Top OS/400 Stories from Around the Web

(IT Jungle) It's a two-way street. Employers expect loyalty and commitment from employees. Why shouldn't employees expect the same of employers? When people lose jobs due to downsizing or redeployment (or whatever damage-control euphemism is applied), the individual costs escalate into community costs. There's a domino effect that shows priorities are out of whack. Take IBM, for example. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) If all you have read about PHP as a Web application development environment is that it can do this and can do that, you might be wondering what it actually has done. Here's a guy who's in the trenches getting the work done and racking up accomplishments that show return on investment. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) IBM programs to entice x86 and x64 server consolidation onto Power Systems have yet to show significant results. This less-than-stellar record goes back to System i and System p and all the names attributed to these boxes in the past. Incentives based on discounted pricing are swell, but how about some deals on the service side? READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Just how popular is virtualization among the Power System users? The more expensive the box, the more popular virtualization is. Right? I can tell you that 95 percent of the monster machines--the 595s--were ordered with the Power VM hypervisor installed. Make your best guesses for the 570s, 550s, and 520s. Then follow the link to the answers. READ MORE >

(The Industry Standard) Apparently what's old is new again. At least that's what seems to be the case in a dispute between a Vaughan & Bushnell, a tool manufacturer, and its ERP software vendor, Infor. At issue is the processing power of upgraded AS/400 computers dating back to the 1990s. READ MORE >

(ZDNet) Could the next generation datacenter consist of a standard hardware platform that unites workloads running on multiple operating systems? You mean like running Windows, Unix, Linux, and i on Power Systems? Sometimes to see the future, you don't have to look past today. Still, cooperation among rivals has a ways to go before the future brings us to one big happy family. READ MORE >

Vendor Announcements, Promotions, and Deals

(IT Jungle) The bridge from RPG code to .NET or Java has been crossed numerous times. Yet code conversion techniques always seem to gain a great deal of attention and scrutiny. So if building bridges is your job, here's an RPG migration tool that deserves a close inspection. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) IT solutions related to regulatory compliance issues often have been put in place with great haste. Fast is good, but efficient is better, and many tasks performed under compliance deadlines are being rethought in attempts to improve systems, maintenance, and management. Moving from silo-specific approaches to enterprise-wide thinking is one way efficiencies are being realized. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Route planning is one area where manufacturers and distributors are finding ways to lower costs and improve profitability. Automating delivery information reduces fuel charges, adds to truck driver effectiveness, and raises customer satisfaction. Here's how one company optimized its fleet routing. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) What the sales department wants, it usually gets. If it makes the case that sales will increase after IT provides improved capabilities to manage accounts, contacts, projects, and sales and marketing activities, then a way must be found to do that. Do you want to build it or buy it? Take a look at this new option on the buy side. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Business intelligence has progressed from batch-oriented processes to real-time techniques that snatch data from a wider variety of sources. Evaluating, monitoring, and managing data quality all play an important role in making sure there actually is intelligence in a BI project. READ MORE >

Redbooks, White Papers, and Other OS/400 Resources

(ProData) Even years after the U.S. government enacted Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPPA, and other regulations, companies continue to define and redefine business processes and functions that touch sensitive data within their organizations. This whitepaper examines how journaling and auditing tools can greatly simplify the job of continuously providing regulatory compliance. READ MORE >

(YiPs) The Young i Professionals are an international group of business-quality techno-geeks interested in the modern capabilities offered on the IBM Power Systems i. One thing you'll find on the YiP Web site is a sandbox where you can test Sugar CRM, one of the most widely used open source business applications. No one checks ID. So even if you are not so young, have some of what these "kids" are drinking. READ MORE >

(Skyview Partners) The "Complance Without Complexities" handbook, written by security expert Carol Woodbury, provides sound advice on issues pertaining to attaining and maintaining security compliance within whatever regulations you are dealing with. It should help readers figure out how to save time and reduce costs. READ MORE >

(SafeData) This report covers data backup topics such as selecting the correct recovery option, avoiding common data-protection mistakes, and cutting costs without compromising data protection. The focus is on small to mid size businesses that have invested in a data availability and recovery solution yet remain vulnerable. 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 26 -- 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 11 a.m. CST. LEARN MORE >

March 1-6 -- Austin, Texas - "Total Enterprise Virtualization" and "Service Orientation -- The Foundation for IT Modernization" are the two themes to be highlighted at the SHARE conference, which is organized and presented by the world's largest association of corporate users of enterprise IT. Although the two theme topics get special attention, more than 700 technical sessions and hands-on labs will be presented by industry experts, top developers, and experienced users. Session topics range from implementation of new software releases to in-depth views of the latest technologies. LEARN MORE >

March 3 -- Webinar - RPG programmers looking for ways to create interactive, dynamic Web applications are finding PHP to their liking. In this one-hour online session, application development guru Jon Paris explains the basics of programming in PHP on System i by drawing comparisons with RPG IV. His presentation also highlights some of the System i-specific features that have been incorporated into the language. This training event, which begins at 1 p.m. EST, is based on a half-day seminar to be held in conjunction with the RPG & DB2 Summit in April in Orlando. LEARN MORE >

March 4 -- Webinar - Using SQL queries to access remote data for reports and other information gathering purposes is the focus of this online session hosted by ProData Computer Services and showcasing ProData's RDB Connect software. Topics of interest include SQL access to MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, Postgre, and DB2. Insights into tasks such as importing and exporting remote data to and from the System i, communicating with remote databases directly from RPG, COBOL, or CL programs, and using batch or interactive programs will also be discussed. This one-hour session begins at 2 p.m. CST. LEARN MORE >