Vista Mainframe

[Billie Kjergaard]

Youcan download and install Vista for a 30 day trial, just click on the link below and then follow the directions for a quick installation. If you are a registered or company licensed user, your previous registration will be valid after any updates. If you decide to purchase, note that this is a one time charge with no additional fees for support and updates to the V1.xx product.

Important note for anyone new to the mainframe: Vista provides a way to connect your Windows PC to an existing mainframe but it does not provide a mainframe. If you are new to mainframes and don't have one to connect to, you might try running the Hercules-TK5 setup.

The application is launched with an .exe file and I have been able to launch the session by defining the BO as a Windows application and passing in the session file name (*.ses file) as a start parameter.

There does not seem to be any relevant API .dll files within the application folder to integrate with Blue Prism. Does this rule out the possibility of any integration with Blue Prism other than surface automation? Any input or advice would be appreciated.

We have a list of mainframe emulators that have been tested with and are known to work well with Blue Prism documented in our Knowledge Base here: Which Mainframe Emulators are supported by Blue Prism?

Vista tn3270 is a Windows program designed to emulate IBM 3270 terminals connected to a host via IP link. If you are looking for an emulator created with mainframe programmers in mind, then give this one a try. You might find some unique features unavailable even on the highest priced commercial emulators.

Vista has features designed especially for programmers, such as built-in multiple cut and paste buffers, fully tailorable keyboard, extensive select/copy/paste functions - including SelectJCL, which can pick out dataset names, parms, and other items with a single mouse click.

Michael Horowitz wrote his first computer program in 1973 and has been a computer nerd ever since. He spent more than 20 years working in an IBM mainframe (MVS) environment. He has worked in the research and development group of a large Wall Street financial company, and has been a technical writer for a mainframe software company.

He teaches a large range of self-developed classes, the underlying theme being Defensive Computing. Michael is an independent computer consultant, working with small businesses and the self-employed. He can be heard weekly on The Personal Computer Show on WBAI.

In fact, Microsoft released Vista prematurely. One can only assume that there was pent-up pressure stemming from the delay in getting it out the door. But few Windows users care about the delay. What made an impression, to the non-techies of the world, were the initial problems people had using it.

In the quote above Microsoft was referring to the lack of hardware drivers. They have to shoulder some of the blame for this, both in terms of not working sufficiently with hardware vendors and for releasing Vista knowing full well that driver problems awaited early adopters. Then too, they signed off on calling under-powered computers "Vista capable".

In fairness, the same can be said of Apple. Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5) too, was far from fully baked when it was released. In this regard at least, Linux shines. There is no marketing department or sales department at Linux headquarters pushing the operating system out the door before the programmers say it's ready. In fact, there are no Linux headquarters at all.

Vista has to be better than Windows XP. And the judgment of whether it's better or not varies with the audience. While techies may write blogs and articles, nerds are the minority--most Windows users are normal people with lives focused elsewhere. And for many normal people, Vista just ain't worth it.

For example, I can drive a car with an automatic transmission, but not a stick shift. Assuming, for argument's sake, that stick shifts offered an advantage (perhaps better mileage), I have to weigh the advantage against the cost and hassle of making the switch.

For many computer users, Windows XP works just fine. It's familiar, it's what they know, it's not a problem waiting to be solved. Some can barely use Windows XP and may not have the ability to adapt to anything new. Technical change is fun and easy for techies, but the same change is hard and/or distracting for others. I deal with many non-techies with jobs in other fields who could care less about operating systems. Their computer is a tool to get their work done and any change is a nuisance--perhaps one they don't have time for.

The keyboard on your computer uses a layout that was chosen for reasons that no longer apply. Yet, who knows how many better layouts have failed to take off because they couldn't overcome the hassle involved in changing. Once someone learns to type on an existing keyboard, the benefit has to be huge to switch to a new layout.

I don't see Vista offering sufficient benefit in the way of must-have features to make it worth the changeover hassle. On top of this, despite whatever strides Microsoft may cite, Windows XP will be more compatible with existing hardware and software for the immediate future. Thus, XP is still the right decision for many Windows users.

Businesses choose which version of Windows to use and most chose XP (see Intel and General Motors). Consumers, by and large, don't choose, they are force-fed Vista. That's a shame. In part, it has led to the resurgent interest in Macs (along with the commercials, of course) and may well lead to the rise of Linux on Netbook computers. We'll see.

Update September 7, 2008: I'm not a Mac person, so my analogy about Apple also releasing an OS before it was ready may have been off. A commenter below said: "You would be more correct in using OS X 10.0 as a parallel example, which was released way too quickly, and was full of bugs. OS X 10.1 (which had all the fixes) came out very quickly after that, and was distributed to all OS X users for free as a partial apology."

The vendor is touting the fact that the Reflections for IBM 2007 has been completely re-written to advantage of feature enhancements in Microsoft's latest operating system (OS), Vista. The product has been certified to run on the OS.

"One of the main obstacles to Vista adoption is the lack of application support," he said. "This release has been built from the ground up to work with the new OS and enhance the ability to integrate mainframe application data into Microsoft Office, for example."

Harrison added that improvements to the terminal emulation services available through the new release also allow for interoperability with LDAP directory services including Microsoft Active Directory, internet protocol version 6 (IPv6) and Citrix environments.

And tools like spell check, screen history, auto complete, auto expand, scratch pad and recent typing have been included to bring modern productivity enhancing features to traditional 'green screen' host applications running on IBM mainframes.

Other features are aimed at securing data and networks, as well as meeting increasing regulatory requirements, given that "our customer base of mainly banks and telcos are using tens of thousands of licences," said Harrison.

Reflections for IBM 2007 includes client-side support for most security protocols including SOCKS as well as cryptographic modules built to meet US Federal information processing standards (FIPS) 140-2 and Department of Defence (DoD) class 3 public key infrastructure (PKI) public key-enabled (PKE) application requirements.

"This release is valuable given the increased investment IBM is making in mainframes," he said. "Mainframes will continue to offer a viable alternative to the cost of running distributed applications on high cost and maintenance UNIX or Linux server farms."

Her role as a journalist has seen her write for many of the leading technology publishers in the UK such as ITPro, TechWeekEurope, CIO UK, Computer Weekly, and also a number of national newspapers including The Times, Independent, and Financial Times.

Audrey grew up in New Jersey, where she attended Rutgers University and received a Bachelor of Arts in English. She served in the Peace Corps as a teacher trainer and education specialist in Thailand. Audrey is interested in education and social justice, and she is excited to be working with the Serve Philadelphia VISTA program.

About the VISTA position: Serve Philadelphia VISTA Leaders work closely with program staff to expand the impact and reach of our program. Serve Philadelphia VISTA Leaders co-create and support the implementation of sustainable strategies to:

Julia held a variety of titles throughout her career, from barista to tutor to wildlife rehabilitation assistant, and she learned from all of them. When she graduated from Penn State, she joined AmeriCorps to share her experience and good fortune with others. Julia recently enrolled in her second term as a VISTA Leader with the Office of Community Empowerment and Opportunity (CEO) for more opportunities to grow as a professional and be of service.

Originally from northern England, Graeme moved to the Philadelphia area in 2008. Graduating with a B.S. in Arabic language from Ohio State University in 2020, he has gained an appreciation for community building and development in his research and grassroots organizing experiences. Graeme is passionate about anti-poverty, good food, climate change, and leisure. He is honored and excited to be working on a project that can engage the local community and better inform public policy on economic justice.

About the VISTA position: Creating a data and research integration team will position the City to make more impactful decisions to improve economic mobility and create better pathways to economic opportunity for the most vulnerable, thus moving the needle on the percentage of those living in poverty in Philadelphia. The Data and Research Integration VISTA will focus on capacity-building within the launch and implementation of this work by:

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