mike@erix.UUCP (Mike Williams) (03/14/88)
My wife is having a hard time running an IBM system 36 at her place of
work. Not being a computer person, she turns to me (who is at least
supposed to be one). After having looked at the IBM manuals and tried
to play with the machine, I have not yet even been able to understand
the file system (there seems to be no way of doing an "ls" to get a
list of all files on the system, the "catalog" command seems to have
bizarre options and why does the "catalog" command print its output by
default on a printer, not on the terminal on which you are working?)
Are there any good books about thyese systems? Is there any software
commercial or otherwise which tames these systems? Is there any logic
about the way the OS is written? (Why have one set of commands to deal
with files on floppies and a completely different set of commands to
deal with files on hard disks? )
My advise to them has been to throw the box out of the window and buy a
UNIX box, a VAX/VMS box, a networks of PC's or in fact anything except
what they have got. Am I being too severe or have I just missed reading
the vital book/manual which explains the system?
Any advise at all would be welcomed (including letters of sympathy!).
Mike Williams
mike@erix.ericsson.se
...{mcvax,uunet}!enea!erix!mike