Some weeks potential subjects for this blog literally trip over one another in their attempts to get to the front of the queue. Then there's this week.
We were all set. We had what we thought was the perfect subject for a blog post and it all evaporated when we found that the folks involved in the project were not ready to go public yet. For some reason when that happens, it always seems to make it harder to find a topic because in your mind the blog is already written. Try as we may that's what ours minds go back to every time we try to come up with a new topic. Maybe it's just us?
We came upon a good source of IBM-related blogs at www.ibm.com/blogs/zz/en/--or at least we thought so when we first started reading. There's lots of good and interesting stuff on the site about a variety of topics including Java, mainframes, Domino, AIX, DB2 and general business issues. Plus a few subjects that are barely IBM related at all except for the employer of the blogger.
If IBM is involved in it, somebody is blogging about it. Except ... well you've probably guessed what's coming next. From this site, one could come to the conclusion that a complete dearth of IBMers are working on i blogging. But we all know this isn't true, of course. There's Steve Will, Dawn May, Mike Cain and Tim Rowe--to name just a few that we read regularly. We confess that we didn't read every single entry in every single blog (there are a lot of them) but a Google search restricted to the site revealed only one reference even when we included AS/400, iSeries and Systemi in the search terms. Unfortunatly that one reference was to a blog that apparently no longer exists. We couldn't find it on the page linked to the blogger's name.
We looked for a link where we could report such glaring omissions, but if there is one we couldn't find it. Hopefully some of the IBMers who read this blog can help remedy this situation. It really seems like an interesting site (although it could do with a topic area cross reference). Guess we should be used to it by now, but that doesn't mean we have to take it lying down!
Jon, Susan -- interesting. This is an IBM blog aggregation site I had not encountered before. Judging by the blogs I see, it appears to have risen from Software Group. I don't see any AIX there either, and only one blog which mentions Power in its description.
I have submitted "You and i" to be included. "The listing of this feed is awaiting the approval of the approver(s) below. It will be visible in the directory once approved."
Hopefully, that will happen soon. Thanks for pointing it out.
This company is So Big!
Posted by: Steve Will | December 13, 2012 at 10:39 AM
Very cool. Its funny to think of an IBMer working on Arduino libraries but one of your bloggers is a very active contributor.
Infoq has an interesting presentation on the design and evolution of Algol and Burroughs http://www.infoq.com/presentations/Algol from the author of Bisync.
The speaker states that when you bought Burroughs you got the source of the OS. And he says there are features in Algol that would be useful today.
Posted by: Greg Helton | December 15, 2012 at 11:52 AM
@Greg Some year ago I worked on a Burroughs B6000 (I think) and you are correct - users not only had a copy of the source of the OS but could (and did) modify it. This actually caused a major problem for Burroughs at one time and the source was (I think temporarily) withdrawn. Why? Because the OS programmers had used some "colorful" language in some places and rumour had it that a senior executive of a major client once was shown the code a system programmer was working on during a show and tell visit and was so offended he complained to Burroughs.
One the parts I was shown involved resolving a deadly embrace between a system function and a user function where one or the other had to die. The function that was called to dispatch the user task was called xxxxtheuser (you can work out possible values for xxxx yourself!). When a task died a process called the undertaker was called to to consign the tasks resources to the graveyard. It was all very colorful and remarkably easy to understand. I didn't get to use much Algol on the job - but I did find it an interesting language.
Posted by: Jon Paris | December 17, 2012 at 11:54 AM
@Steve Glad you have applied to have your blog included.
As to your comment re "Big Company" I have always felt that the biggest mistake many folks make is to see IBM as a single entity. It really isn't - it is many companies under one umbrella. The "contention management" style that Watson introduced is still alive and kicking.
Posted by: Jon Paris | December 17, 2012 at 11:57 AM
Social media of the 70s, http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2012/12/social-media-history/ ... another of Jon's early endeavors? (haha, sorry about that)
Posted by: Greg Helton | December 25, 2012 at 08:21 AM