What do you guys think of IBM?

[BigusSchmuck]

The company that I work for is going through a software conversion and I come to find out today its hosted on IBM servers. Now the good news seeing how I work for a COOP it will combine a lot of the things we are doing into one software package which makes my life much easier in that sense and its hosted off site. Bad news is, the interface is all command line driven, so we are going backwards to the days before DOS whereas the bits and pieces of software we currently use are Windows based. Even sadder yet, this wasn't IT's decision to do this, we had no input it was all accounting and grain, two of the most computer illiterate groups at work ever. So what do you guys think about IBM Mainframe software? So far I think its a waste of time and will cause more headaches than its worth considering that a lot of organizations are going off this stuff.

[SignOfZeta]

I don't think you actually mean an actual IBM "mainframe". That shit is extinct, isn't it? Even if they were in use they wouldn't be even close to fast enough to serve shit at today's speeds.

[SuperDeadite]

command line inputs are awesome.  So much quicker to get stuff done exactly as you want it.  It's not IBM's fault most people are lazy and ignorant of how to truly use a computer these days.  GUIs have ruined people.

[NightWolve]

Even sadder yet, this wasn't IT's decision to do this, we had no input it was all accounting and grain, two of the most computer illiterate groups at work ever.

Dunno about IBM Mainframe software (Just quick reaction, but who and how many around here even would be familiar with it? The odds of finding someone to chat about that seem very low if you ask me, but you've been here longer, so I dunno.), but I had a similar experience at my last job where the IT dept. is the last to be consulted about relevant matters. Product managers setting deadlines for product developers in the IT dept. without any prior input from them. It always drove me nuts... They would set a deadline without getting any input from those that would actually be doing the development of the product and yet were the least computer literate, then when the deadline is missed, they would wonder how come...

[kazekirifx]

Are you sure the command line interface is DOS, not some type of UNIX? I don't think DOS is used for servers - other than a hacked version I found from just googling now.

Really what you're describing doesn't sound like such a bad decision at all. My company uses Windows servers, and while the interface is very easy to use for those who are not comfortable with a command line environment, UNIX variants are typically much more stable, and also very easy to use once you are familiar with the commands.

[Tatsujin]

GUIs have ruined people.

so did calculators and stuff..lol!

[BigusSchmuck]

I don't think you actually mean an actual IBM "mainframe". That shit is extinct, isn't it? Even if they were in use they wouldn't be even close to fast enough to serve shit at today's speeds.

Thats pretty much what it is on steroids. http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/i/index.html

Are you sure the command line interface is DOS, not some type of UNIX? I don't think DOS is used for servers - other than a hacked version I found from just googling now.

Really what you're describing doesn't sound like such a bad decision at all. My company uses Windows servers, and while the interface is very easy to use for those who are not comfortable with a command line environment, UNIX variants are typically much more stable, and also very easy to use once you are familiar with the commands.

It predates DOS hence the reason why I was making fun of it. Its not so much the software itself that bothers me, but rather the timing. Harvest is a big time thing over here and by far the busiest time of the year. If these buerocrats had any kind of common sense, they would have had us doing this in the fall time where things aren't so busy and that way we can have some time to actually test it out and train people. As it stands right now we go live with this thing on July 1st and only had a month to train people. I dunno if you guys have done any big time software conversions, but anything of this magnitude should at least be tested for the first month, train people the next month and then go live the third month. Again, we are talking 250+ employees (not counting temp workers which easily makes it over 300) 90% of them are completely computer illiterate and only 3 of us to try to train these guys. It also should be noted that the systems that we are converting are from the grain departments, accounting, petroleum, agronomy and payroll. Ugh what a mouthful.

[SignOfZeta]

command line inputs are awesome.  So much quicker to get stuff done exactly as you want it.  It's not IBM's fault most people are lazy and ignorant of how to truly use a computer these days.  GUIs have ruined people.

Please, this is such bullshit. I mean, you are joking, right? You must be joking. If you had to admin a company with 100 million directories you'd just like...memorize where all that shit is then, wow. You must be a goddamn genius. I bet your entire home network is all monochome dumb terminals 'cause its legit. File names more than 8 characters long are for retards, right?

Seriously, no matter what it is, if nobody knows how to use it then it isn't the right decision. Anyone who can't understand that concept needs to take the sliderule out of their ass. It's obviously in so deep it's causing brain damage.

[FiftyQuid]

command line inputs are awesome.  So much quicker to get stuff done exactly as you want it.  It's not IBM's fault most people are lazy and ignorant of how to truly use a computer these days.  GUIs have ruined people.

I 100% agree.  Give me a CLI like TL1 anyday.

[Opethian]

If you are afraid of CLI then you dont script and a monkey could do your job. Mainframe isnt dead. IBM is trying hard to stay relevent in the "cloud" computing space so its no wonder they pitched a hosting service at your people and sounds like they won. I think IBM is overpriced for what you get. There are many other companies doing the same thing. Unless they are moving you software to a company they acquired you probably paid too much.

[SignOfZeta]

Command line interfaces in 2012 are basically a Tic Tac measuring contest where everyone loses. f*ck that shit. I have work to do.

[NightWolve]

In the CLI v. GUI issue, I do find myself needing CLI at times, but definitely prefer a GUI. CLI is necessary at times and in certain work environments a must; it depends on the situation, but calling a CLI 'awesome' is a bit of a stretch for me. I don't disagree with the rest of what SuperDeadite said, though. Computer users that started off with a CLI and then moved on to GUI tend to be more literate/competent. But eh, that's the point of a GUI, to make it as easy as possible for anyone in general to use a computer (not having to be a super techhead to use one), even the dumbest among us. Bringing up calculators is kind of a good comparison, we're better off overall with 'em, even though less of us can do basic math in our heads having been spoiled by 'em.

[soop]

If you really have just bought an entire bunch of shit running AS400, then I'm sorry for you.  I understand a lot of the financial sector still use it, but it's hyper-outdated.

As for the GUI vs command line debate, a GUI can still do command line, and thus is obviously superior.  You get a simplified intuitive interface for everyday tasks, and you get a command line interface for all the other stuff.

I usually have a dozen putty sessions up to all kinds of boxes, Solaris, linux, Cisco IOS or whatever, but I can't draw a pretty picture on any of 'em.

[SuperDeadite]

GUI is fine for most things.  I run Windows XP on my lappy.  But there are still some stuff that is just easier to run via the command prompt.  The ability to just add a simple "/X" to the end of a line is just cleaner, faster, and easier then trying to do that in any GUI I've ever used.

Today especially GUIs have gone insane.  Shit like Windows 8, the Metro crap they want to put on my 360, big flashy buttons are a step backwards.  It's like the damn GameCube controller with the big giant red button.  Just push here and forget about having any real control over your computer.

[soop]

GUI is fine for most things.  I run Windows XP on my lappy.  But there are still some stuff that is just easier to run via the command prompt.  The ability to just add a simple "/X" to the end of a line is just cleaner, faster, and easier then trying to do that in any GUI I've ever used.

Today especially GUIs have gone insane.  Shit like Windows 8, the Metro crap they want to put on my 360, big flashy buttons are a step backwards.  It's like the damn GameCube controller with the big giant red button.  Just push here and forget about having any real control over your computer.

I'd never use Metro on a PC unless it was purely a media center - and even my PC isn't *just* a media center.  But I've been using it on my phone for nearly a year now, and it's great.  I've been using touchscreen Windows phones since 2004, and they kind of went backwards for a while, which ended up in me installing all kinds of software on non-standard architecture and hacking the registry and overclocking stuff...  I'm much happier with Metro.

And as for stuff like text manipulation, I agree; it's usually much more flexible to use awk sed or even vi in a unix shell than it is to do something in Windows.