As for keeping track of sql variants, I recommend Oreilly's *SQL in a nutshell*. It's helped me quite a bit developing a vendor neutral app that runs on both Oracle and SQL Server. (It covers Postgres and MySQL also).
As the reviewer posted, learning sql and learning the various flavours IMHO is too much for one book. The Nutshell book is a reference for advanced users.
I started out programming on AS/400's at Andersen Consulting when they first got out--in the late 1980's. A/C and their clients liked them a lot because of the quickness of developing applications and their low 'tco' (total cost of ownership). Whereas with a mainframe you needed a separate 'security guy' (could be a gal), a 'print spooler guy' an 'OS guy' and what not, with the AS/400 all you needed was an operator to load tapes.
Just two years ago I talked to a consultant at a big law firm in Chicago. They had Unix, NT, and AS/400 systems. An army of unix guys, an army of nt guys, and one as/400 operator--to load tapes. (Plus they ran several apps on their as/400).
The AS/400 (and its predecessor the system/38) was revolutionary in its own way. It had a separate hardware abstraction layer, it was (somewhat) object oriented, a built in database, and it was easy to get up and running.
To conclude: concede the revolutionariness of the AS/400 and its effectiveness for transaction oriented systems and its superiority over the Big Iron mainframe. But mention that it lacked threading and ability to run anything beyond a database system.
Further your point that IBM has relegated the AS/400 to a database server. (and DB2 does not port perfectly from linux to OS/400). IBM spends more money marketing websphere than all of the AS/400 line. In short, the market is not growing at all and IBM's pretty letting it die a natural death.
The poster should have clarified whether the customer believes the software provides competitive advantage or whether it merely simplifies some administrative steps in their operations. I assume the latter, but it's good to clarify in this type of situation
I would pay for a 'subscription to topics via email' where I get a nicely formatted email with daily 'top comments' on the topics I care about (java, linux, sci-fi shows: whatever).
By nicely formatted, I mean, HTML email with links to the original article and posts. So I can read it in one swoop. You can put ads in the email, as long as they're good and relevant and unobtrusive.
I would be more willing to pay if you guaranteed strong moderation: specifically good editors who know their topic really well made sure that all posts were read and bucketized correctly. Perhaps supplemented by comments from known experts in the field. (e.g. when John Carmack posted on the Quake2)
I use slashdot to feel the pulse of the tech world and I often find the comments more helpful than the original article, especially if someone knows their stuff.
I have no problem dropping some cash to keep current, whether it's a magazine, an O'reilly book.
100 effective with reporters in Africa
on
Tandys Never Die
·
· Score: 2, Informative
I read a few years ago that the 100 was popular with reporters in undeveloped places.
Built in modem (that worked over lousy phone lines). Zero boot time. Enough memory for a few articles. Rugged.
Here's an article:
article
Do text-based games fly in Japan, the latest proving ground for all-things-cellular?
I've *read* that docomo offers games over their i-mode service. And Bandai and NTT Docomo are working to develop more phone-based video games (http://www.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9909/20/bandai. cell.phone.idg/ ).
Success of such games in Japan might suggest whether Bedouin is on to a good thing or not.
*Peanuts* was a witty, subtle comic strip which appealed both to adults and children. The tv specials (e.g, "a Charlie Brown Christmas") also were clever and adult-watchable.
The Peanuts movies, however, (excerpts shown on last week's Charles Schulz tv tributes) came across as kids stuff. It seemed they couldn't sustain the wit/poignancy for 2 full hours.
I didn't see the South park movie so, I don't know how it turned out, but I'd fear that the Simpsons-writers, clever as they are, couldn't make it work.
Slashdot Mirror
As for keeping track of sql variants, I recommend Oreilly's *SQL in a nutshell*. It's helped me quite a bit developing a vendor neutral app that runs on both Oracle and SQL Server. (It covers Postgres and MySQL also).
As the reviewer posted, learning sql and learning the various flavours IMHO is too much for one book. The Nutshell book is a reference for advanced users.
I started out programming on AS/400's at Andersen Consulting when they first got out--in the late 1980's. A/C and their clients liked them a lot because of the quickness of developing applications and their low 'tco' (total cost of ownership). Whereas with a mainframe you needed a separate 'security guy' (could be a gal), a 'print spooler guy' an 'OS guy' and what not, with the AS/400 all you needed was an operator to load tapes.
Just two years ago I talked to a consultant at a big law firm in Chicago. They had Unix, NT, and AS/400 systems. An army of unix guys, an army of nt guys, and one as/400 operator--to load tapes. (Plus they ran several apps on their as/400).
The AS/400 (and its predecessor the system/38) was revolutionary in its own way. It had a separate hardware abstraction layer, it was (somewhat) object oriented, a built in database, and it was easy to get up and running.
To conclude: concede the revolutionariness of the AS/400 and its effectiveness for transaction oriented systems and its superiority over the Big Iron mainframe. But mention that it lacked threading and ability to run anything beyond a database system.
Further your point that IBM has relegated the AS/400 to a database server. (and DB2 does not port perfectly from linux to OS/400). IBM spends more money marketing websphere than all of the AS/400 line. In short, the market is not growing at all and IBM's pretty letting it die a natural death.
The poster should have clarified whether the customer believes the software provides competitive advantage or whether it merely simplifies some administrative steps in their operations. I assume the latter, but it's good to clarify in this type of situation
Slashdot powers that be:
I would pay for a 'subscription to topics via email' where I get a nicely formatted email with daily 'top comments' on the topics I care about (java, linux, sci-fi shows: whatever).
By nicely formatted, I mean, HTML email with links to the original article and posts. So I can read it in one swoop. You can put ads in the email, as long as they're good and relevant and unobtrusive.
I would be more willing to pay if you guaranteed strong moderation: specifically good editors who know their topic really well made sure that all posts were read and bucketized correctly. Perhaps supplemented by comments from known experts in the field. (e.g. when John Carmack posted on the Quake2)
I use slashdot to feel the pulse of the tech world and I often find the comments more helpful than the original article, especially if someone knows their stuff.
I have no problem dropping some cash to keep current, whether it's a magazine, an O'reilly book.
I read a few years ago that the 100 was popular with reporters in undeveloped places. Built in modem (that worked over lousy phone lines). Zero boot time. Enough memory for a few articles. Rugged. Here's an article: article
Can you imagine the trillion dollar lawsuits if the millions of self-important professionals and pampered teenagers get ear-lobe cancer?
Lawsuits will surface like mold on old bread. Yuck.
Do text-based games fly in Japan, the latest proving ground for all-things-cellular?
. cell.phone.idg/ ).
I've *read* that docomo offers games over their i-mode service. And Bandai and NTT Docomo are working to develop more phone-based video games (http://www.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9909/20/bandai
Success of such games in Japan might suggest whether Bedouin is on to a good thing or not.
*Peanuts* was a witty, subtle comic strip which appealed both to adults and children. The tv specials (e.g, "a Charlie Brown Christmas") also were clever and adult-watchable.
The Peanuts movies, however, (excerpts shown on last week's Charles Schulz tv tributes) came across as kids stuff. It seemed they couldn't sustain the wit/poignancy for 2 full hours.
I didn't see the South park movie so, I don't know how it turned out, but I'd fear that the Simpsons-writers, clever as they are, couldn't make it work.