One of the "new" things that mainframers have begun to use over the past decade or two is Graphical User Interfaces, or GUIs. I guess that would make someone who employs them a "Graphical User" or "GU".

The question, then, is, what would incline a mainframer to become a GU? After all, 3270 has served us all quite well over the past 44 or so years. Then again, we've pretty much all gotten used to the web and video games, so in a sense, we're all GUs. And, of course, there are the great graphical interfaces that organizations such as CA have introduced to the mainframe that can make each of us a GU for the mainframe too.

But what about if you're a mainframe expert using a graphical interface to test your knowledge - would that make you a GURU or just a guru - or maybe a GUru?

This may all seem a bit whimsical, until I tell you where I'm going with this:

CA has commissioned some mainframe "Guru Games" that are available online - one for web browsers and one for PDA cell phones - that allow mainframers to test their knowledge, and even submit their high scores for comparison with other mainframers!

After all, we mainframers know how to have fun as well as how to work hard. And, for that matter, we can take everything we've learned over years of hard work and use it to have even more fun.

So, I thought it might be worth taking a moment to tell you about these two games. If you'd like to find out more, check out the online sites. The browser-based version is available at http://www.themainframeguru.com/ and the mobile device version is at http://www.caguru.mobi/.

Feel free to respond to this blog with your thoughts about these games, too!