System iNetwork

January 2005

January 16, 2005 1:47 PM

Text based systems?

I agree with what Jeff Sutherland was saying regarding systems being text based. I do not know if it is the same in the US as in the UK, but I have come across a story (I wish I made a not of the reference) of one large company replacing the old legacy system with a smart browser based system. On implementation it was found that it slowed data input down to about 50% of the previous speed as the users had to move from keyboard to mouse and back again.

What I would have liked is a hybrid between the 5250 screen and the flexibility of a browser screen, so that colors, fonts, and layouts can be used to the best advantage. However, there are two other aspects of browser based solutions that I do not like:

The first is that all input fields are implicitly character and that you have to resort to other techniques such as Javascipt to force numeric data, decimal places, dates, etc.

The second is that browsers are stateless, meaning you have to resort to other methods, such as cookies or hidden data etc. to keep state data. I much prefer the 'traditional' RPG route where the data is held implicitly between user interactions.

And then there are various types of messages, subfiles, submitted jobs, and so on.

I do often feel that many aspects of IT systems are just bandwagons that many people jump on.

Ah well we can dream….

Posted by on January 16, 2005 at 1:47 PM

January 10, 2005 8:56 AM

The best IBM ad yet

IBM had a great ad in the Jan 3 issue of Computerworld. It is a full page spread towards the middle of the mag. Pages 26&27 to be exact. It shows the floor of a stock exchange, either real or mocked up, it doesn't matter.

It is an ad for middleware from IBM indicating that middleware is everywhere. That isn't what I found interesting. Look at the interfaces through the ad.

Whether it is the leader boards or the LCDs people are looking at, guess what? It is all text based information. You don't see a GUI with pictures, icons, button, pull downs, etc. in the whole add. Some guy in the front of the ad has his hand on a mouse in front of a text screen. Interesting.

Save this ad and get the Bill Gates inteview with Conan O'Brien from last week. The next time somebody wants you to get rid of the iSeries green-screen show them the ad. Point to the key words in the ad IBM uses: quick, secure, reliable, compliance, heavy volume. Then play back Bill's mishaps with his PC show and a locked up PC with an "out of resource" message box.

I doubt if IBM intended this to be a push for non-Windows systems, but what I see is a big push for the iSeries applications that still run and make people money today!

Posted by on January 10, 2005 at 8:56 AM