Recent content by OldMainframeGuy

Respect your elders! I started out with an IBM 026 keypunch at my first job in 1973. I fondly remember keying one COBOL source statement after another along with JCL with an occasional "oh $hit" when you mistyped something and had to reject the card. We even got to put the jobs in the IBM...

ChatGPT and Copilot. At work we're encouraged to use Copilot as much as possible; it summarizes all of our Teams meetings, etc. At home it depends on the device. I only use Copilot on my Windows desktop because I don't have it installed elsewhere; on iPhone & iPad I use ChatGPT. I've...

I remember from the (very) early MS-DOS days when Peter Norton Computing made some really cool & useful software. I don't know if Peter Norton is still with us but if he is I have to wonder how he feels about his name being associated with bloated trashy software.

I've got that installed on my PC. I'm still working as a mainframe contractor on a z/OS 3.2 system and it's amazing how MVS has grown up since the MVS/SP days. The Hercules system is nice but you soon realize how dependent you've become on things like ISPF and SDSF.

At the time we were running Windows 3.1 desktops connected to our mainframe via Token Ring (hey, someone had to do it); their main mission was to run 3270 emulation software and Solitaire. I remember how ungodly expensive IBM's Token Ring adapters were (I think in the order of $600 apiece)...

It's funny (sort of); millions of years ago when I was installing desktop PCs on a Banyan VINES LAN (10 points if you ever heard of Banyan VINES) McAfee had a free DOS-based version of their AV software that we used to clean-up virus messes. We used it all the time. Today, McAfee is the virus...

Uh, I was being sarcastic. RI's bad drivers came over on the Mayflower.

Given that you have to be observed breaking the law by the police I think the problem will only be solved (and probably just temporarily until the hackers figure out how to defeat it) through technology which only makes your phone available during an emergency while you're driving. The...

It's against the law in RI too but whether or not you get pulled over is a complete crapshoot and the odds are in your favor of not getting pulled over. But we sure feel good about having that (toothless) law on the books.

One thing that a smartphone does better than any other device is that it gives you plenty of things to do while driving. You can send and receive text messages, check your Instagram feed, have "important" conversations with people all while driving. Why have nothing better to do than pay...

This has been an interesting "discussion" (???) concerning smartphones. Sometimes whether you want one or not isn't an issue. I need one to do my job (Okta Verify on my iPhone to validate mainframe connectivity). If I didn't want to use my own phone my employer would provide one but that's...

JCL errors, but you were close Columns 3-10 are for step name or DD name. PGM= (you were close) //COMPLEX JOB //STEP1 EXEC PGM=IEFBR14 (10 points if you can remember what that does) //SYSIN DD * INSTREAM DATA GOES HERE /* //SYSOUT DD SYSOUT=* // :-) Actually I don't have any clients...

JCL was a part of my // JOB for 50 years and still is today as a contractor who doesn't know enough to retire. Some people had a difficult time with it; I always thought it was (sort of) logical even if the use of punctuation bordered on arcane. /* //

I don't know if you can physically delete the widgets but you can hide them. Click on the pencil icon (Customize) in the lower right-hand corner of a New Tab. In the middle of the customization slide-out control panel, you should see this: Slide the Widgets control to the left to turn-off...

Hard Disk Sentinel will do this but it's not free. I've used it for years. https://www.hdsentinel.com/