http://blog.gmane.org/gmane.comp.emulators.hercules390.advocacy hourly 1 1901-01-01T00:00+00:00 http://gmane.org/img/gmane-25t.png http://gmane.org http://comments.gmane.org/gmane.comp.emulators.hercules390.advocacy/633 <pre>"we do not think that mimicking IBM's instruction set architectures on commodity OEM hardware is in any way innovative" Thus wrote Mark Anzani, IBM's System z Chief Technology Officer, in a letter to TurboHercules dated November 4, 2009. Here's why he's wrong: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/H390-MVS/message/13183 http://home.comcast.net/~mvsddt/ "The MVS Dynamic Debug Tool is a client/server debugging tool for MVS 3.8 running under Hercules. MVS DDT consists of two major components: - The server which executes as a batch job running the MVSDDT program on MVS -The client which is a Java application running on any platform supporting version 6 of the Java Runtime Environment" This is a fine example of independent innovation made possible by a freely-available virtual mainframe. Roger Bowler Hercules "the people's mainframe" </pre> Roger Bowler 2012-05-24T20:48:04 http://comments.gmane.org/gmane.comp.emulators.hercules390.advocacy/609 <pre>I like this quote from Mark Lillycrop in this month's z/Journal (Aug/Sept 2011) http://www.mainframezone.com/zjournal/dmrb4/digital "These days, competitive battles end up in court more quickly, particularly those that involve doing mainframe computing in ways that IBM never intended, or that threaten to disturb the delicate equilibrium of the cost-per-MIPS calculation. Emulation software or hardware vendors such as TurboHercules, PSI, T3 Technologies, and Fundamental Software have all attempted to push back the barriers, and the end result is often acquisition or demolition by IBM." Mark is right. IBM is sending a clear message to innovators: push back the barriers and IBM will crush you. Roger Bowler Hercules "the people's mainframe" </pre> Roger Bowler 2011-08-09T09:29:51 http://comments.gmane.org/gmane.comp.emulators.hercules390.advocacy/599 <pre>Hercules is in the news once again: http://www.eweekeurope.co.uk/news/ibm-complaints-dropped-by-neon-turbohercules-t3-35972 http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/08/03/ibm_eu_mainframe_complaints_dropped/ I am reminded of the 1951 film "The Man in the White Suit" starring Alec Guinness: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_in_the_White_Suit Roger Bowler Hercules "the people's mainframe" </pre> Roger Bowler 2011-08-04T09:05:41 http://comments.gmane.org/gmane.comp.emulators.hercules390.advocacy/595 <pre>I'm thinking of opening a company which will offer some derivative of PDOS as a solution, along with a derivative of Hercules. But also on the cards at some point would be offering z/OS and seeing if Australian laws are more conducive of that than European/US laws. Any comments? Thanks. Paul. </pre> kerravon86 2011-04-18T08:37:04 http://comments.gmane.org/gmane.comp.emulators.hercules390.advocacy/590 <pre> With the news of the judgment against the Minnesota Mom for downloading songs, what is the status of IBM vs. The Little Guy running an illegal copy of one of their o/s's on Hercules ? A recent article on the TurboHercules lawsuit commented that there are hundreds of not thousands of illegal copies of z/OS out there... Does anyone know of any documented legal actions ? </pre> Stan Saraczewski 2010-11-05T12:58:59 http://comments.gmane.org/gmane.comp.emulators.hercules390.advocacy/587 <pre>In the first of the series of CA videos at http://www.ca.com/us/content/campaign.aspx?cid=240377 there is a quote from Scott Fagan, Chief Architect, Mainframe Business Unit, CA: "If you talk to people who have been working on this platform for longer than I've been alive, they'll tell you that it's *their* platform, that IBM is just a custodian of platform, CA is a custodian of platform. That they're the ones who in the 60s were picking little cores up off the floor and making sure the IBM CE did the right stuff. That's really why it is where it is, it is the community, and the fact that there's a great deal of feeling of responsibility on all parts. Where the customers feel a great deal of responsibility of the platform, IBM clearly feels a great deal of responsibility, as do the ISVs" I think that all IBM managers and lawyers should be required to learn this quote by heart. -- Regards, Roger Bowler http://perso.wanadoo.fr/rbowler Hercules "the people's mainframe" </pre> Roger Bowler 2010-10-08T15:20:04 http://comments.gmane.org/gmane.comp.emulators.hercules390.advocacy/512 <pre>Just stumbled across this today: Inside System Storage -- by Tony Pearson "#IBMtechU IBM Storage University in Washington DC - Day 5 the New zEnterprise" https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/mydeveloperworks/blogs/InsideSystemStorag e/entry/ibmtechu_ibm_storage_university_in_washington_dc_day_5_the_new_zente rprise26?lang=en (or): http://preview.tinyurl.com/35z94nx I realize it's several months old, but the following really set my teeth on edge (pissed me off): "But what about developers and testers, such as those Independent Software Vendors (ISV) that produce mainframe software. How can IBM make their lives easier?" "Phil Smith on z/Journal provides a history of [IBM Mainframe Emulation]. Back in 2007, three emulation options were in use in various shops:" * Open Mainframe, from Platform Solutions, Inc. (PSI) * FLEX-ES, from Fundamental Software, Inc. * Hercules, which is an open source package "None of these are viable options today. Nobody wanted t</pre> "Fish" (David B. Trout 2010-09-20T03:18:18 http://comments.gmane.org/gmane.comp.emulators.hercules390.advocacy/511 <pre>Dana Blankenhorn's latest article on ZDNet has got it about right, I think: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/how-ibm-hopes-to-make-the-cloud-proprietary/7272 Regards, Roger Bowler Hercules "the people's mainframe" </pre> Roger Bowler 2010-09-02T20:04:36 http://comments.gmane.org/gmane.comp.emulators.hercules390.advocacy/508 <pre>http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-10764294 26 July 2010 Last updated at 10:35 ET The European Commission has launched two competition inquiries to study whether IBM has abused its dominant position in mainframe computers. One probe follows complaints by two software makers, T3 and Turbo Hercules. The study will examine whether IBM has put obstacles in place that prevent competitors from operating freely. IBM says the claims have no merit. The other inquiry, launched by the Commission itself, will look at IBM's relations with maintenance suppliers. T3 and Turbo Hercules allege IBM has been tying mainframe hardware to its mainframe operating system. It is alleged that by tying mainframe hardware products to its dominant mainframe operating system, IBM shuts out providers of emulation technology which enables users to run applications on non-IBM hardware. The second, European Commission-launched probe, concerns alleged discriminatory behaviour towards competing suppliers of mainframe maintenance ser</pre> Mike Schwab 2010-07-26T19:40:57 http://comments.gmane.org/gmane.comp.emulators.hercules390.advocacy/506 <pre>There's another potential option. Simply use a bootleg z/OS. In court etc, IBM is required to show damages. That is the point at which you can effectively buy z/OS. The court will probably even demand that you get a proper licence, at which point you can say "um, does that mean IBM is required to sell it to me?". Then you've effectively got a court order in your favour. There's a reasonable chance that IBM will be hauled over the coals for predatory practices in the whole process anyway. Again, usual disclaimer about not being a lawyer. BFN. Paul. </pre> kerravon86 2010-06-26T23:39:45 http://comments.gmane.org/gmane.comp.emulators.hercules390.advocacy/505 <pre>Roger, I've been told that in Australia, IBM can't refuse to sell z/OS to someone who has the money to pay for it, thanks to the Trade Practices Act. Something about "constraint of trade". I'm no lawyer, and I have little interest in the non-technical side, but perhaps you can get some Australian customers onto Hercules. BFN. Paul. </pre> kerravon86 2010-06-19T05:02:22 http://comments.gmane.org/gmane.comp.emulators.hercules390.advocacy/503 <pre>In case anyone doubts that IBM's patent arsenal[1] is intended for non-peaceful purposes, here again is the well-known story about Sun's visitation from the men in blue suits: http://www.forbes.com/asap/2002/0624/044.html And apparently they add another 20 patents per day[2]. That means that every day IBM invent another 20 ways they can use to attack developers who have the temerity to stray into what IBM regard as their exclusive domain. Another 20 ways to restrict the freedom of programmers like you and me by staking their exclusive claims on who can develop what. -- Regards, Roger Bowler http://perso.wanadoo.fr/rbowler Hercules "the people's mainframe" [1] http://www.ibm.com/ibm/licensing/patents/ [2] http://fosspatents.blogspot.com/2010/04/when-it-comes-to-patents-ibm-stands-for.html </pre> Roger Bowler 2010-05-03T16:15:14 http://comments.gmane.org/gmane.comp.emulators.hercules390.advocacy/502 <pre>http://www.voxeu.org/index.php?q=node/4951 In this article, Federico Etro, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Milan, Bicocca, describes the background to the TurboHercules EU complaint. -- Regards, Roger Bowler http://perso.wanadoo.fr/rbowler Hercules "the people's mainframe" </pre> Roger Bowler 2010-05-03T15:59:01 http://comments.gmane.org/gmane.comp.emulators.hercules390.advocacy/500 <pre>Lynn Wheeler writing yesterday in the ibm-main forum under the topic "25 reasons why hardware is still hot at IBM" made reference to a z/Journal article from Feb/Mar 2006 by Barry Graham of Arcati (ex Xephon) http://www.zjournal.com/index.cfm?section=article&amp;aid=346 In this article Barry said: "The net result of the slowdown that has occurred since the ’90s, when IBM first began to limit and ultimately eradicated all mainframe processor competition, is that the price per MIPS today is approximately six times higher than the $165 per MIPS that the traditional technology/price decline link would have produced. As a result, the largest systems today cost closer to $18 million than the $3 million they have cost throughout most of the mainframe’s history—a very high price to the user for the elimination of competition." I believe that Hercules is positioned to be the catalyst for restoring competition in the mainframe market. I think IBM recognize this too. -- Regards, Roger Bowler http://perso.wanadoo.fr/</pre> Roger Bowler 2010-05-03T08:59:10 http://comments.gmane.org/gmane.comp.emulators.hercules390.advocacy/498 <pre>Here's a quote from Information Week attributed to Daniel Frye, responsible for IBM Linux Development team. It's on the second page of this article: http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/open_source/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=224400309 "IBM's Dan Frye, VP of open systems development at IBM, reminded attendees in a keynote address that his firm invested $1 billion to get its product line to support Linux 10 years ago. The firm struggled to contribute to Linux as well, judging it to be in its strategic interest to build up an x86 version of Linux that would offer an alternative to Windows and compete with Sun's Solaris." So apparently it's OK for IBM to use open source (Linux) to build a product designed to compete with Windows and Solaris. But when someone else uses open source (Hercules) to build a product which IBM sees as potentially competing with System z, IBM use the threat of patents to try and crush the competition. IBM justify their actions on the grounds that they have "invested billions</pre> Roger Bowler 2010-04-20T11:31:36 http://comments.gmane.org/gmane.comp.emulators.hercules390.advocacy/487 <pre>Jay, thanks for joining the discussion on Groklaw. There was a lot of misinformation on the site and you are clarifying a lot of things. There still seems to be confusion relating to the relationship of the Hercules project to TurboHercules SAS, although some are starting to get it. There are really five stakeholders involved in the issues, potential (IBM's potential to claim patent infringement) and real (the TurboHercules SAS complaint with the EU): * Hercules project developers * TurboHercules SAS * IBM and * IBM customers that license IBM software and * Users of Hercules that can legitimately use the software they are running with Hercules. If your role is in explaining and defending the Hercules project developers (the project itself does not have legal standing, only the people who contribute do), then any way that the project (really developers) can be separated from TurboHercules SAS is desirable. I understand your perspective that this is really impossible.</pre> Harold Grovesteen 2010-04-10T16:17:18 http://comments.gmane.org/gmane.comp.emulators.hercules390.advocacy/475 <pre>http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20100408153953613 </pre> floyds_void 2010-04-09T13:23:30 http://comments.gmane.org/gmane.comp.emulators.hercules390.advocacy/474 <pre>http://lwn.net/SubscriberLink/382350/3f5c17387abb8f32/ </pre> Harold Grovesteen 2010-04-09T09:54:12 http://comments.gmane.org/gmane.comp.emulators.hercules390.advocacy/466 <pre>Here's a quote by someone who signs himself "Friend of Hercules" posted on the Wall Street Journal's "Real Time Brussels" blog. I think he summarises the situation very neatly: "Sure, it makes sense that IBM doesn’t want people to run their mainframe software on cheap Intel boxes instead of IBM’s gold-plated gear. But the fact is IBM has been neglecting the smaller mainframers who have the most to gain from emulators for years. Hercules is trying to serve customers IBM doesn’t want to bother with. And I bet when all is said and done it will turn out that Hercules isn’t even violating any IBM patents. Everybody knows IBM tries to patent everything it can think of (including ideas that are really obvious or that have already been done by others) with the express purpose of building up a huge patent portfolio that they can then use to intimidate competitors. They might very well succeed in crushing TurboHercules with these threats. But if they do, they’re shooting themselves in the foot, because Hercules</pre> Roger Bowler 2010-04-08T08:46:16 http://comments.gmane.org/gmane.comp.emulators.hercules390.advocacy/463 <pre>I think I once saw a link to the deleted chapter (or maybe it was the full rb with the later deleted chaper), but I can't find it now. Anyone know where it is? </pre> mfnoel 2010-04-08T00:21:32 http://comments.gmane.org/gmane.comp.emulators.hercules390.advocacy/450 <pre>http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/03/26/ibm_turbohercules_response/ &lt;http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/03/26/ibm_turbohercules_response/&gt; [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] </pre> ScottC 2010-03-26T17:41:59 Search the mailing list at Gmane query http://search.gmane.org/?group=$group=gmane.comp.emulators.hercules390.advocacy