18 Sep
2003
18 Sep
'03
2:13 p.m.
On Thu, 18 Sep 2003, Gunther Schadow wrote:
So, let's clarify the terminology: what's a
mainframe anyway?
Webster's is particularly unhelpful:
Date: circa 1964
: a computer with its cabinet and internal circuits; also : a large fast
computer that can handle multiple tasks concurrently
haha, so my Laptop is a mainframe :-) :-)
ANY performance spec based definition is a moving target.
By some old definitions, my current wristwatch (Matsucom) is a mainframe.
Even any definition based on characteristics is a crapshoot. Do you want
to exclude a machine because it uses a DIFFERENT technology?
PRICE is more stable, but still has a few exceptions, such as
gold plated jewel encrusted calculators, and usually fails to take into
account Moore's law (which has brought a lot of the prices down)
An unpopular set of definitions that has a few exceptions, but has help up
fairly well over time:
"A microcomputer is one that you can pick up and carry."
"A minicoputer requires a handtruck." (casters, anyone?)
"A mainframe requires a forklift and a union moving crew." (several
regulars here have proven exceptions to THAT!)