Like any other progressive state, Kentucky was providing election results online on election night.
And, like any other system that only sees peak load once a year, their web server wasn’t up to the demand.
It handled the load pretty well for the first hour or so after the polls closed, and the interface was fairly well
designed. But by about 7:30 PM, response was getting very sluggish.
Fortunately, I realized the web interface was just a front end to the CICS-OS/390 system doing the real work.
Browser? We don’t need no stinkin browser! Just fire up a TN3270 session (doesn’t every self-respecting computer geek
have 3270 emulation software installed on his machine?), and plug in the address of the big iron, bypassing the little
weenyass webserver. Presto .. the old “greenscreen” we all know and love. So maybe the interface is a little clumsier.
Response is terrific. And it still beats the hell out of punch cards.
