> > Even with PCs, the old standard measurements of processor speed are no > longer the selling points that they used to be. There are too many > variables that effect general performance. >
I think, however, that it is fair to say that peformance is always important, even for IBM. The relative power of each new generation of mainframe system is part of the sales pitch. It is also fair to say that non-mainframe systems are growing upward, and at a faster pace each year. Mainframes have a relatively comfortable niche for the time being, and (hopefully) will continue to have that for a number of years - but IBM is obviously needing to push the mainframe more for whatever reason (likely the profits are just too good compared to other markets where the competition is very intense). I am aware of several companies that offer x86 based 'mainframe class' systems (for a hefty price), that include a lot of the RAS features mainframes are famous for. Many mainframes now run Linux, and some traditional Unix workloads. As I mentioned in another post, I think that as these markets 'converge' there will be more requests for performance comparisons between them. Regards, Dean ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
