Mainframe COBOL » programmer

Tron Guy Says Tron: Legacy Almost Drove Him to Tears

Mike — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 06:00:27 +0000

I’ve been waiting 28 years to see if the other shoe would ever drop on the Tron universe. It has, and the result is visually stunning, intellectually engaging and emotionally exhausting.

As you might imagine, Tron: Legacy, which opens Friday, was a must-see movie for me. When the original Tron came out in 1982, I had just begun working as a mainframe systems programmer. I’d been working with computers for a decade, first in school and then professionally, so I knew a fair bit about them. Tron fascinated me because it was the first attempt to show what happens inside a computer. In doing so, it pushed the boundaries of filmmaking, both technically and artistically, in just about every way imaginable.

Fortunately, this sort of thing could never happen today

Mike — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 22:29:07 +0000

It’s the mid-1970s, and this programmer pilot fish works for an IT service provider that supports several big insurance companies.

“We ran a huge (at that time) mainframe and a nationwide network and, of course, a large computer room,” says fish.

Read the rest of the Shark Tank here.

Hungry for IT: Staffing companies hop to fill orders as companies loosen belts

Mike — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 23:20:01 +0000

“(If) you’re a COBOL (common business-oriented language) programmer,” working with an old programming language, “you’ll have a harder time finding a job because there’s not as much demand for that as a web or .net developer.”

Programmer wisdom from the ’70s

Mike — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 20:38:57 +0000

“Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana.”

(illustration by programmers of the 1970s, showing difficulty of programming idioms logically)

Lessons learned from a long IT career

Mike — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 12:15:27 +0000

* When something goes ‘blooie’, check the physical layer first!!

* As a programmer, I was under the mistaken impression that not documenting something amounted to job security. No more. Document, and keep it updated!

* As good as your skills may be, working with your peers will make everybody better.

* There is no such thing as a dumb question.

* Communicate! Keep your supervisor and co-workers in the loop, and don’t hold back anything.

* You never stop learning, so if you think you know it all, go back and look again. You missed something.

* Practice random acts of kindness toward your co-workers. You’ll feel better, and they’ll be more inclined to regard you in a better light.

* Be polite! The surly ‘IT Guy’ is a myth, and needs to stay one!

From Lessons learned from a long IT career, by Michael Thompson

Why Microsoft .NET Jobs for COBOL Mainframe Programmers?

Mike — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 21:00:49 +0000

Considering these challenges, one is not surprised whenever a cobol programmer decides to stick with legacy programming skills.

That is why I am dedicating this post to helping cobol mainframe programmers transition their skills or careers. READ MORE

The painful truth about age discrimination in tech

Mike — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 21:15:30 +0000

There are bold programmers, but no old programmers — the reasons for this reality aren’t simple age discrimination

The Net is rife with mainframe operators and Cobol pros who will tell you that they got into IT for love of the challenge or subject. It was passion-driven. … READ MORE

Is there a way to become a programmer without going to college?

Mike — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 01:13:18 +0000

But when I started, all one needed was the ability to write a little COBOL. Everything else, such as personality defects & poor social skills were overlooked. Certification has helped me – by backing up limited experience (SOA & MQ). … READ MORE

IT Careers: Retire? How about never

Mike — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:47:03 +0000

Kuhn, 62, had hoped to retire between the ages of 55 and 60, but he’s still plugging away programming mainframe systems, mostly because he’s not in a … MORE

Why IT Matters More Than Ever

Mike — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:13:31 +0000

Over time, this management behavior at Company X resulted in a “Rube Goldberg” system requiring the work of hordes of COBOL programmers just to keep running. Overnight order processing required more than 200 manual steps. …