Why OldTech Keeps Kicking

Hugh Pickens writes "In 1991 Stewart Alsop, the editor of InfoWorld, predicted that the last mainframe computer would be unplugged by 1996. Just last month, IBM introduced the latest version of its mainframe, and technologies from the golden age of big-box computing continue to be vital components in modern infrastructure. The New York Times explores why old technology is still around, using radio and the mainframe as perfect examples. 'The mainframe is the classic survivor technology, and it owes its longevity to sound business decisions. I.B.M. overhauled the insides of the mainframe, using low-cost microprocessors as the computing engine. The company invested and updated the mainframe software, so that banks, corporations and government agencies could still rely on the mainframe as the rock-solid reliable and secure computer for vital transactions and data, while allowing it to take on new chores like running Web-based programs.'"

LOAD"$",8:LIST

[glindsey]

I DON'T SEE WHAT THE BIG PROBLEM IS. I
HAVE BEEN POSTING FROM MY COMMODORE 64 F
OR TWENTY YEARS NOW AND IT IS WORKING JU
ST FINE FOR ME!


The damned lameness filter has just managed to destroy my joke. Thanks a lot, filter.

From the Fine Article

[Intron]

"mainframe sales are a tiny fraction of the personal computer market"

I'm pretty sure that mainframe sales are 0% of the personal computer market.

Irony

[Dog-Cow]

Does noone else see the irony in a newspaper exploring the reasoning behind "old" technology being used in modern environments?

Re:Is it really "old" tech?

[JoeD]

No. They used something borrowed, and something blue.

Re:10 years ago, in Byte

[$RANDOMLUSER]

The same issue had an article on "DLL disasters - DLL conflicts are a common cause of crashes".

Ten years gone, and still relevant.

Re:Is it really "old" tech?

[GreatBunzinni]

Isn't that the motto of IBM's business model?

Re:Is it really "old" tech?

[Artuir]

Being American, I require all of my analogies to be in libraries of congress vs. nascar track time (as others before me have likely stated.) Thanks in advance!

Re:LOAD"$",8:LIST

[Otter]

Hey, it's that guy from Afghanistan! What's Jon Katz up to these days?

Re:Real Old Technology

[Admiral_Grinder]

Why bother, somebody is just going to reinvent later on.

Re:Old Technologies that are still kicking...

[Quiet_Desperation]

Does anyone actually use the tar program for its original purpose anymore?

Sometimes, but I generally skip the feathers.

Re:Ever hear of a "wheel"?

[Pope]

There's a hole in my bucket, you insensitive clod, you insensitive clod!

Re:Is it really "old" tech?

[bckrispi]

UNIX boxes are trucks.

It's not a truck. It's a series of tubes!