u/zedkarma1

Gartner VP Analyst Alessandro Galimberti told The Register that some VMware users running 500-700 Linux VMs are finding IBM mainframe cheaper than Broadcom's Cloud Foundation stack. The TCO math can work, HA, DR, and data synchronization are built into the platform.

But the business case only covers hardware and software costs.

It doesn't cover operational costs. And on mainframe, the operational costs are almost entirely human.

VMware administrators who move arrive without RACF knowledge, JCL knowledge, ISPF muscle memory, or any understanding of why the change management process asks for a business owner at 3:47 AM.

Three things every organization needs before they migrate, and the container question nobody is asking yet.

Happy to answer questions from anyone considering the move.

zPunch - mainframe meets punchline.

There dozen jokes in the DB. Categories: COBOL, JCL, abend, ISPF, TV parody, general. Rendered on a phosphor green terminal screen. Session history preserved so you can go back to the good ones.

It also has an API. Because of course it does.

https://infomanta.com/zpunch.html

Happy to add jokes if anyone has good ones.

The Change Management Cave has three snakes. They don't bite. They just ask for a business owner. It is 3:47 AM. There is no business owner.

I Built a browser game inspired by MVS. Runs in HTML/JavaScript no mainframe required. Everything is based on real conventions.

WHAT YOU DO:

Login with RACF - userid (2-8 chars) and password (min 8,rejects "password" / "mainframe" / your userid / sequential chars,runs a strength analyser, asks for confirmation). After auth you get a random EBCDIC art wallpaper - 11 of them, all Pulp Fiction mainframe mashups. "ROYALE WITH COBOL." "SAY 'ABEND' AGAIN." "WHOSE CHOPPER IS IT? ZED'S CHOPPER."

Then: ISPF → SDSF → examine failed PAYROLL1 → find COBPAY03 → read the code → find the HR migration in the change log → fix the PIC clause → compile (cave with stalactites) → linkedit (IEWL oracle resolves external references) → Change Management Cave (three animated pixel snakes, RFC forms going back to 1987, emergency approval at 3:47 AM) → deploy → T-Rex victory dance with Python/Java/Zed/AI/Quantum celebrating.

THE COBOL FIX IS TECHNICALLY CORRECT:

COBPAY03 had WS-BASE-SALARY defined as PIC S9(7)V99 COMP-3. The HR migration changed incoming data to zoned decimal. Fix: remove COMP-3 from the PIC clause. COBOL's MOVE handles packed/zoned numeric conversion automatically - the field just needs the right PIC definition to match the incoming format.

The snakes are metaphorical. The RFC forms are not.

Play it: https://infomanta.com/games/quest-mainframe.html

Happy to answer questions about the COBOL fix or anything else in the game that looks wrong.