Mac,
I think the JCL Keef refers to looks like this:
//EXAMPLE PROC
//EXAMPLE1 EXEC PGM=IEFBR14
//EXAMPLELIB DD DISP=(NEW, CATLG),DSN=&DSNAME
// STORCLAS=DASD,
// SPACE=(CYL,(16,4,4)),
// DCB=(RECFM=FB,LRECL=80,BLKSIZE=720,DSORG=PD)
//PEND
// SET DSNAME=MYLIB.EXAMPLE
//STEP001 EXEC EXAMPLE
I have just created a dataset called example (and brought back a few nightmares).
I think Keef is referring to what it's like introducing new programs to *nix. More advanced distros do, as you say, make things easier, but it is always more laborious - especially when you want root - compared to Windows' <click this shiny button to install spyware> feature.
If you're working in a systems environment, you have to go through the hoops of dev, UAT and then production. If you haven't had to do that, then the *nix way of doing things seems like too much effort (let alone the JCL above). It is probably, as you point out, because most users haven't had to grapple with expanded and extended memory, stacks, buffers and the like from the primordial slime which begat Windows. If a new app creates BSODs or kills partitions, just reinstall and lose some data.
Once that's happened a couple of times, people begin to ask about Linux....
BOFH