IBM AS400 eServer and I-SERIES aka BeerFridge400
Whirring error free for the last ten years.
Seriously, my two machines have been running fairly continuously except when they have been loaded into moving trucks to migrate around the country chasing their nomadic nerd owner (aka Me). Bloody good machines.
But now that these old machines can only run up to IBM i5/OS Version 5.4which means I cannot write any new style RPG code.
I also connect using smelly old Twinax and Ethernet (no wifi).
So… I’m considering sunsetting them in favour of using a new IBM Power Server.
There are a few online IBM iSeries and Power System solutions in the Cloud.
Sadly, IBM’s corporate pricing structure is purely focused on B2B sales. 🙁
Poor consumers like me are stuck with IBM refusing to sell small machines to students and/or little independent programmers.
This basically means that I have to choose between spending $5000+ on a computer or on a new motorcycle 🙂
Maybe I just gotta stick with a ten+ year old operating system and admire my black boxes, supporting a beer fridge and homeserver.
UPDATE 2016
IBM refused to move on their price, so…
I ended up moving to PUB400 for my development work and spending the $5000 money on a motorcycle 😉
With a tear in my eye, these old machines had a vacation at my local tip:
