Big Iron

Today was my Unix day in work, and I got my hands on an IBM AS/400 (or iSeries/System i) for the first time. I've read about them, but never actually used one before. They are a quaint throwback from the days of mainframes and minicomputers, but were (and still are) quite ahead of their time. In terms of architecture and operation, they are absolutely nothing like a normal PC style computer. The whole system is object orientated, and there is a built in SQL database. Some aspects of Unix have made it into the OS, but even now it's still nothing like a regular computer. They have legendary uptimes, some go for years without any maintenance.

Despite the machines in work only being a few years old, they still use old-school terminals, some even have green screens, and huge clicky keyboards with 24 function keys. There is no GUI, but the whole system is menu based. It was certainly interesting to finally have a go on one anyway, or at least I found it interesting being the hapless geek that I am.

Apple seems to be in the throes of releasing a new iMac. I'm sure it's breathtakingly beautiful, but what's the idea of the MacBook like keyboard? Why have full-travel keyboards suddenly gone out of fashion? Give me an IBM Model M any day! Also it appears to have one of those new glossy LCDs. I hate those with a passion, they reflect everything and the image doesn't look that much better.