RE: Looks Like The Party Is Over In Menlo (2nd try)

We have major project's under way to revamp the business, Informix has been and will be a major part of that !!!! Wayne E. Martin Informix Database Administrator Kmart Corp. -----Original Message----- From: smooth1 [mailto:smooth1@iclway.co.uk] Sent: Saturday, August 12, 2000 10:38 PM To: informix-list@iiug.org Subject: Re: Looks Like The Party Is Over In Menlo (2nd try) Tim Schaefer wrote in message <3995F9CC.127BB9A0@bellsouth.net>... >Clownster, > >I will try to be brief, it is a difficult thing for me, but I >will try to keep this short. > >Thanks for your kind words. Talk about the Peter Principle alive >and kicking at Informix. I imagine another class action lawsuit >is keeping Booby busy enough, not to mention the specter of major >mismanagement issues looming in the background. > >Interesting that until now Informix didn't have anyone in charge >with any software business experience. Dex was rewarded but >maybe more importantly, he was cannon fodder from the beginning. > >Now it appears Ardent will have the upper hand for a while at >least. But the agenda for engines may now shift towards what >Ardent sells vs what Informix used to sell. This is most >disconcerting in the context that almost nobody I know of is >using Ardent data bases of any kind. If Mr. Gyenes thinks >multivalue ( or whatever they are called ) data bases are in >vogue, he might want to take a closer look around. Nobody is >using them. Indeed Informix/Ardent or Ardent/Informix will >be out of business soon enough if this tact is taken. > Hmmm, that's what you seem to imply with Illustra, yet there still here... >Rob, regarding my comments that got this discussion started... > >No apology coming from me Rob. While you and the rest of the >IIUG were playing it safe, sucking up to Informix for your own >political agenda, getting your noses brown, and making sure >your fingers didn't get dirty, I took the bullet for Informix on >Linux, all of it, and with clear intent of getting the job done. >You may not like my style, and my words, but it doesn't mean that >I'm wrong, most of this whole past 5 years I've been right on >the money. I played it with the IIUG but the rewards were hardly >worth it. > Yeah, but we do this for the fight, not the reward. Getting the job done not looking good. >The fact that you and others inside/outside the IIUG didn't get >it then or now didn't help at all. Most of if not all of the >IIUG were enablers who actually got in the way of getting things >done. By the IIUG trying to "help" they actually enabled bad >thinking and bad behavior inside Informix. The IIUG was very ??? E.g.? >good at undermining an end-user position in favor of their own >personal political agendas. Informix had a great laugh watching Yeah, who, when, f*ck it, Name names. >the IIUG chew on its own. > >The course of computing history changed in spite of Informix >stupidity, arrogance, and ignorance, kicking and screaming the >whole way, and in spite of the IIUG "helping". I have to >thank a few hearty souls inside that were able to lobby hard as >much as I did on the outside, it was a major battle that none of >us want to repeat. Look back at the '98 conference, and you'll >see if it hadn't been for Informix on Linux, there would have >been nothing else for announcements except an unusable server >for Windows, and a few other paltry product announcements that >to this day nobody cares about. > >If you think an apology is coming, get it from Booby. He's the >one who ran the ship into the reef. If anybody is owed an >apology it's me and every single developer and end-user of >Informix who wasted their time on this technology only to see >it literally disappear from the face of the earth. > What disappeared? I'm running Informix 7 on Linux now. Informix XPS is stll here, you use it. Informix 9 is still here (and 7+9 are finally getting completely merged). - 7 was the basic engine - 9.1x was the merge it but keep 7 going - 9.12,9.14 etc added features+ the blades moved up versions to become more stable + add features. - 7 kept being enhanced 7.30,7.31 adding better debugging/support stuff+improved performance + added ER - 9.20 and soon 9.30 will merge the 2 engines. - Workgroup Edition appeared at 1/3 the price to replace SE. how else would you have done the merge? Now there is the i.Sell,i.Reach, Media Server appearing to use blades to provide quick to build solutions... - 8.x got developed (you use it!) - 8.20 and now 8.30 appeared - 4js build Dyamic 4gl and Informix bought it. The tools strategy failed but when someone else got it right for you, Informix bought them. ?? What stuff got lost? >To the point of where we are today, even after Informix was the >first enterprise level data base on Linux it went nowhere, even >with people like me and a few others willing to make things happen. >The ineptness of those left with Linux ports in hand did little >to market it correctly if at all, and refused to take any outside >advice or help on making things happen. The Silicon Valley >arrogance was overwhelming. NO marketing at all for Informix on >Linux or any of the rest of it, what a waste of a marketing >opportunity. > >Management decided that they instead wanted to chase and chance >after yet another risky market like Illustra that they DIDN'T have >a business case for, trying to fool everyone into thinking they >were an internet company. Such fools. > ?? Everyone else is move Internet and e-commerce based. What Informix should NOT be in this market?? The market for plug-ins into the engine IS there. My last company built document management system by linking RDBMS and full text search engines. With text searching blades this can all be done in the engine. Much simpler, faster, built by the vendors once not by ever document management company. Funny I thought document management was important and text searching kinda useful. >Imagine if they had taken the REAL WORLD serious how things might >be today, instead of the fantasy world of ORDMBS/academic-elitism, >coupled with internet dot-com-insanity. > >Linux was a battle we won, but the we lost the war. Now the spoils >go to Ardent. It ain't over yet, if Ardent doesn't get it they >will be the final nail in the coffin. > >Speaking of clowns, Obnoxio, regarding your historical perspective, >thanks again for your kind words, and backgrounder. It was a >pleasure working with you on Linux. One of these days we'll have >a beer or two together. > >See also: http://www.informationweek.com/709/09iulnx.htm > 'Linux is taking off' - agreed. >Regarding the End of Informix As We Know It in case you were >in training or had your head in the sand or up your a s s: > >http://cbs.marketwatch.com/archive/20000810/news/current/ifmx.htx?source=bl q/yhoo&dist=yhoo Informix is taking the financial hit and doing what needs to be done. Hmm, sounds like the right approach. >http://dailynews.yahoo.