Interesting Reading: Bring It On!

From the below: "IBM from the ground up as the Personal Computer (PC) version of a mainframe operating system, with all of the time-slicing, stability, and other features previously existing solely on those high-end machines"!!!

"Operating System/2 (OS/2) was originally developed as a joint project between IBM and Microsoft. It's intention was to replace the antiquated Disk Operating System (DOS) as the operating system of choice. At the time, DOS was at version 3.x, and IBM and Microsoft both realized that with the advent of the Intel 80286 in the mid-1980's, it was quickly becoming obsolete. Thus, OS/2 was born, initially as a 16-bit, command-line based operating system. Microsoft worked closely with IBM up to version 1.3. While IBM worked on the "guts," they worked on the new graphical user interface that was due for later versions. OS/2's kernel was developed by IBM from the ground up as the Personal Computer (PC) version of a mainframe operating system, with all of the time-slicing, stability, and other features previously existing solely on those high-end machines".

http://www.os2bbs.com/os2news/OS2Warp.html

As the main subject line reads; and, so does this one - these are "a million and one the reasons" "Why old technologies are still kicking". Bring It On. ;-) !

[krosavcheg]

The mainframe survived because...

Question? If I know that IBM wasn't the only maker of mainframes why doesn't the author of this article know that? Also IBM wasn't the only company to use microprocessors to replace the older technology but just like in the old days, the press is too blind to the rest of the story.

The reason mainframes have survived is because of the huge amount of legacy code would have to be replaced and most companies are more interested in developing new code than redeveloping old code.

And yes, Commander Spock is dangerously insane with his OS/2 obsession :)

[Commander_Spock]

And, yes "krosavcheg"! Thanks for the opportunity to respond. ;-) !

You know, this is what they always say about some who "dare" to "differ" from the rest of the pack; but, aren't you leaving out the "Icing For The Cake" (the Economic Rate of Return Functionality - ERR...). Also, isn't it true also that some "Boldly Go Where None Has Gone Before"; and, the below attached "link" is for your curiosity about where some of the flow of the water that is filling the "water well" (and which quenches the thirst of the "OS/2 obsession" of some) originates:

http://translate.google.com/translate?prev=/language_tools&u=http://ru.ecomstation.ru/showarticle.php?id=175

Read the subject line. ;-) :-$ :-)