Top OS/400 Stories from Around the Web

(IT Jungle) IBM System i executives, Jim Herring and Ian Jarman, turn over a few more cards before Big Blue gets ready to shuffle and deal for 2007. They're betting on VoIP, business intelligence, and high availability to sweeten the System i pot, but are maintaining their poker faces regarding any wild cards in the deck. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) In the server and storage distribution business, it's a two-team race. The two most powerful companies are Avnet and Arrow. Both have strong partnerships with the two biggest server makers, IBM and Hewlett-Packard. A recent acquisition by Arrow has bettered its position in the X64-based server market and nuzzled it a little more closely to the Big Blue bosom as well. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Energy consumption in computer data centers is screaming for attention. So much so that the U.S. government has taken notice. It's called attention to this spiraling rise in power consumption and looking for incentives that will be provided to companies that take advantage of energy-efficient technologies. READ MORE >

(SearchWebServices) Still wondering what's taking so long for service oriented architecture to catch on? Perhaps you have your own ideas about why that is. Here are the opinions of James Bryce Clark, the director of standards development for OASIS--the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards--an international consortium that pushes the development and adoption of e-business standards. In this interview he discusses the evolution of SOA. READ MORE >

(System iNetwork) Time out. Did you know the change to Daylight Savings Time ain't what it used to be? It's three weeks earlier this year and for those who have to adjust your computer operating systems, you might want to account for this. READ MORE >

(System iNetwork) Server consolidation and centralization have become a security issue with the Farm Service Agency, a branch of the United States Department of Agriculture. How it will be done is yet to be determined, but 2,384 distributed AS/400 systems that run in the S/36 Virtual Machine environment will be involved in the decision. READ MORE >

Vendor Announcements, Promotions, and Deals

(IT Jungle) When the term "application integration" is being used, it rarely should be thought of in terms of complete and total integration. Usually there will be platform boundaries. If you are an Oracle/J.D. Edwards user, you are likely to be familiar with the concept of varying degrees of integration. Keep reading if you are interested in extending JDE programs to applications running on platforms other than where your JDE lives. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Those of you who are knee-deep (or higher) in application development projects have spent days, maybe weeks or months, testing those applications before they are put out on the table for widespread consumption. You might even have your own stories about the satisfaction of creating an audit trail of your testing activities, which enables users to reproduce and then fix bugs or other errors. Whether testing is manual or automated, the importance of being able to correct defects faster is worth pursuing. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) What exactly do you need when it comes to data replication? It's a good question that deserves an answer when companies start looking at disaster recovery and high availability software. Some organizations have to have an all-inclusive replication system, while others can pick and choose specific libraries and directories to mirror and synchronize while omitting others. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Thousands of OS/400 and Windows developers around the world know about the GeneXus fourth-generation language (4GL) development environment. A complete rewrite of the IDE is under way with the promise of added features such as a process modeler, an integrated portal, and pattern-based development on the horizon. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) For System i shops looking to add protection to their regular backups by using encryption, the amount of time it takes to perform those backups can be an impediment to implementation. That's why Linoma Software is happy to announce that its latest version of encrypted backup software is up to 50 percent faster than before. And if that's caught your attention, you'll also be happy to hear it also requires less disk space. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle)The combination of reducing prices and increasing performance is an effective method for bringing new users to products that trying to build some momentum. Thin client tablet computers with 8-inch, color, touch-screen displays, integrated wireless LAN, a 5250 emulator, and a weight around two pounds are a good example. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Seagate Technology--a major supplier of disk drives for the enterprise market, and co-developer with IBM and Hewlett-Packard of the LTO tape format that is taking over the tape archiving market--has acquired EVault, one of the pioneers in the fast-growing market for online backups. READ MORE >

Redbooks, White Papers, and Other OS/400 Resources

(IBM) This executive management paper demonstrates the dominance of System i in the gaming and hospitality industry where more than 70 percent of the businesses use System i. Among the details, is a three-year cost comparison of System i vs. Windows that includes hardware, systems and database software, maintenance, administration personnel, and facilities costs. READ MORE >

(IBM) Here's an overview of console (control panel) choices for organizations moving to V5R3 and V5R4. It recognizes this is not a one size fits all decision and offers pros and cons on a variety of console choices based on the requirements of specific organizations. READ MORE >

(New Generation Software) This white paper presents a methodology that can be used by computer professionals or business analysts to implement a data warehouse and business intelligence system. It is based on the successful implementation by a $300,000,000 services-oriented company. READ MORE >

(Information Builders) When it comes to business intelligence, Information Builders has its own philosophy. It focuses on establishing a culture of measurement and beginning a cycle of continued improvement within your organization. READ MORE >

Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings

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

(January 11 -- Wauwatosa, Wisconsin - The Wisconsin Midrange Computer Professional Association meeting topics will be high availability and security. Guest speaker is Steve Finnes, business continuity manager for System i. His first session begins at 4:30 p.m. Dinner is at 6:30, and the second session begins at 7:30 p.m. LEARN MORE >

January 11 -- Houston - IBM's WebSphere Application Server Express will be the focus of a presentation by Anna Sue Parker during the Houston Applications Systems Group monthly meeting. The meeting begins with lunch at 11:30. It will be held at the IBM offices in Houston (the intersection of Woodway at Sage). LEARN MORE >

January 11 -- Kent, Washington - The Pacific Midrange Systems Association meeting will present a session on managing IBM hardware maintenance service components. The guest speaker is Jim Jean-Francois, manager of maintenance business development in the Pacific Northwest region. He will comment on contract structuring, strategy recommendations, and how to get more bang for your buck. The meeting begins at noon at the CenterPoint Corporate Park, 20809 72nd Avenue South, Suite 120. LEARN MORE >

January 16 -- Southfield, Michigan - An introduction to Remote System Explorer, the development environment within WebSphere Development Studio, is the main topic at the Southeast Michigan iSeries User Group meeting. The guest speaker is IBM software developer Nazmin Haji. Her comments will cover the tools and functionality of RSE. The meeting begins at 5:30. LEARN MORE >

January 16 -- Lombard, Illinois - The featured topic at the monthly meeting of the OMNI User Group will be the latest features in RPGIV v5.1 to v5.4. Topics featured in this session will include running host applications and working with the database, printers, and the file system. Bob Cozzi, a well-known speaker on these topics, will be the guest speaker. The meeting begins at 5 p.m., with dinner at 6, and the presentation at 6:45. LEARN MORE >

January 16 -- Costa Mesa, California - Three presentations are scheduled during the regular monthly meeting of the OCEAN User Group. Guest speaker Scott Klement will present a session on RPG and the IFS at 3:15; Free Tools for XML at 4:45; and Web Services with HTTPAPI at 7 p.m. Dinner is included at 6 p.m. The OCEAN User Group serves the greater Orange County, California, area. Meetings are held at the IBM offices. LEARN MORE >

January 16 -- Norwalk, Connecticut - The Fairfield AS/400 Users Group monthly meeting topic is building business flexibility with service oriented architecture on System I, presented by Al Grega, WebSphere Product Manger for IBM System i. FASUG meetings are held at the Norwalk Inn and begin at 5:30 p.m. LEARN MORE >

January 16 -- Madison, Wisconsin - A three-hour presentation on the topic of high availability/business resilience is being hosted by the Madison Area Midrange Systems Users Group. Topics of discussion include defining availability objectives, calculating business resilience ROI, and developing and implementing the business resilience plan. Software provider Lakeview Technology is in charge of the presentation. The event begins at 8 a.m. LEARN MORE >

January 16 -- Irving, Texas - PHP, a widely used general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for Web development, will be the featured topic presented at the monthly meeting of the Metro Midrange Systems Association, a user group for the Dallas and Fort Worth metro areas. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. with dinner at 6 and the PHP presentation by Matt Thompson at 6:45. MMSA meetings are held at the Radisson Hotel DFW South. LEARN MORE >

January 16 -- Nashville, Tennessee - The Tennessee IBM Mid-Range User Group monthly meeting will be held at HCA Corporate Headquarters, 2545 Park Plaza, Building 3. Meeting registration starts at 5:30 and the meetings typically end between 8:00 and 8:30. LEARN MORE >

January 17 -- Independence, Ohio - Modernizing 5250 business logic and programs from green screen presentations to rich-client and Web-client user interfaces using RAMP software from LANSA will be the highlighted topic during the Application Systems Users Group of Greater Cleveland meeting, which begins at 5:30 p.m. and takes place at Harry's Steakhouse. LEARN MORE >

January 17 -- Woodbury, New York - The Long Island Systems Users Group monthly meeting topic is building business flexibility with service oriented architecture on System I, presented by Al Grega, WebSphere Product Manger for IBM System i. LISUG meetings are held at the Fox Hollow Inn and begin at 6 p.m. LEARN MORE >