Cycle of Addiction

First, I don't think "batch" is dead ... I think there will always be a need to perform things against a long list of resources. The counter-argument is that this could be done "real time" ... but I suspect we'll always see a need to have certain things done in a contained, accountable, and auditable manner. However, batch is probably diminishing. But it'll never go away. On the day of Judgment there'll be some poor wretch who submits a JCL batch job prior to being cast into the pits of hell for eternity.

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I have a theory about our IT industry. It is that we're caught up in a cycle of addiction from which we can't (or won't) extricate ourselves. This entire industry is dependent on growth and "new things" to sustain its existence. Everyone is frightened to death at the prospect that what we have now may be all we really need for a good while. To step back, pause, would imply a complete collapse of the industry.

Of course, I've been saying that since 1989, so what do I know?