<VV> Machine Code

[Bill H.]

B"H

What's with these newfangled Intel computers, you teenage whippersnappers?  I 
learned IBM BAL(Basic Assembler Language) on a 370-series mainframe, as well as 
COBOL (which I prefer for ease of programming).  We also punched cards on an 029 

keypunch and submitted the "decks" to the operators for execution and got our 
printouts a couple of days later.

I still work in a huge IT agency in a huge municipal government (NYC) and I 
STILL work on mainframe computer systems.  Apparently they wll never go away, 
after all, users don't want to hear about "blue screens of death" and other 
assorted wonderful Windows types of crashes.

In fact, a number of retailers in my area use LInux on their servers, and I've 
seen them crash also numerous time.  I can only remember ONE time in the past 25 

years that an IBM mainframe computer had a hardware failure and crashed.  That 
happened about a year ago, and within two hours IBM had the system back up and 
running.

One IBM z/Series mainframe can run hundreds of applications and thousands and 
thousands of users all logged on all at the same time, on ONE machine, with 
split-second response time for online applications.

Sorry for rambling, but part of my job is to convince Windows-crazy users that 
they're not going to get the same performance out of a bank of Intel computers, 
as from a single IBM system.

Back in my day, buzzwords like TSO, VTAM, JCL, CICS, COBOL, MVS, and Adabas were 

a sure ticket to landing a lucrative job in the new world of IT!

Just shows you how old I am.  Best regards...Bill Hershkowitz 69 Monza Coupe 110 

PG A/C