Top OS/400 Stories from Around the Web

(IT Jungle) It's not 100% guaranteed, but I believe ideas have a better chance of growing after they are passed from one mind to another. I picture it like a root-bound plant in a pot that is too small. Put that plant in the ground where it has a chance to spread out and watch it grow. Here are some ideas for IBM that could help the System i grow. READ MORE >

(MCPress) A few eyebrows will get raised when the word gets around that Bill Zeitler, IBM's Senior Vice President and group executive of IBM Systems and Technology Group, believes in reincarnation. But let's get something straight, he's not talking about coming back in another lifetime as a Chinese emperor or the commander of an intergalactic space fleet. He's talking about the reincarnation of the System i because in his words "there is not one platform that is the answer." READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) When i5/OS V6R1 arrives (maybe within the next month), it will get a close examination from the platform faithful. There will be plenty of new things being talked about, but there will also be a great deal of interest in the time line for losing support on older versions of the operating system and what the upgrade paths will look like. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) IBM has been building out its storage-related software business. We've seen that taking shape with the acquisitions of companies such as Softek, FileNet, and NovusCG. Add to that on-going strategy the recent purchase of XIV. Although falling in line with the earlier acquisitions, it now it appears IBM is preparing a new product line. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) IBM has been loudly pounding the SOA drum for nearly five years and I doubt that fact has gone unnoticed by the System i installed base. But taking notice does not mean taking action. Although SOA projects are increasing, according to a recent report turned in by AMR Research, although IBM Global Services is at the forefront of enterprise SOA consulting, it's not exactly a wildfire of activity blazing across the IT landscape. READ MORE >

Vendor Announcements, Promotions, and Deals

(IT Jungle) For some companies a content management system is primarily for capturing invoices, purchase orders, and other business documents. The investment is in the $10,000 range, and the functionality continues to expand. Improvements in searching electronic archives and system accessibility through mobile devices are two of the latest enhancements. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Like weeds in the garden that strangle your favorite veggies, RPG code can be strangled by snippets that are unwanted and unused. They slow down recompiles and add to the general maintenance of otherwise healthy and hearty applications. A gardener needs the right tools and so does the RPG programmer. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) For developers getting familiar with Eclipse and WebSphere Development Studio Client development tools, here's some news that will help when it comes to code creation processes such as compare and merge, assigning task parameters, check-in and check-out, and the promotion of code. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Many System i administrators have at least two security burrs under their saddles. The first one is their server's exposure to network-based threats. The second is mandated compliance with regulations such as SOX, HIPAA, PCI, and other government and industry systemization. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) When regulatory compliance issues get created without input from the System i community, it puts companies that run on the i5/OS ad OS/400 platform at a disadvantage. Fortunately there are some companies stepping up to make sure that doesn't happen. READ MORE >

Redbooks, White Papers, and Other OS/400 Resources

(LANSA) This report covers an application modernization approach called RAMP (Rapid Application Modernization Process), which was designed by the long-time iSeries software vendor LANSA. The company describes RAMP as capturing the best aspects of application refacing and system replacement while regenerating legacy iSeries applications into a graphical application framework that is architected for future expansion. READ MORE >

(Symtrax) This document covers the topic of computer-based decision support applications and how they can work to the advantage of various departments such as sales, finance, human resources, marketing, production and general management. It examines storage and analytical databases, retrieval and analysis tools, and the implementation of a decision support project. READ MORE >

(IBM) All programs that use the i5/OS Machine Interface will need a degree of conversion to run on V6R1, which is scheduled for release in February 2008. In order for a program to be converted, its creation data (sometimes referred to as observability) must be available. Programs created for V5R1 or later have their creation data automatically saved during program creation. Those with programs created for OS/400 V4R5 and earlier need to ensure that the creation data is available for the conversion process. This technical paper provides a focus on what you should expect in terms of conversion processes. READ MORE >

(MySQL) Interest in MySQL is growing along with the interest in PHP among the System i developer crowd. Find out what MySQL database users are doing based on a variety of survey responses posted on this site. Two examples: What database connectors/APIs are being used or are planned for use with MySQL? And, How do you backup your production MySQL databases? Many additional insights can be found here. 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 17 -- Kent, Washington - The Pacific Midrange Systems Association meeting features a session on systems management capabilities using the IBM Director suite of tools that allow administrators to view and track the hardware configurations of remote systems and monitor the usage and performance of components such as processors, disks, and memory. The session will be presented by Mark Ruberry, a senior technical specialist with IBM and a PMSA member. The meeting begins at 11:30 a.m. LEARN MORE >

January 17 -- Webinar - Duncan Kenzie, CTO of BCD Software will present this session on how RPG programmers can create System i Web apps over DB2, MySQL or MS SQL files. This presentation is designed with the RPG programmer in mind. It begins at 12:30 p.m. EST. LEARN MORE >

January 17 -- Webinar - An online session titled "Using System i Projects in WDSc is being presented by COMMON for its membership. Guest speaker is Don Yantzi from IBM. The session begins at noon CST. LEARN MORE >

January 18 -- Houston, Texas - A one-day application modernization technical seminar focusing on service oriented architecture, Web services, and extending the value of RPG-based applications and OS/400-based system hardware is being presented by ASNA. This event provides an introduction to Web Services and service oriented architecture while emphasizing team skills. LEARN MORE >

January 20-24 -- Orlando, Florida - The annual Lotusphere conference attracts a large following of developers, administrators, and IT and business professionals who come for the presentations on the latest innovations, the hands-on training, and perhaps most of all, for the networking with other Notes and Domino peers. New for additions to the Lotusphere agenda include the product-oriented "QuickStart" sessions for the Lotus products announced at last year's conference and shipped during 2007. These products include: Lotus Notes and Domino 8.0, Lotus Quickr 8.0, Lotus Connections 1.0, and Lotus Sametime 7.5. There will be two Opening General Sessions Monday morning and regular events such as YellowSpace, JamFest and SpeedGeeking. A complete listing of educational tracks and sessions can be found on the event Web site. LEARN MORE >

January 22 -- Webinar - This online technical presentation provides many details for using BCD WebSmart ILE to create Web applications. Included are insights into using templates, editing applications, plus explanations of features such as using the repository, change management, and the interactive debugger. The event begins at 12:30 p.m. EST. LEARN MORE >

January 22 -- Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois - The featured topic at the monthly meeting of the OMNI User Group is the soon to be released i5/OS operating systemV6R1. This presentation will preview the key V6R1 enhancements and will provide insights into the what and why of V6R1 program conversion. Also in the mix will be an introduction to an IBM tool that can be used to analyze existing V5R3 or V5R4 systems. This session will be presented by Gerri Passe, a Senior Consulting IT Specialist at IBM. Free pizza (for OMNI members only) is also on the menu! The fun begins at 5:30 p.m. LEARN MORE >

January 24 -- Webinar - In this educational online session focuses on the set up and deployment of the BCD WebSmart development and deployment environments. It includes an overview of APACHE, library lists, and WebSmart Change Management. LEARN MORE >

January 30 -- Mississauga, Ontario, Canada - A half-day session featuring George Farr, Wendy Toh, and Danny Mace from the IBM Toronto and Raleigh labs will discuss the significant changes in the System I and i5/OS coming in 2008. Topics of interest will include IBM Rational, new packaging and rebranding, enhancements in ILE RPG and COBOL compilers, application modernization, and IBM's preference for a multi-platform business language. This event is hosted by the Toronto User Group and begins at 1 p.m. LEARN MORE >