This sounds a lot like Spotify's XIRP. They managed to vibe something useful for their own engineers, were super hyped, and decided to release it in public. However what are the odds this harness will stand the test of time against actual harness makers like OpenAI or Anthropic? Neither Spotify or IBM are focused on making models or harnesses, these are just side-products.
To be fair Codex and Claude Code don't have a lot of secret sauce either. This is not to say that the harness doesn't matter at all or that you can't do any better, but whenever they benchmark it always turns out that you don't lose that much with even a very minimal agent. If a different harness makes better sense for your workflow I don't see why you wouldn't switch (or make your own if you have the resources to do so).
I'm also sticking to first-party agents, but that's more because I feel no compelling reason to switch and CLI agents fit well with my spartan technology choices. YMMV.
Is this just a harness or using a proprietary model in the background? Anthropic and OpenAI are already very well trained in IBM system i and z knowledge. Unless Bob is somehow improving the integration to these midrange and mainframe systems I literally dont see any benefit to using Bob. IBM will just kill this proprietary tech in 5 years as they are currently doing with RDi or forget about updating it like SEU.
Interesting they are renting out agent skills. You can pick up "Java Modernization" at $20 a month for "Specialist workflows to help with modernizing Java applications", or "IBM i" for "Specialist modes, workflows, and skills to work with IBM i applications".
I’m quite certain it’s a fork of Roo Code which is a fork of Cline.
When I saw earlier reviews and videos of it, I couldn’t shake the ick of IBM shamelessly forking a startup’s code. There was even some UI slop where they had some big green pulsing button.
That combined with knowing full well how inefficient the default Roo Code base prompts were, I would not be surprised if there’s some massive token churn.
The companies who are hoarding RAM to produce pointless products should be called out. Deprive working class from computing resources to sell some corporate crap. Get fucked.
Is Bib Bob's partner?
https://imgur.com/a/3PQXIsQ
Totally reminds me of "HP Offers 'That Cloud Thing Everyone Is Talking About'"
https://youtube.com/watch?v=9ntPxdWAWq8
How you doing fellow kids?
1000
This sounds a lot like Spotify's XIRP. They managed to vibe something useful for their own engineers, were super hyped, and decided to release it in public. However what are the odds this harness will stand the test of time against actual harness makers like OpenAI or Anthropic? Neither Spotify or IBM are focused on making models or harnesses, these are just side-products.
To be fair Codex and Claude Code don't have a lot of secret sauce either. This is not to say that the harness doesn't matter at all or that you can't do any better, but whenever they benchmark it always turns out that you don't lose that much with even a very minimal agent. If a different harness makes better sense for your workflow I don't see why you wouldn't switch (or make your own if you have the resources to do so).
I'm also sticking to first-party agents, but that's more because I feel no compelling reason to switch and CLI agents fit well with my spartan technology choices. YMMV.
Is this just a harness or using a proprietary model in the background? Anthropic and OpenAI are already very well trained in IBM system i and z knowledge. Unless Bob is somehow improving the integration to these midrange and mainframe systems I literally dont see any benefit to using Bob. IBM will just kill this proprietary tech in 5 years as they are currently doing with RDi or forget about updating it like SEU.
Nobody got fired for using IBM Bob
Can we say it's Bob's fault, though? Bob did it, not me.
Pretty sure a lot of people got fired over Microsoft Bob though
Well, you could say Melinda got a big promotion for a while.
Nobody who got fired uses IBM Bob
Interesting they are renting out agent skills. You can pick up "Java Modernization" at $20 a month for "Specialist workflows to help with modernizing Java applications", or "IBM i" for "Specialist modes, workflows, and skills to work with IBM i applications".
markdown as a service is crazy
I lol'd so hard at this comment that it hurt.
IBM hasn't made a product that works since Db2 so I am fairly confident this is a flaming pile of garbage.
I'm really confused what this is, is it a harness or a new model by IBM? Some reviews on that page suggests that it's a new model
I like how the solitary review is word salad.
I thought the image was a joke, but you really pay with Bobcoins.. lmao
https://bob.ibm.com/pricing
Bobcoins. Hehe.
The logo, the name... Horrible marketing/branding.
This can only mean that IBM Clippy is next.
At least it's not Clippy?
At least it's not Clippy(2)
The review that "IBM Bob isn't just another autocomplete tool" tells you everything you need to know about this product. lol.
I’m quite certain it’s a fork of Roo Code which is a fork of Cline.
When I saw earlier reviews and videos of it, I couldn’t shake the ick of IBM shamelessly forking a startup’s code. There was even some UI slop where they had some big green pulsing button.
That combined with knowing full well how inefficient the default Roo Code base prompts were, I would not be surprised if there’s some massive token churn.
ibm desperately clinging to relevancy by hopping on the LLM bandwagon.
31 years after Microsoft Bob, IBM releases it's own IBM Bob. :)
It's like they're begging for failure
Call it PC Bob
ibm bob, will help you make slop
This is embarrassing. It would have been better to release nothing than this.
Should have been IBM Tom, after legendary IBM CEO Thomas J. Watson. But perhaps they didn't want to sully his name.
I used Bob extensively at an IBM acquisition, it was absolutely dreadful. Bobcoins.
Bobalytics
Not to shit on their effort or anything, but it looks like a VS Code fork + an agent panel which is very ... late 2024 energy?
Not to be confused with Microsoft Bob:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Bob
Lost opportunity to call it Hal
I'm surprised they didn't use Watson.
They already have an AI product line dubbed Watson: https://www.ibm.com/products/watsonx
Oh, so we are yet again in the 'Bob' phase?
Maybe this time it'll work.
I bet this will be as successful as Microsoft Bob.
My guess is absolutely nobody on the team that made this is even old enough to remember Microsoft Bob.
The companies who are hoarding RAM to produce pointless products should be called out. Deprive working class from computing resources to sell some corporate crap. Get fucked.
I never thought the day that IBM would make complete slop.
But it is IBM after all.
> But it is IBM after all.
Then how did you not see that coming?
“I would expect something like this from IBM, but I never expected it from IBM!”