Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Microsoft Windows, On a Mainframe

Posted by timothy on from the operating-systems-plural dept.

coondoggie writes with an excerpt from Network World: "Software that for the first time lets users run native copies of the Windows operating systems on a mainframe will be introduced Friday by data center automation vendor Mantissa. The company's z/VOS software is a CMS application that runs on IBM's z/VM and creates a foundation for Intel-based operating systems. Users only need a desktop appliance running Microsoft's Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) client, which is the same technology used to attach to Windows running on Terminal Server or Citrix-based servers. Users will be able to connect to their virtual and fully functional Windows environments without any knowledge that the operating system and the applications are executing on the mainframe and not the desktop."

11 of 422 comments (clear)

  1. In other news... by janeuner · · Score: 5, Funny

    Norton AntiVirus, Mainframe Edition!

    Now on sale for $49,950, first year of virus definitons free!

    1. Re:In other news... by MightyMartian · · Score: 5, Funny

      Norton AntiVirus, Mainframe Edition!

      Now on sale for $49,950, first year of virus definitons free!

      Guaranteed to take up 90% of cycles and 75% of RAM, regardless of mainframe resources. Slow and buggy, get the new version with VirtualDriveLightAlwaysOnPlus, which gives the user the feel of working on a real Windows workstation with NortonAV installed.

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    2. Re:In other news... by kpainter · · Score: 5, Funny

      For some reason my 3 char password just isn't enough anymore.

      Would that be "CTRL+ALT+DEL"?

    3. Re:In other news... by OnlineAlias · · Score: 5, Funny

      Seriously, the Microsoft licensing is what you are worried about? In this scenario, I'd have a shotgun in my office waiting for Big Blue or Computer Associates to come busting through. This is a mainframe dude, where "insert shaft/no lube" licensing models are standard procedure.

  2. Re:Let the analogies commence by Profane+MuthaFucka · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's like creating a world-spanning network with submarine cables, microwave links, fiber-optic everything, satellite dishes, protocols out the wazoo, billions of lines of code and huge multinational telecommunications and consulting companies to service and support it, employing tens of millions in highly skilled work...just to look at some big titties. http://images.google.com/images?q=bigtitties&sourceid=navclient-ff&rlz=1B3GGGL_en___US233&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi

    --
    Fascism trolls keeping me up every night. When I starts a preachin', he HITS ME WITH HIS REICH!
  3. Stability? Hah! by gravos · · Score: 5, Funny

    These guys really want all the top notch 100% stability of Windows Vista... on their mainframe? Oh man, I must be missing something. Does Microsoft pay them to do this?

    --
    This game will waste your life. Don't clicky!
    1. Re:Stability? Hah! by soren202 · · Score: 5, Funny

      dozens? No.

      This is Vista we're talking about.

      I'd put the number at around 4. Five if you decide to get really spendy with the mainframe.

  4. Re:kinda funny by DoofusOfDeath · · Score: 5, Funny

    now we're back to dumb terminals.

    No way. Getting their human caretakers to uninstall Windows is the smartest thing the terminals ever did!

  5. In other other news... by quenda · · Score: 5, Funny

    Users report that Vista finally responds smoothly.

    1. Re:In other other news... by KZigurs · · Score: 5, Funny

      bad news. Mainframe != speed.
      More apropriate would be to say that Vista crashes more predictably and across all mirrored hardware CPU's at the same time.

  6. Re:Really? by Sir_Lewk · · Score: 5, Funny

    Do you honesting thing the person sitting in front of the average windows workstation is the only person using it?

    --
    "linux is just DOS with a UNIX like syntax" -- Galactic Dominator (944134)