We spend over 100K on an upgrade to an iSeries 520. We'd migrated from a fucking 820 that ran like what I remember my first 386/16 running like. We'd upgraded the fucking 820 to the goddamned V5 R3 release of O(h) S(hit)/400 before moving to the 520. In logic only an IBM'er could follow, moving from an 820 to a 520 is a downgrade. That "downgrade" gives you 2.4 times the computing power (820 1000 CPW's vs. 520 2400 CPW's). But this is not nearly as screwed up as it gets. My junior level SA has always been responsible for applying PTF's (service packs). He's done it for years, but since this is a new platform he calls IBM's tech support before starting. He asks all the right questions and is sent a document to perform the upgrade. Step 3f in the fucking process gives the usual barflegab command and the last line of that step says, "If you receive any error messages, they can be ignored."

Well fuckitall, you can "ignore any error messages" IF you want your fucking 520 not to boot. Spent all goddamned week-end replacing the mainboard and every fucking card in the son-of-a-bitch just to get it to boot. The corker is that, according to a conversation the IBM CE had with IBM's support, "We've seen this before. It happened to another customer a couple of weeks ago." WHAT THE FUCK? It happened a couple of weeks ago and you didn't fucking think that was important enough to CHANGE YOUR GODDAMNED instructions? Or at least fucking WARN anyone that you may completely fuck your machine if you follow our instructions?

For all of Microsoft's faults (and they are legion) there is a clear reason they beat the fuck out of IBM.