I heard this from my boss in the form "Mainframe programming is like moving a dead whale along the beach by kicking it" around 1985.

On Wed, Sep 1, 2021 at 9:49 AM Clem Cole <clemc@ccc.com> wrote:
I believe the line was:  "running DEC Diagnostics is like kicking a dead whale down the beach."
As for who said it, I'm not sure, but I think it was someone like Rob Kolstad or Henry Spencer.

I suspect a grep of some type on some extremely old net.noise archives of the late 1970s/early 1980s might find it.


On Wed, Sep 1, 2021 at 9:31 AM <arnold@skeeve.com> wrote:
...
        DEC Diagnositcs would run on a beached whale

?

Anyone remember and/or know?

(It seems to apply to other manufacturer's diagnostics as well, even today.)

Thanks,

Arnold