Top OS/400 Stories from Around the Web

(IT Jungle) If you limit choices, all that is left is compromise. Apply that to the high-end System i servers and, if you are the top executives at IBM, there's an inherent danger in disappointing your biggest customers. That's not something you want to do. So if those shops want more performance, it's probably a good idea to give it to them. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Where are you on the operating system ladder? Are you at the top with i5/OS V5R4? That would put you among the elite shops and a hop, skip, and a jump ahead of the majority of iSeries and System i users. Here's a look at what the next release of the operating system may bring in terms upgrades from previous versions. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) It would be great to see open source application development take off in the iSeries/System i community. I mean really take off. Building Web interfaces to OS/400 applications is a skill that holds a great deal of promise for the platform and for the career advancement of a lot of programmers. Open source isn't the only pathway to Web application development, but it is clearly not something to be dismissed. Keep an eye on what IBM and Zend Technologies have cooked up. READ MORE >

(The Register) IBM has its foot on the accelerator when it comes to the Power6 chips it plans to bring to market in mid-2007. As noted, it will deliver breakneck performance beyond the 5 GHz zone and will scale like crazy. Some industry wags are taking note that this is single-thread performance, however, while other industry leaders have chosen chip design that uses lower power cores and multiple software threads. READ MORE >

(System iNetwork) Based on revenues of $91.1 billion accumulated in 2005, IBM sits atop the IT hardware business. Although the System i hasn't been scoring as many points in this contest as its collective ecosystem would like, Big Blue has done well by transferring technology from its high-end enterprise systems to systems that serve the midrange. READ MORE >

Vendor Announcements, Promotions, and Deals

(IT Jungle) When it comes to purchasing, upgrading, or customizing ERP applications, there are a laundry list of questions to ask about what your ERP software can do for you and what you need your software to do for you. And don't forget to consider what your ERP software company is planning as part of its platform strategy and service oriented architecture approach. Lawson Software has a large installed base running on System i, but where the company is going is more important than where it's been. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) The skills of the application development team generally have a lot to do with the chosen direction an organization takes with its Web-enablement program. Because RPG skills are common in iSeries shops, making Web application development as RPG-like as possible will simplify this process immensely. Therefore, you hear a lot of product marketing messages driving home the RPG friendliness of their Web development processes. The best advice is look before you leap. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Identity management is typically reliant on passwords. Unfortunately, password management is typically lax and often bordering on lunacy. If you know situations where the password is password, you are already in comedy of security errors. Somebody someday will fail to see the humor in this. You may think biometric authentication is too sci-fi for you, but it's more mainstream than you may have realized. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Freeware appeals to a lot of shops where "do more with less" is the answer to almost all the purchasing requests. So when spool files and print resources are a rat's nest of confusion and "I don't even want to go there" responses, having a tool that can dissect and parse your way to improved printer throughput and the effects of DDS keyword combinations could be worth its weight in gold no matter what you didn't pay. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) How's that automation process for invoices and payments working at your company? Oh, you don't have software that fits that description, but you are actually shopping for an EDI system that includes this as part of the package. Smart move. Here's something that should be of interest. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) There are a few things I can think of that probably will make you go blind if you stare directly at them for more than five minutes. The first is the sun--blindness is almost guaranteed. The second is blogging--although the jury is still out on this one. The third is the full text of the Payment Card Industry (PCI) data security standards. Experiment with the first two if you must, but leave it to the PCI Security Vendor Alliance to explain data security standards, so you can turn your head away. READ MORE >

Redbooks, White Papers, and Other OS/400 Resources

(MB Software & Consulting) This white paper, titled "Software-Based Performance Tuning," focuses on identifying and solving application performance problems. Topics include CPU use, memory faulting, and high disk activity. It looks at performance issues as primarily the result of excessive I/O in one or more applications. There is no registration process required prior to downloading this report. 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 >

(IBM & Zend) This technical report will help you install, configure, and become productive with PHP on System i using Zend Core for i5/OS and Zend Platform for i5/OS. If you are evaluating PHP, this book will also help by providing background information and comparisons with other tools. READ MORE >

(IBM) This report draws a favorable portrait of the System i based on its low administration costs and the combination of "tight flexibility," security, and reliability. In the context of this article, tight flexibility is explained as the capability to "act as a hub for administration, risk management, and enterprise-wide security." READ MORE >

(Xdata) Business objectives typically include: meeting customers' requirements, maintaining minimum inventory levels, accurately calculating profitability in every transaction, and minimizing the time and effort required to produce accurate and timely business data and financial information. Find out how this all comes together in this white paper titled "Understanding Manufacturing and Inventory Cost Accounting Practices." 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 17 -- Independence, Ohio - PHP Web application development on System i 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 the IBM offices at Park Center Plaza. Topics on the agenda include Zend products for i5/OS, MySQL, and open source applications, and plans. Guest speaker is Craig Johnson, the IBM product manager for PHP on the System i platform. Advance registration is requested. LEARN MORE >

February 19 -- Jacksonville, Florida - The performance advantages of System i with POWER5 and POWER5+ technology will be discussed at this Jacksonville area local user group meeting. Guest speaker Keith Zblewski, from the IBM Rochester development lab, will also be explaining topics such as configuration options, system values, Simultaneous Multi-Threading (SMT) architecture, and LPAR features such as shared and uncapped processors. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. at the IBM offices. RSVP Ben Brower, executive director of the Jax iSeries User Group via e-mail: benbrower@comcast.net LEARN MORE >

February 20 -- Norwalk, Connecticut - The Fairfield AS/400 Users Group monthly meeting topic is support for Java technology in i5/OS. Guest speaker Blair Wyman is an IBM expert in Java and his discussion of the topic will include plans for a single virtual machine implementation of Java across all IBM platforms. Compatibility, performance, and long-term migration will be discussed, as will timelines, rationale, impacts, and the progress to this point. FASUG meetings are held at the Norwalk Inn and begin at 5:30 p.m. LEARN MORE >

Feburary 21 -- Webinar - Information on how to make your organization more efficient, productive, and profitable by getting a handle on the paper shuffle will be provided in this one-hour session hosted by Quadrant Software. The focus is on streamlining the accounts payable processes by replacing paper forms with electronic documents. The event begins at noon EST. LEARN MORE >

February 21 -- Atlanta, Georgia - An introduction to disaster recovery planning will be presented by Richard Dolewski at the Atlanta Midrange Users Exchange meeting. This seminar is designed for IT personnel responsible for systems availability. Dolewski will use the business continuity model while discussing availability and recovery of computing services. Attendees will be provided with the tools to writing a successful computer disaster recovery plan. This presentation will be made twice--once during a lunch meeting and again during a dinner meeting. Dolewski is a certified systems integration specialist and disaster recovery planner. LEARN MORE >

February 21 -- Woodbury, New York - The Long Island Systems Users Group monthly meeting topic is support for Java technology in i5/OS. Guest speaker Blair Wyman is an IBM expert in Java and his discussion of the topic will include plans for a single virtual machine implementation of Java across all IBM platforms. Compatibility, performance, and long-term migration will be discussed, as will IBM's timelines, rationale, projected impacts, and the progress to this point. LISUG meetings are held at the Fox Hollow Inn and begin at 6 p.m. LEARN MORE >

February 22 - Webinar - In this Webcast, RPG expert Jon Paris will explain no-name fields, no-length fields, nested data structures and other topics related to the D-spec. The session also includes how-to information for applying these techniques to process a group of record fields as an array as well as other helpful D-spec techniques. The one-hour event, hosted by Linoma Software, begins at 11 a.m. CST. LEARN MORE >

February 23-25 -- Phoenix, Arizona - The Hartley Racing Team--headed by Allen Hartley, owner of ProData Computer Services--will be lining up their 330-mph pro fuel dragster at the Checker Schuck's Kragen NHRA Nationals. Allen's son, Joe, will be at the wheel and competing against the fastest, quarter-mile race cars in the world. Time trials are run Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. The 16 fastest cars compete on Sunday. For more information on the racing Hartleys, go to the iDigDrags Web site where you can also find a link to the National Hot Rod Association and info about the Phoenix racing event. LEARN MORE >

February 26 & 27 -- Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois - The OMNI User 19th 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. LEARN MORE >

February 26 -- Richmond, Virginia - A one-day seminar featuring Java, PHP, and the latest V5R4 technology environment is being hosted by the Mid Atlantic Midrange user group. This session is presented by Blair Wyman. Wyman works in the IBM Rochester Lab specializing in Java and PHP resources. He is a regular speaker at the IBM iSeries Technical Conference and a many local user groups, as well as other national iSeries technical conferences such as COMMON. The course fee is $285 for non-user group members and $250 for user group members. LEARN MORE >

February 26 -- Dallas, Texas - 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 >

February 27 -- College Park, Maryland - A one-day seminar featuring Java, PHP, and the latest V5R4 technology environment is being hosted by the Mid Atlantic Midrange user group. This session is presented by Blair Wyman. Wyman works in the IBM Rochester Lab specializing in Java and PHP resources. He is a regular speaker at the IBM iSeries Technical Conference and a many local user groups, as well as other national iSeries technical conferences such as COMMON. The course fee is $285 for non-user group members and $250 for user group members. LEARN MORE >

February 27 -- Webinar - A demonstration for extending iSeries applications with mobile user interfaces will be hosted by looksoftware. The session includes an example of a composite application that consolidates information from multiple sources into a single, smart client UI. Topics of discussion include: understanding how iSeries applications can be rapidly extended to support multi-channel user interfaces; determining the appropriate user interface style for a particular project; and learning about real customer experiences with iSeries enterprise modernization. The one-hour event begins at 1 p.m. EST. LEARN MORE >