The Pizza Disconnection
by Hesh Wiener

On May 23, when most people were thinking about the next weekend's holiday barbeque, in Minneapolis, Federal Judge Richard Kyle was preoccupied with pizza or, more accurately, the tallying of various slices of the pizza trade. Before him was a case involving Domino's Pizza and a number of its franchisees. Domino's insisted its franchisees buy some IBM hardware it resold plus a unique software suite. The franchisees said No Dice, or maybe No Tiles. The franchisees won. Their deal with Domino's, the court said, allowed them to shop around for hardware and maybe for software, too. READ MORE >

Top Mainframe Stories from Around the Web

(Redman Developer) This is an oddball source for one of the week's top mainframe stories, but you might find it interesting how Microsoft's general manager of the Windows Server group thinks his company is taking the "mainframe to the mainstream." Topics range from enterprise-class scalability and availability to features such as the Windows Hardware Error Architecture. READ MORE >

(CBR Online) In this Q & A format article, Relativity Technologies' chairman, president, and CEO, Steve Maysonave fields questions about legacy modernization. Maysonave points to global competition and the fact that many new companies in the developing nations are not tied to older computer systems as a critical factor. He also notes that it's not all about the mainframe applications, like some folks would have you believe. In case you haven't noticed, he says, legacy Java and VB code are also in this ballgame. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Microsoft announced last week that its Mainframe Alliance, a group that promotes the migration from mainframe computers to Windows servers, now totals more than 100 members. The members tout cost savings as well as performance gains as being among the benefits of migration. READ MORE >

(Minnesota Public Radio) Payroll processing vendor, Ceridian, has agreed to a $5.3 billion buyout offer. IT history books note the Ceridian business originated with IBM and was purchased by Control Data, a once-powerful mainframe computer company, as part of a Big Blue antitrust settlement. After a split within Control Data in 1992, Ceridian became an independent company. READ MORE >

Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings

See our full calendar of events at
http://www.itjungle.com/big/big-calendar.html

June 6 - Webinar - The fourth session of a seven-part series called "Unlocking Legacy Applications" aimed at helping organizations increase revenues and reduce costs by re-using legacy assets is being presented by Attachmate. This session, "Turning Mainframe Banking and Insurance Applications Into SOA Assets," will explore how the right set of integration tools can help banks and insurance companies transform their aging legacy financial applications into a robust foundation for an SOA platform. The session will be presented twice, at 9 a.m. EDT and again at 2 p.m. EDT. LEARN MORE >

June 7-8 -- Boston, Massachusetts - The IDC IT Forum and Expo is a a two-day conference and exhibition for IT and business executives interested in strengthening the bond between technology and business processes. Keynote speakers include Eve Aretakis, CEO of Siemens Communications; Bill Belichick, head coach of the New England Patriots football team, John Kotter, leadership expert and Harvard Business School professor; and John Gantz, chief research officer at IDC. LEARN MORE >

June 13-15 -- Nashville, Tennessee - The Gartner Enterprise Architecture Summit puts the focus on integration efforts that include SOA, BPM, tools, governance, security, and organizational structures. Keynote speakers include Chris Anderson, editor in chief of Wired magazine, and Brand Niemann, senior enterprise architect at the Environmental Protection Agency. LEARN MORE >