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So long COMMON, you've been a good friend

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  • So long COMMON, you've been a good friend

    You mean they haven't lined you up as a speaker at the Anaheim show? rd

  • #2
    So long COMMON, you've been a good friend

    Chuck Ackerman wrote: > I can also remember when COMMON sessions were devoted to Java or Websphere. > You couldn't attend a session without Websphere being mentioned. Yet, that > fad has passed with few Java or Websphere classes being offered. Now, the > rise of Linux appears to be the latest fad at COMMON. I thought there were a number of Java and Websphere classes. But since I wasn't interested in them I didn't pay _that_ much attention. > I can remember when there was no vendor Expo at COMMON and we had to attend > the traveling System/3X expo. I can remember when the Expo was introduced > and only IBM was permitted to show their wares. Eventually non-IBM vendors > showed up at the Expo and there was a gasp when Microsoft and HP showed up > at the COMMON Expo. Alas, the IBM competition has gone away, not because of > threats from IBM but because of lack of interest. Did you see that TATA (I think that's their name) was there? I only visited about 6 booths because that's all I was interested in. IMHO the return the vendors get out of their booth is based on the enthusiasm they put into their booth. > Many things have been introduced at COMMON and many have faded away. I hear you, but that is not unique to COMMON. Fads have always come and gone. Remember CASE? Client/server? SAA? That's the way our industry works. I wonder how many of those newfangled acronyms like AJAX and EGL will be around in 5 years. Who knows? > As a decision maker COMMON has two things that bring me to their fall > conference (I can't attend spring COMMON as it's a busy season for me): 1) > The Expo and 2) the huge variety of classes available. I'm seldom > interested in focusing on a single subject but want to see them all, or at > least as much as possible, to make sure that I keep up on the latest and > greatest. COMMON presents a great value for a decision maker as it provides > all the things I need to keep up on the System i and it's products. > > Alas, starting next year, fall COMMON will take on drastic changes. Gone is > the Expo as we know it. Only a few vendors will be invited and they'll only > be allowed desktop displays ala college night at the local high school. > Also gone is the variety that attracts decision makers. Those familiar one > hour and fifteen minute sessions on every topic imaginable will be replaced > with day long tracks that emphasize only a single subject. Just so everyone understands, the COMMON conference as we know it (the 'classic' conference) is not disappearing. The spring COMMON conference will be the classic conference. Expo will be there, as well as a larger offering of classes due to it being once a year in that format. The fall conference will be workshop based as you say. I applaud this and I'll tell you why. About 6 months ago I started dabbling seriously in SQL. Have about 20 programs in production now with embedded SQL. The problem with various 1 hour and 15 minute sessions on a topic like SQL is that there's too much overlap, too much repeat, and not enough depth. (Not to mention conflict with other sessions I may want). I've attended enough 1 hour and 15 minute sessions on SQL and wanted the next level. I attended the 6-hour pre-conference workshop on SQL and it was perfect for me. Covered everything from beginning to end, the big picture. I attended _no_ other sessions on SQL the entire week. (There was also a 6 hour workshop on Disaster Recovery that I wanted to attend so I flipped a coin.) I think these will be the wave of the future. Once you've dabbled on a topic in short sessions and now want the full picture, here's the way to do it. > Al Barsa has said that he won't be there and I suspect that because the > attendance will be limited that many of the familiar faces we are used to > seeing will also be gone. You're talking the fall conference only, right? I really don't think professionals will skip the spring conference out of spite. > I will miss COMMON, it has been a trusted and loyal friend but I guess that > all good things must come to an end. Chuck, I'm surprised at you. Over the years, you've always been the one barking at the rest of us about new products, new methods, and new ways of looking at things. About the need to reinvent ourselves because the world is everchanging. Will the new way work? Heck I don't know, but it seems promising to me. I do understand the spring is a problem for you in your particular business, but their might be other industries (like certain retail) where the fall, 3 months before Christmas, is a problem. Just so you know, I didn't drink _all_ the koolaid. iSociety, as a System i portal, seems like a good idea to me, but I'm really skeptical. What's needed is not more preaching to the choir, but getting the word out to non-System i decision makers on what the box can do for their business. For me the iSociety jury is still out on that. It really pi**ed me off when Elaine (can't think of her last name) from IBM said IBM didn't have the $100 million it would take to get the System i word out to the masses. $100 million for a company like IBM is nothing. $100 million advertising promoting the System i would devastate the xSeries, zSeries, and pSeries lines. IBM knows it, you and I know it, the users attending COMMON know it, and the people on stage at that time know it. IBM services revenue would tank. They just can't look beyond the next quarter. If iSociety works and forces IBM's hand in this regard then I'm for it. Call me subversive, but I think there's more going on here than meets the eye. -- Jeff Crosby Dilgard Frozen Foods, Inc. P.O. Box 13369 Ft. Wayne, IN 46868-3369 260-422-7531 The opinions expressed are my own and not necessarily the opinion of my company. Unless I say so.

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    • #3
      So long COMMON, you've been a good friend

      Chuck said: "I'm seldom interested in focusing on a single subject but want to see them all, or at least as much as possible, to make sure that I keep up on the latest and greatest." I'm more interested in hitting one subject hard from start to finish, kicking the tires, popping the hood, getting my hands dirty. Guess that's why I like tech books. So, I actually like the idea. But then again, I've only been to one COMMON ever so my opinion probably doesn't have much value. Never mind. :-) Chris

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      • #4
        So long COMMON, you've been a good friend

        Jeff, > The fall conference will be workshop based as you say. I applaud this > and I'll tell you why. About 6 months ago I started dabbling seriously > in SQL. Have about 20 programs in production now with embedded SQL. > The problem with various 1 hour and 15 minute sessions on a topic like > SQL is that there's too much overlap, too much repeat, and not enough > depth. (Not to mention conflict with other sessions I may want). I've > attended enough 1 hour and 15 minute sessions on SQL and wanted the next > level. Nothing wrong with workshops. But they went over the cliff and eliminated everything but workshops. One of the complaints I often hear from vendors at the Expo is there aren't enough decision makers attending COMMON. They've effectively eliminated decision makers at the fall COMMON altogether. >> Al Barsa has said that he won't be there and I suspect that because the >> attendance will be limited that many of the familiar faces we are used to >> seeing will also be gone. > > You're talking the fall conference only, right? I really don't think > professionals will skip the spring conference out of spite. Yes, sorry if I gave the wrong impression. Al won't miss it out of spite, he says it's not worth his time to volunteer if he can't see other sessions. Like me, he's not interested in day long workshops. > Chuck, I'm surprised at you. Over the years, you've always been the one > barking at the rest of us about new products, new methods, and new ways > of looking at things. About the need to reinvent ourselves because the > world is everchanging. Will the new way work? Heck I don't know, but > it seems promising to me. I'm not saying I won't send programmers from my staff. But I have no interest in day long workshops on a single subject. And I suspect most management won't be interested either. I need information on as many topics as possible to make a weeklong trip worthwhile. Oh, did I tell you that fall COMMON will go from 5 days down to 3? And that they're moving it to smaller cities. This fall it will be in Columbus, Ohio. This has all the smell of a cost cutting measure to me. Could it be that COMMON is in trouble? They made a point of saying they're not in financial trouble. Usually when a company says that... > I do understand the spring is a problem for > you in your particular business, but their might be other industries Sorry for the misunderstanding it's not a work related thing. But it could be for a lot of people. Cutting COMMON to essentialy once per year for decison makers WILL limit their attendance. > It really pi**ed me off when Elaine (can't think of her last name) from > IBM said IBM didn't have the $100 million it would take to get the > System i word out to the masses. Yes. When IBM said their marketing budget for the System i was only $10 million I was flabbergasted. My midsized employer spends a ton more than that! chuck Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of my employer.

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        • #5
          So long COMMON, you've been a good friend

          Chris, Yes, I appreciate your thinking. Unfortunately, I can't do that very often. Just a hazard of being in management. chuck Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of my employer. "Chris Ringer" wrote in message news:6b3a431c.2@WebX.WawyahGHajS... > Chuck said: "I'm seldom interested in focusing on a single subject but > want to see them all, or at least as much as possible, to make sure that I > keep up on the latest and greatest." > > I'm more interested in hitting one subject hard from start to finish, > kicking the tires, popping the hood, getting my hands dirty. Guess that's > why I like tech books. So, I actually like the idea. But then again, I've > only been to one COMMON ever so my opinion probably doesn't have much > value. Never mind. :-) > > Chris

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          • #6
            So long COMMON, you've been a good friend

            Plus their so called advertising consists entirely of server consolidation with implied promises of getting rid of admins, e.g., pictures of Dilbert among on a stack of PC towers. These full page ads are so ubiquitous they look to be trying desperately to spend the 10 million on that alone. When Linux, AIX, and Windows are on partitions with i5/OS, you still need i5, Linux, AIX, and Windows admin expertise. They apparently are completely focused on the i5 as a SAN with a backup of all the OS partitions together, one command they call it. This is so ludicrous, yet the IBM marketing people have been saying this since 1997 or so, like brainwashed zombies with marching orders. NY is like a concrete block on the feet of Rochester, and they are in deep. rd

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            • #7
              So long COMMON, you've been a good friend

              I am sure you did not mean to put us down. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0763098.html Top 15 is not small..... Bryan
              Oh, did I tell you that fall COMMON will go from 5 days down to 3? And >that they're moving it to smaller cities. This fall it will be in >Columbus, Ohio.

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              • #8
                So long COMMON, you've been a good friend

                Ok, I'll rephrase... "Any city that requires a plane change when traveling from Los Angeles." "bryan dietz" wrote in message news:6b3a431c.6@WebX.WawyahGHajS... >I am sure you did not mean to put us down. > > <http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0763098.html> > > Top 15 is not small..... > > Bryan > > Oh, did I tell you that fall COMMON will go from 5 days down to 3? > And > >that they're moving it to smaller cities. This fall it will be in > >Columbus, > Ohio. >

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                • #9
                  So long COMMON, you've been a good friend

                  Chuck, that's pretty good stuff there, though maybe the title should've been "So long, Iseries (whatever), you've been a great friend".....especially with your previous "Breeze" entry! Wonder how long the iBox can last at this rate?

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                  • #10
                    So long COMMON, you've been a good friend

                    I don't know, but after reading some stories on COBOL in Computerworld this evening, they had companies (heck, a division of NYSE in one article) that claimed they couldn't move fast enough from mainframes to clusters of Windows servers. I personally think business has tagged IBM as cash cowing them and they'd like to move to commodity hardware/software, but can't find anything more cost efective than the IBM mainframe and midrange running COBOL and RPG custom code that they have. But they're trying. Real hard. rd

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                    • #11
                      So long COMMON, you've been a good friend

                      If IBM wants help in selling the iBox, why don't they do themselves a big favor and design an iBox to sold for $5K that supports 20 users, has all the tools onboard and full set of open source software. Some stuff that's been retired or on strictly maintenace should be put on open source; combine decent stuff with a higher performance box (limited by users only) just might attract some new users. Of course, it'll never happen....

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                      • #12
                        So long COMMON, you've been a good friend

                        There's an excellent article today on the other site about IBM offering a system i with HarrisData ERP software. It's right up the alley of what I've wanted to see offered by IBM and an ERP vendor, and looks to me like this has lots of potential. The fixed price of unlimited use of the software with source code availability is just the assurance that a business needs to invest in the i5 and ERP software. rd

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                        • #13
                          So long COMMON, you've been a good friend

                          I've been attending COMMON for over 20 years now. But, alas, I fear I may have attended my last COMMON. More on that in a minute... I remember being at COMMON when Bob Cozzi smugly announced the renaming of his Q/38 product to Midrange. I remember when IBM pushed OS/2 and a huge number of the sessions at a Las Vegas COMMON were on OS/2. I can also remember when COMMON sessions were devoted to Java or Websphere. You couldn't attend a session without Websphere being mentioned. Yet, that fad has passed with few Java or Websphere classes being offered. Now, the rise of Linux appears to be the latest fad at COMMON. I can remember when there was no vendor Expo at COMMON and we had to attend the traveling System/3X expo. I can remember when the Expo was introduced and only IBM was permitted to show their wares. Eventually non-IBM vendors showed up at the Expo and there was a gasp when Microsoft and HP showed up at the COMMON Expo. Alas, the IBM competition has gone away, not because of threats from IBM but because of lack of interest. Many things have been introduced at COMMON and many have faded away. As a decision maker COMMON has two things that bring me to their fall conference (I can't attend spring COMMON as it's a busy season for me): 1) The Expo and 2) the huge variety of classes available. I'm seldom interested in focusing on a single subject but want to see them all, or at least as much as possible, to make sure that I keep up on the latest and greatest. COMMON presents a great value for a decision maker as it provides all the things I need to keep up on the System i and it's products. Alas, starting next year, fall COMMON will take on drastic changes. Gone is the Expo as we know it. Only a few vendors will be invited and they'll only be allowed desktop displays ala college night at the local high school. Also gone is the variety that attracts decision makers. Those familiar one hour and fifteen minute sessions on every topic imaginable will be replaced with day long tracks that emphasize only a single subject. Al Barsa has said that he won't be there and I suspect that because the attendance will be limited that many of the familiar faces we are used to seeing will also be gone. I will miss COMMON, it has been a trusted and loyal friend but I guess that all good things must come to an end. chuck Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of my employer.

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