Monthly Archives: February 2009

Anybody know how I can get cheap access to a IBM VM/CMS system?

Just for kicks, I’d like to do some programming on a VM/CMS system, build some menu-driven apps that I can access with a 3270 emulator. What’s my best bet for this sort of utterly useless programming experience? Why do I want to do this? Well, let’s just say I’ve got a hankering for the ole MIZZOU1 mainframe. I don’t feel like my life programming experience will be complete until I’ve done a bit of bona-fide mainframe programming. It doesn’t have to be on a mainframe, mind you. It can be “mainframe-like”. It has to be a descendant of the CMS series though, and I have to access it through a 3270 terminal emulator, because seriously, out of all the terminal emulators, those 3270s they used to have at the Univ of Missouri-Columbia computer labs in the late 80s used to make me think I was living in the world of Logan’s Run or THX 1138 every time I used them. Obviously, I’m influenced by this guy.... Read More »

Web 2.0 - 6.0

You’ve heard of Web 2.0, right? It’s all this Ajax crap. Ruby On Rails. Fun duo-syllabic names for web companies. Supposedly Web 3.0 is the “cloud”, but I’m reading that’s also Web 4.0. Just for kicks, google web 5.0. Interestingly enough, Web 6.0 is just far enough out there that it’s still an amusing punchline. All this, pardon my french, tells me that Web X.x is actually utter crap, which probably explains why I still get so much mileage out of Web 1.0 destinations. Update: Oh yeah, I just realized this is the 200th post on this blog in almost 7 years. Tearing the blogosphere a new one, ain’t I?... Read More »