Top OS/400 Stories from Around the Web

(IT Jungle) Ask any of the IBM System i executives with the best offices and the most frequent flyer miles about the most exciting thing happening in their world and one of the things you'll hear about is PHP, the programming language for building Web applications. It's been available only to those running V5R4, but now it's ported to V5R3, which opens the doors to a boatload more people. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) The number of women holding professional positions in the IT industry declined from 42 percent of the workforce in 1996 to 32.4 percent in 2004. What does that say about this business? Wait--before you answer that--you should also know there has been no noticeable progress in the number of women in professional or management ranks. OK. Now form your opinion. After that, read this story. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Have you ever heard of an OS/400 security patch? Well, just because you never heard of Superman pulling a muscle doesn't mean it never happens. It just doesn't get a lot of press. Keep in mind, though, server security is no accident. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Performance, productivity, and profit . . . they are like three peas in a pod. They're just not in your pod, is that right? Well, admitting there is a problem is often the first step in solving that problem. How this relates to software technology and the goal of boosting performance and productivity may surprise you. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Those magicians at IDC are at it again. The latest numbers being pulled from their analytical hats indicate IT spending will grow from $1.16 trillion in 2006 to $1.48 trillion in 2010. The forecast includes spending details for hardware, software, and services. READ MORE >

(MCPress) Maybe the best thing about making annual predictions is that nobody remembers them by the end of the year. For the time being, they seem like a good idea though. And a little forecasting can be fun, right? Here are eight hunches with which you can agree or not. I hope someone is keeping score when the end of the year rolls around. READ MORE >

(Insider Weekly) How are things with your local user group? In Phoenix, Arizona, and Denver, Colorado, the local user groups vanished in 2006. Sad, but true. Since forecasts are popular this time of year, anyone want to make a prediction about user groups in 2007? READ MORE >

(System iNetwork) IBM is not opposed to going on record with a prognostication about the pending success of its Voice over IP strategy involving System i customers. Product marketing manager Chip McClelland says all the pieces are in place to make 2007 a big year. READ MORE >

Vendor Announcements, Promotions, and Deals

(IT Jungle) How slow is molasses in January? If it's one of the few things that's slower than your tape backup system, you might be in the frame of mind to take a closer look at virtual tape libraries. Just keep in mind that speed isn't the only thing to gain when you start considering your backup options. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Unlike most of our young female entertainers, businesses continue to believe it is best to cover your assets. That's where enterprise asset management software comes in. It is used by companies to derive more value from their big-ticket belongings such as equipment and facilities. Demand for the software is growing in the North American market due, in large part, to such things as include security requirements, regulatory compliance, and aging assets. Naturally, there are independent software vendors that believe the System i is the logical platform to run such applications. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) You know all about emulation, right? No, it's not the sincerest form of flattery. That's imitation, although that's actually pretty close. But I'm talking about emulation as in host access, using a Web browser, to a machine running TN5250, TN5250E, TN3270, TN3270E, and VT100. The question is can you put that to good use? READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) As long as we're on the subject of emulation software, here's another product that specializes in both Web-based and Windows-based access to OS/400, mainframe, and Unix hosts. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) To me, tax management is one of those classic oxymorons like honest politician or domestic bliss. But if you're going half blind trying to solve issues such as tax jurisdiction assignments, payroll, business personal property, and insurance premium taxes, then software that runs on your System i might be an alternative to your systematic chaos. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Retail is one of the largest industries in the United States based on the total number of businesses and number of employees. Many of them run RPG-based applications for merchandise management. But trends in multi-channel management that combines such things as order management, fulfillment, customer service, warehousing, inventory control, merchandising, marketing, and finance, is taking software in the direction of multi-platform capabilities. READ MORE >

Redbooks, White Papers, and Other OS/400 Resources

(Vision Solutions) If you aren't exactly sure how much one hour of downtime costs your organization, this white paper will assist in determining that figure and provide suggestions for effectively managing this risk. READ MORE >

(MKS) This white paper emphasizes two process methodologies: CMMI for software engineering and ITIL for best practices in service delivery. It provides a roadmap for bridging these processes and delivering them as one IT application process. It also uses the company's process management platform as an example of technology used for integrated IT process management. READ MORE >

(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 >

Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings

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

January 21-25 -- Orlando, Florida - The annual Lotusphere conference is packed with technical education sessions, labs, and approximately 6,000 IBM and Lotus software enthusiasts and experts. The education and training is applicable for both the business- and technical-minded professionals. Session tracks include Futures and Innovations, Application Development, Planning and Managing Your Collaboration Infrastructure, Best Practices, and Customer Case Studies. LEARN MORE >

January 23 -- Webinar - This one-hour Webcast, hosted by looksoftware, is focused on trends in enterprise modernization. It examines topics such as RPG support for Web services and service oriented architecture; Java and .NET working together; smart client versus browser-based user interfaces; and extending the life of legacy applications. This event begins at 1 p.m. EST. LEARN MORE >

January 24 -- King of Prussia, Pennsylvania - The Delaware Valley Computer Users Group meeting features Matt Graybiel speaking on the topic of cross-platform security compliance--proof that systems are complaint with corporate policy. Graybiel is a security sales engineer for NetIQ-Attachmate. The event begins at 5:30 p.m., with dinner at 6:30. LEARN MORE >

January 25 -- Webinar - The latest enhancements for SQL triggers in Version 5 of i5/OS will be covered by SQL expert Skip Marchesani in this one-hour Webcast. Among his topics of discussion are: why a Read trigger can slow your system to a crawl, how you can have multiple triggers per database event, and why your triggers must now be given names. Also included in this session will be how to disable or enable a trigger with the new CHGPFTRG command, log trigger information in the system catalog, and how trigger management process enhancements and increased functionality in SQL triggers can expand data management options. The event, hosted by Linoma Software, begins at 11 a.m. CST. LEARN MORE >

January 29 -- Orlando, Florida - A one-day application modernization technical seminar focusing on the service oriented architecture, Web services, and extending the value of RPG-based applications and OS/400-based system hardware is being presented by ASNA. It will emphasize using Windows- and Web-based .NET architectures. The sessions are designed for technical managers and implementers. LEARN MORE >