OS Wars are over, we all lost?

[bogeyman]

Perhaps this thread should have been entitled "Desktop PC OS Wars".

In the world away from your PC desktop (and small server), UNIX is king, like it or not.

Actually, z/OS is king. That's the stuff that actually makes the world run, gets your bank paymements done, gets your phone and utility bills to you, without fail.

Your bank/utility co. may use UNIX in their branch-end stuff but the real deal at the sweaty industrial back-end is typically lots of big iron and z/OS.

[NickFitz]

Actually, z/OS is king. That's the stuff that actually makes the world run, gets your bank paymements done, gets your phone and utility bills to you, without fail.

Your bank/utility co. may use UNIX in their branch-end stuff but the real deal at the sweaty industrial back-end is typically lots of big iron and z/OS.

It's nice that it gets the bills to us without fail.

It would be even nicer if it knew that it had received payment rather than sending out reminders for stuff that has been paid. And if it didn't send bills to people who aren't customers. And if it didn't send out bills for £0.00 and require a payment (via another such system) of that amount. And if it actually got the bank payments done rather than losing them and telling people they've gone overdrawn and then catching up with itself and telling them they actually hadn't gone overdrawn and then have to reverse the bank charges it had applied to their account because it sincerely believed they were overdrawn. And if it didn't double-charge hundreds of thousands of transactions at Sainsbury's on a Saturday afternoon and then take four days to get things back in order.

Apart from that, and all the rest, it is indeed wondrous

[darmstadt]

How about MVS on the PC?

Yes:

http://www.hercules-390.org/

http://www.funsoft.com

I also wrote a couple of redbooks about it

[Moscow Mule]

It's nice that it gets the bills to us without fail.

It would be even nicer if it knew that it had received payment rather than sending out reminders for stuff that has been paid. And if it didn't send bills to people who aren't customers. And if it didn't send out bills for £0.00 and require a payment (via another such system) of that amount. And if it actually got the bank payments done rather than losing them and telling people they've gone overdrawn and then catching up with itself and telling them they actually hadn't gone overdrawn and then have to reverse the bank charges it had applied to their account because it sincerely believed they were overdrawn. And if it didn't double-charge hundreds of thousands of transactions at Sainsbury's on a Saturday afternoon and then take four days to get things back in order.

Apart from that, and all the rest, it is indeed wondrous

You can't blame the os for tulipe software...

And as for the best os? Look no further than i

[expat]

Yes:

http://www.hercules-390.org/

http://www.funsoft.com

I also wrote a couple of redbooks about it

I know, but if it runs under another OS then it is just an emulator: at best an interface, not an OS. And if, say, the Linux that it runs under can't mount my PCMCIA adapter, or the Windows that it runs under has lost the ability to use a DNS, then hercules can't do it either.

[expat]

Actually, z/OS is king. That's the stuff that actually makes the world run, gets your bank paymements done, gets your phone and utility bills to you, without fail.

Your bank/utility co. may use UNIX in their branch-end stuff but the real deal at the sweaty industrial back-end is typically lots of big iron and z/OS.

Fine. I learned to program in upper-case, 80 cols wide. If fact I still have a copy of SPF Lite on my work Windows desktop because there are some commands that you just can't find anywhere else (x all; f all ...).

But its like a good unix installation, only more so: it only works because there is someone there full-time making it work. In a desktop I want it to work without attention: it's a tool, not a hobby in itself.

[darmstadt]

I know, but if it runs under another OS then it is just an emulator: at best an interface, not an OS. And if, say, the Linux that it runs under can't mount my PCMCIA adapter, or the Windows that it runs under has lost the ability to use a DNS, then hercules can't do it either.

Correct but z/OS can't run on Intel due to big - little endian differences but I run z/OS on numerous Thinkpads and x236 server with no problems under Linux and UnixWare. There was another one out which allowed you to run z/OS on Itanium (Platform Solutions) but this went to court and IBM bought them this year. There was also another emulator which ran under Windows called UMX but the IP was bought by some American travel software company.

[expat]

user -- interface -- programs -- OS -- hardware

I don't have any problem with user (!), interface, programs, or hardware. So changing it to

user -- interface -- programs -- emulated OS -- OS -- hardware
wouldn't really fix anything.

Probably the way to make everything work invisibly is dictatorial control from the top, i.e. the Apple method. So I ought to just buy a Mac and forget the Tommy Hilfiger effect.