Top OS/400 Stories from Around the Web

(IT Jungle) Have you ever made repeated trips to your refrigerator hoping that something new might be in there the next time, you looked? Some of you might relate to that when it comes to IBM's application software. The WebFacing and the WebSphere tools didn't look all that appetizing to you. But V6R1 is bringing something new to the table System i development tools from the Rational side of the business. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Application management is a funny concept to those who develop software in an unmanaged environment. It's like mandating that demolition derby drivers take driver's training classes. But to Philip Deck, chairman and CEO of application lifecycle management software maker MKS, the issue is more than organizing and managing source code for more efficient application development. The real benefit is getting control of intellectual property. Here's his view of how it all ties together." READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Sometime during your working life, you've heard an executive go into a tirade about how lost customers can cost a company a mint. When it comes to System i sales, that couldn't be more true. Not only did IBM literally lose a mint, it also turned over a datacenter where a dozen System i 595 servers once stood proud. Pfffffft! That's the sound of air being let out of the System i tires. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Bruce Guetzkow is a System i guru. He can envision IT solutions that produce business results and, even though he's a one-man department, he manages to think through and follow through on projects. In this case, it was a self-serve, secured extranet Web portal with the capability to search and view reports, then download PDFs of the reports users deemed necessary. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) IBM's Academic Initiative (AI) program is fighting the general perception that a career in IT is a loser. In the minds of many, particularly high school students choosing career paths, the outsourcing of IT jobs and the monotony of low-level positions raises red flags and causes a turn to other professions. It's not all bad, says AI insider Linda Grigoleit. There are jobs and opportunities, she says. It's the goal of the AI program to get the word out. READ MORE >

(iSociety) IBM experts George Farr and Craig Johnson answer questions about V6R1 in this transcript of a February 6 Fireside Chat hosted by iSociety. The topics range from RPG enhancements to compiler and development tools. Also included is information on Rational Developer on System i and WebSphere Development Studio Client, plus a lot more. Farr is the worldwide development product manager for tools and compilers for the System i platform at the Rational division. Johnson is the i5/OS product manager in the Power Systems division of its Systems and Technology Group. READ MORE >

(Enterprise Systems) Here's an interesting point about IBM acquiring Cognos. It's made by a manager at The Data Warehousing Institute. He notes that the Information Management group at IBM used to be focused on infrastructure. But the Cognos deal is not about infrastructure. It's about applications and tools. More purchases like this one means IBM is changing the rules that it has played by for quite a while. READ MORE >

Vendor Announcements, Promotions, and Deals

(IT Jungle) There are a lot of applications in use that could never be described as blazingly fast or particularly efficient. And of those that honestly deserve that description, a fair amount scare away users with a face that only a 55-year-old RPG programmer could love. Wanting to modernize 40 applications, 3,700 screens, and 15 million lines of RPG is one thing. Doing it and being happy with the result is something else. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) The guy whose signature is on your paycheck might think you have a magic wand that converts green-screen applications into marvelously graphic user interfaces, but you know the tools to get this job done aren't found in fairy tales. When you go into design mode, it involves prototyping, developing, testing, and deploying. Accomplishing this from a single Web browser session is a convenience that only a programmer can understand. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) I happen to live by the credo that a clean office is the sign of a sick mind. But I wouldn't recommend that "philosophy" be carried over to the care and feeding of hard disks, where cleanliness is next to not only godliness, but also effectiveness. And the good news is that cleanliness, when it comes to hard disks, can be automated. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) DB2 Web Query, IBM's graphical replacement for Query/400, is a big step into the modern world. When it comes to technological advancements, big steps can be difficult for some IT departments to take. So if you need some help, where do you turn and how much do you pay? READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Biometric authentication has yet to be a widely accepted guard against security breaches, but it could be in the early stages of building momentum. Worldwide System i servers hold a tremendous amount of sensitive data. User authentication for applications that access that data may be on the verge of adopting this technology. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) If you've been window shopping for an i5/OS-based blade server, you'll be happy to know the price on these Power6-based devices has dropped faster than the overnight temperature in Milwaukee. Blade servers come in a multitude of configurations, but you can get a handle on the pricing right here. READ MORE >

Redbooks, White Papers, and Other OS/400 Resources

(Vision Solutions) This white paper provides a basic understanding of the building blocks of IT and business continuity--from understanding the concepts of disaster recovery and information availability to calculating the business impact of downtime and selecting the right software solution. READ MORE >

(MKS) Change management allows businesses to automate IT and software processes, while uniting process frameworks such as ITIL, CMMI and CobiT. The goal is to achieve productivity gains and meet IT governance and compliance goals. This white paper closely examines controls for delivering IT changes. READ MORE >

(Quadrant Software) An important part of a business continuity plan is making sure that critical business documents are available any time and from anywhere. Critical paperwork like purchase orders, invoices, and contacts are often overlooked. This pre-recorded Webinar outlines a plan for implementing a continuity plan as it applies to business paperwork and processes. READ MORE >

(IBM) This publication follows The IBM System Storage Tape Libraries Guide for Open Systems, and covers the planning, installation, and configuring of Ultrium LTO tape drives, as well as the TS1120 Tape Drive and libraries in i5/OS environments. The focus is on the setup and customization of these drives and libraries. READ MORE >

(System Objects) This method of application modernization, using the vendor's software called JACi400, is designed for RPG and COBOL developers to replace the green-screen interface with HTML/GUI. It includes coverage of the process of selecting the database, setting up the application for inquiry, data entry, or update, finalizing specifications, and deploying the application. 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 14 -- Maryland Heights, Missouri - A full day of training in RPG, WDSc, and RSE will be presented by Susan Gantner and Jon Paris. The full-day session, hosted by the Gateway/400 local user group for the greater St. Louis area, begins at 8:30 a.m. and is scheduled to end at 4:30 p.m. LEARN MORE >

February 14 -- Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Two sessions are scheduled for the monthly meeting of the Wisconsin Midrange Computer Professional Association. Guest speaker Mike Schambureck will discuss the benefits of System I server integration in his first presentation and then follow that up with a session that explains how to attach a BladeCenter to the System i using iSCSI. Schambureck is an expert from IBM Rochester. The first begins at 4:30 p.m. The second begins at 7:30. In between is dinner and networking with the members. LEARN MORE >

February 14 -- Kent, Washington - The Pacific Midrange Systems Association meeting features a session on System i security. Guest speaker Vince Fazio of MSI will discuss security technologies, how they are being implemented and used, and what is coming in the future. Topics of discussion will include storage/data resiliency, disaster recovery planning, recovery time and recovery point objectives for both single- and multi-server options. The meeting begins at 11:30 a.m. LEARN MORE >

February 14 -- Webinar - For those considering a rapid application development tool that generates nonproprietary PHP code, this session provides a detailed overview of the key features in BCD's WebSmart PHP, which runs on the System i as well as other PHP supported platforms such as Windows, Linux and Unix. Topics include creating PHP applications, editing HTML, PHP basics, and providing an application framework. This 60-minute event begins at 12:30 EST. LEARN MORE >

February 19 -- Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois - The OMNI User 20th Annual User Technical Conference will be held at the Drury Lane Theater and Conference Center. This conference is one of the largest System i local user group training and education conferences in the country. It features timely and cutting edge topics presented by national and local experts, as well as a vendor expo. Frank Soltis, chief scientist for IBM System i, will be one of the key note speakers. LEARN MORE >

February 19 -- Irving, Texas - Advanced Function Printing will be the featured topic of discussion at the monthly meeting of the Metro Midrange Systems Association, a user group for the Dallas and Fort Worth metro areas. Guest speaker is Bob Ross, president of Laser Software Technologies in Des Moines, Iowa. Ross' presentation will cover topics such as an explanation of AFP concepts, resources, data formatting, and structured fields. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. with dinner at 6 and the presentation at 6:45. MMSA meetings are held at the Radisson Hotel DFW South. LEARN MORE >

February 19 -- Costa Mesa, California - A presentation on PHP and MySQL topics is the highlight of the regular monthly meeting of the OCEAN User Group. Guest speaker is Erwin Earley, an advisory software engineer in the Rochester lab and an expert in open source-related technologies on System i including Linux and Zend's PHP. The OCEAN User Group serves the greater Orange County, California, area and meets the third Tuesday of each month. This meeting begins at 6 p.m. and will be held at the IBM offices located at 600 Anton Boulevard. LEARN MORE >

February 19 -- Bloomington, Minnesota - An introduction to converged IP Telephony on the System i will be presented at the regularly scheduled local user group meeting. The meeting begins at 2 p.m. at the Comfort Inn located at 1321 East 78th Street. LEARN MORE >

February 20 -- Seekonk, Massachusetts - Creating an enterprise open systems Web data mart with MySQL will be the featured topic at the monthly meeting of the New England Midrange Users Group. Guest speaker is Jim Mason. LEARN MORE >

February 20 -- Webinar - Warehouse automation can have a tremendous return on investment. Increasing fulfillment speed and increasing accuracy, can result in faster inventory turns, better on-time delivery, and reduced expedited freight costs. Topics of discussion in this session will include obtaining more accurate and timely information, reducing overhead, optimizing warehouse space, increasing inventory accuracy, reducing shipping errors, and increasing productivity. The presentation, hosted by VAI, begins at 2 p.m. EST. LEARN MORE >

February 21 -- Columbia, South Carolina - Building SQL skills beyond the basic level is the purpose of this full-day seminar presented by Skip Marchesani. Topics included in this session include built-in functions for data manipulation and analysis, using subselect and scalar subselect to write complex SQL statements, embedding and compiling SQL statements in RPG and COBOL programs, stored procedures, and triggers. This event is being hosted by the Midlands Midrange User Group. LEARN MORE >

February 22 -- New Haven, Connecticut - 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 >