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O'Reilly On The Importance Of The Mainframe Heritage
theodp writes "After exchanging e-mail with mainframe software pioneer Mario Morino, Tim O'Reilly writes 'It's important for the open source community to look more at the software heritage of the mainframe era.' O'Reilly might want to take a look at how Marino's own MICS software has been used since the 80's to automatically charge IBM mainframe users for printed material that could be ordered from PC clients with a single action by using billing and shipping information that was previously stored on a Mainframe server. The whole process might seem oddly familiar."
Set up a Vax system in his house as a prank, as I recall.
I think Linux really makes it when people no longer even question its use. Even better when people start to question why it mightNOT have been used.
Linux should always be questioned, just like the use of every other tool. Linux is fabulous, but it is not all powerful or appropriate for every situation. You should always consider the situation before making a decision about the tool to use.
... ITS LINUX!! IT RULEZ!! No discussion needed d00d.
Knee-jerk Linux advocacy isn't any better than unthinking opposition to Linux. I actually think its worse. When someone simply opposes Linux, there is probably another solution that either already works, or could be reasonably expected to work on Unix or Windows. An unthinking Linux advocate may push a solution which is unworkable.
I recently had a discussion with a coworker who though that Linux would be the best OS to use on an Itanium server. I found to be an astonishing view. For our industry there is a growing amount of vendor software that runs on Itanium.... under HP/UX. Hundreds of packages run under HP/UX, but I can only think of about 2 that run under Linux. Linux would clearly be a poor choice for us, and yet that was the automatic answer from my coworker. After some additional discussion it turned out that he didn't really know about the applications, but basically assumed that Linux could do it. I think that is way too common among Linux users.
Frankly, contrary to you, I think Linux will have made it when it is questioned (like every other IT/engineering solution should be) and chosen as the best solution for the problem, and not because
Could always store it as an antique. No reason to run it 24x7. Unless VAXen are very peculiar in some fashion I am unaware of.
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A retort to Mr.T's clame "Anybody who works for free is a slave" is.
I've heard of a wage slave (working at a wage) but not a hobby slave (Working for free).
I understand his position given the situation. He did not consent to the situation so it's more a case of theft. (The fact that your not being paid dosen't change the fact that the payment was the reason you did the work).
You have hit on something very much key to this.
The reason this early open source worked was becouse the pirces of the mainframs did in fact pay for the software develupment.
This has not ceased to be the case. MacOs X is in fact still paid for by hardware sales yet Apple wishes to keep MacOs X a commertal binary.
SunOs was also subsidised by hardware but Sun didn't open source it.
Just about every hardware driver in existence is closed. Why? You can't sell the driver and with out a driver you can't even sell the hardware. It's stupid.
Most software is compleatly devoid of any commertal value.
Example programs that overwrite your erased data with nulls. It's a nice added security but it's easy to get around so it's hardly worth putting out $10 for so it'll never make it except as a free program.
What ever happened to RipTerm, RipScript and other efforts at low bandwith graphics?
Dead becouse they are propritary.
(Some BBSes like VBBS offered free alternitives)
Flash Media has no alternitives. It's a unique product and so long as it remains unique with no alternitives it will remain valuable.
But should someone produce an open alternitive it is history.
Then you have postscript. An effort to make one commen standard for all printers. It's still used but mostly on high end printers targeting profesionals who may be using high end computers that won't run Windows.
Then there is CUseeme. A great protocal for it's day quickly brushed aside for pritty much anything else once it went commertal.
Some people will even prefer nothing at all do using CUseeme.
What if HTML was propritary?
True thies are protocals and not programs but in each case there is support software to go with it.
Would you pay for daliclock? A nifty app for xwindow and Palm that displays the time and when the time changes it melts to change the display to the current time.
I wouldn't. But I have it installed on my workstation an PDA.
It's a commen myth that if people will use software for free they'll pay for it. More often than not users only use free software becouse it's free and for no other reason.
People will pay for software only if it's of value to them and they believe there is no cheaper alternitive.
(Hence Microsofts old Total Operating Cost FUD.)
Not everything should be in open source. But if your not going to sell it then publish it.
I don't actually exist.