Top OS/400 Stories from Around the Web

(IT Jungle) When IBM converged the System i and System p under one Power Systems roof, the System i became the IBM i in the sales catalogs, but it disappeared from the quarterly financial reports. So when each quarterly report is announced, someone who is interested in the i has to do some creative noodling to determine what that redheaded step child has been up to. Don't tell the IBM AIX executives that you found out though. They might get furious. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Making predictions about IT spending during the year ahead has a lot more effort behind it (but a lot less fanfare) than interviewing a groundhog in mid winter to determine if an already too long winter might be making an early exit. Let's assume the IBM Market Intelligence Department is not depending on the notions of a sleepy mammal to pinpoint business trends. Here's what Big Blue is telling its business partners. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Up in the highest regions of the adminisphere, where IT budget balloons lose their air, executives are wrestling with their stress monkeys over how to gain strategic advantages without resorting to weekend bake sales to supplement spending. Before something entirely inappropriate happens, sneak into the conference room and write these words on the white board: subscription-based pricing. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Moving forward when you look around and see so many businesses stuck in the mud takes some ingenuity. If you're low on ingenuity, you'll likely be stuck in the mud longer than the rest. Tight credit is responsible for some spinning wheels, but it's also instigated some new financing options that might be on the front end of a trend or two. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Because RPG has been the language of choice in the AS/400 world (and that includes all subsequent platform name changes up to the present), the programming language known as EGL has not gained widespread appreciation among midrange users. Only those of the Java or COBOL persuasion have considered taking the EGL road. But if EGL could generate RPG, what then? READ MORE >

(CMS Watch) Two weeks ago you may have read about IBM's 16th consecutive year of claiming more patents than any other company. Sounds like a grand technological achievement, but how much of this has to do with legal maneuvering as opposed to engineering brilliance? Plenty. And, of course, IBM's competitors are in this game up to their eyeballs as well. READ MORE >

(Internet Journal) The marketing mavens at IBM Lotus are agitated. Maybe they've been too quiet for too long. (I can think of one other area where a similar observation could be made.) They say Microsoft has been cruising for a bruising, and they are about to deliver the overdue punch. The recently completed Lotusphere was just the beginning. It's time to walk the walk. READ MORE >

Vendor Announcements, Promotions, and Deals

(IT Jungle) There was a time when persuading companies that disaster recovery and high availability could be effectively and efficiently delivered as a service was about as difficult as baptizing cats. But recovery times have gotten shorter and bandwidth issues aren't the obstacle that they once were. Managed services have their benefits. They are going to make a lot of sense to some organizations that take a closer look. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) If you are on the operating system upgrade train and are moving to i 6.1 or V5R4, you'll now find a PHP environment for building Web applications shipped with the OS. Just because it's there doesn't mean that it will be used, but the expectations are that it will be a welcomed addition for many companies ready to make the move into Web application development. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Indecision plagues a great many midrange shops that have yet to noodle their way closer to an application modernization project. The search for a reasonable return on investment does not always end quickly and with a high degree of confidence. Yet some find their way like a hound dog on the trail. Finding the necessary functionality and discovering that the implementation is not as difficult as you once thought can be like flipping on the light in a dark room. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) If you're not careful, one morning you're going to wake up to find some of your favorite IBM products on the milk carton that's parked next to your Post Toasties. One of the reasons you read Four Hundred Monitor is to have a little advanced warning on news. So consider this a heads up on a few things that IBM plans on pulling off the product shelf soon. READ MORE >

Redbooks, White Papers, and Other OS/400 Resources

(HiT Software) This report examines the synchronizing of data between heterogenous databases with an emphasis on integrating IBM i DB2 with Microsoft SQL Server 2008. Data security and cost effectiveness are major topics. READ MORE >

(Vision Solutions) "The State of Resilience and Optimization on IBM Power Systems," is a 20-page report that focuses on disaster recovery expectations, DR technologies, and the state of systems management. It's based on survey data from more than 2,000 technical professionals and executives involved with the management of IBM i and AIX environments. This archived Webcast covers all the details READ MORE >

(BCD) This white paper discusses PHP as a technology and as a productive method for transforming legacy applications to Web applications or creating new Web applications from square one. It explains the popularity of PHP, how it is different from other technologies, and uses the company's WebSmart PHP as the focal point for Web application development. READ MORE >

(LANSA) As organizations plot strategies that make use of existing applications while meeting modern technology and business challenges, application modernization initiatives are becoming more common. Generally these projects are weighed against the prospect of total system replacement and application rewrites. This white paper, written by Paul Conte, provides guidelines for dealing with the challenges, requirements, and demands that come along with application modernization. READ MORE >

Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings

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

February 10 -- Webinar - Increasing data visibility, streamlining business processes, and reducing costs by connecting multiple databases and servers through business application mashups is the topic of this online session. Particular focus will be given to gaining a composite view of customers, orders, product, and inventory that are confined to silos in their current application configuration. LANSA Product Marketing Manager David Brault and two individuals from System i organizations that have implemented application mashup programs will be presenting the material. The event begins at 1 p.m. CST. LEARN MORE >

February 10 -- Beaverton, Oregon - This presentation will explore the relationship of Microsoft's .NET Framework and the System i. In the first part of this presentation there's a high level comparison of the .NET framework with Java that examine different capabilities and development tools. In the second part, the focus shifts to how IBM's .NET Data Provider can link .NET applications to the System i. It includes a brief guide to building .NET to System i applications along with a collection of useful debugging and troubleshooting techniques. All of code in the sample application will be available to the attendees. Guest speaker is Michael Otey. This meeting of the Cascade iSeries User Group begins with lunch at noon and presentations beginning at 1 p.m. The meeting will be held at the IBM offices, 15400 S.W. Koll Parkway. LEARN MORE >

February 11 -- Webinar - Every IT person in your company thinks he or she needs to have security officer capability. But the next time the auditors look at your system, they'll think otherwise. How do you satisfy both? In this presentation, John Earl, director of security technology at PowerTech, will demonstrate a tool that provides programmers with the capability to deal with both sides of this dilemma. The session begins at 11 a.m. PST. LEARN MORE >

February 11 -- Webinar - A session highlighting how food distributors are lowering operating costs using delivery route management and warehouse operations technology will be presented at 1 p.m. EST. This Webinar will feature the latest technology from IBM, VAI, Vocollect Voice Picking software, and UPS Road Net software. LEARN MORE >

February 12 -- Webinar - Choosing the development technology that fits your company and your IT staff can be a troublesome task. In this online session, the focus is on rich Internet applications that will endure with whatever modernization technology is ultimately chosen. Topics of discussion include creating user interfaces on the i and on other platforms, integrating the i with other systems, and why browser-based RIAs provide usability, accessibility, and platform-independent design. This presentation begins at 1 p.m. EST. LEARN MORE >

February 12 -- Maryland Heights, Missouri - Daniel Hiebert, a software engineer with IBM Systems and Technology Group, will discuss Web services on IBM i at the monthly meeting of the Gateway/400 Group, an iSeries user group serving the greater St. Louis area. The meeting time is 11:30 a.m. with lunch at noon and the presentation following lunch. RSVP no later than Monday before the meeting date. LEARN MORE >

February 12 -- Milwaukee, Wisconsin - A two-part session on processing XML data on the IBM I will be featured at the monthly meeting of the Wisconsin Midrange Computer Professional Association. Guest speaker David Andruchuk, a senior architect for Computer Systems Design Associates, will discuss topics such as user-defined table functions (UDTF), parsing XML documents residing in an IFS folder, and making use of RPGLE programs and SQL interfaces. The first session begins at 4:30 p.m. The second begins at 7:30. In between is dinner and networking with the members. LEARN MORE >

February 17 -- Madison, Wisconsin - An DB2 Web Query for System i, IBM's replacement for Query/400 will be the topic of Madison Area Midrange Systems Users Group meeting this month. Guest speaker is Jackie Jensen, the IBM i solutions manager at Information Builders. Her presentation will cover the creation of dashboards, analyzing reports, and the migration or conversion of Query/400 applications to DB2 Web Query. Get to the meeting at 8 a.m. and you'll get some coffee and donuts. The session begins at 8:30. The location is Fiskers restaurant on the corner of Pflaum Road and Daniels Street. LEARN MORE >