Re: Why do I need New Era?

This is posted from my email: From: Rodney <rodney@worf.infonet.net> Message-Id: <199503271553.JAA00738@worf.infonet.net> To: tschaefe@gate.net Subject: Re: Why do I need New Era? In-Reply-To: <3l3u74$1q97@tequesta.gate.net> Organization: INS Info Services, Des Moines, IA, USA In article <3l3u74$1q97@tequesta.gate.net> you write (edited): >Dear Friends :-) I read your post with much interest and the more than occasional nodding of my head. I just don't get how they're ever going to sell any of this as such an outrageous price. I did have one question about your post. >Microsoft is doing a VERY smart thing by dumping A LOT of value into >this product for the price. They GIVE AWAY the ODBC drivers to hit >ANY data base. I know I can access ( no pun intended ) any data base, >spec out ANY business plan, large or small, and develop client server >with this product. Am I too premature in my judgement? What do you mean "They GIVE AWAY the ODBC drivers"? They give away the ODBC driver to get to Informix db's? As part of what product? Or is it not attached to a product? Do you still need I-Net (I don't know how you wouldn't)? I-Net alone costs a lot, but maybe that's the price I pay to run an Informix back end. Thanks, rodney From ???@??? Mon Mar 27 17:56:14 1995 Received: from worf.infonet.net (root@worf.infonet.net [167.142.225.4]) by tequesta.gate.net (8.6.9/8.6.9) with ESMTP id QAA13548 for <tschaefe@gate.net>; Mon, 27 Mar 1995 16:06:38 -0500 Received: from worf.infonet.net (rodney@worf.infonet.net [167.142.225.4]) by worf.infonet.net with SMTP id PAA29606 for <tschaefe@gate.net>; Mon, 27 Mar 1995 15:06:37 -0600 Date: Mon, 27 Mar 1995 15:06:36 -0600 (CST) From: Rodney <rodney@worf.infonet.net> To: Tim Schaefer <tschaefe@gate.net> Subject: Re: Why do I need New Era? In-Reply-To: <199503271844.NAA58409@tequesta.gate.net> Message-ID: <Pine.OSF.3.91.950327145554.29672A-100000@worf.infonet.net> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII On Mon, 27 Mar 1995, Tim Schaefer wrote: > >What do you mean "They GIVE AWAY the ODBC drivers"? > > Yes, I should clarify: > "ODBC Drivers are supplied for Access, Foxpro, dBASE, Paradox, Btrieve, Excel, > text,SQL Server, and ORACLE. ", according to the literature for VC++. Ahhhh. > >They give away the ODBC driver to get to Informix db's? > No, conspicuously absent were INFORMIX or Sybase drivers. I have the Q+E > driver someone gave me. Until I set up a UNIX box here in my office, I will > be in the dark about some of these issues, that until now were considered > something to put off till later. Windows is being PUSHED in to the market, > and peer-to-peer data bases are on the horizon. These issues have also been something to put off till later for me. I have started to get evals of different Informix drivers, but the ODBC companies always made even that harder than it should be. Hmmmmmm, I wonder why. > >As part of > >what product? Or is it not attached to a product? Do you still need > >I-Net (I don't know how you wouldn't)? I-Net alone costs a lot, but > >maybe that's the price I pay to run an Informix back end. > > > I don't know, but I'm scrambling to get these kinds of answers because > businesses are wanting them. Yes, I was a consultant until 6 months ago. I was starting to get frustrated trying to push my Informix (and UNIX) love on everyone. Now I work for one of my ex-clients. I still have to provide answers, except now its my job. > I'm an INFORMIX lover--maybe to a fault. Having spent the last 10 years > or so devoted to the 4GL and UNIX, I'm now asking some serious questions > about the NEED for an expensive data base product from any big vendor, or > even a UNIX box--and mind you I love UNIX. I can't tell you how many times I've thought, and said, the very same thing. Six months ago, my company switched from dumb terminals to Pentiums on the desktop. Since then, I have developed several applications using Access. They run on NFS mounts (as opposed to client/server), but they work fine. I have developed zero Informix applications. And as you say, that fine RS/6000 model 360 in the back room is quickly turning into a paperweight. That doesn't make me feel real comfortable knowing that I was mainly responsible for it in the first place. > If you're a smart MIS person you'll start looking around at "overseer" > products that manage distributed databases. INFORMIX must see the writing > on the wall, that their 4GL is seeing sundown, and UNIX may even be short- > lived. This is crazy-talk, but look at the prices for mainstream software, > and hardware. I can set up 3 PC's with Win 95, and a file-server PC running > Novell Netware, and MS-Access or some inexpensive DB. The file-server will > store data, and the PC's will too, and all be transparent to the user. The > cost will still be cheaper than running INFORMIX ANYTHING, the client will > be happy, and the users will love the Windows interface. Yeah, it used to be real easy to argue about how great a multi-user UNIX system was. How incredibly cost-effective it was. How it would blow away PC LANs. Well, those days are all gone now. Thanks for your input. I just received my eval of NewEra. Of course, I had to commit to NewEra training before they would even give me an eval. It'll be a fun couple of months trying to determine where to take my company. rodney