Top OS/400 Stories from Around the Web

(IT Jungle) Bear in mind that price/performance comparisons between IBM Power6 and Power5+ servers are not easy. For one thing, the pricing for the operating system, its integrated DB2 database, and the hypervisor--all integrated into the price--is different. But when the spaghetti bowl of feeds and speeds and features is sorted out, most of the pricing comparisons don't show a dramatic change. READ MORE >

(Forbes) Is the end in sight for multi-core servers? It flies in the face of what some people believe, but more cores don't necessarily yield more performance. In this interview, Bernard Meyerson, chief technologist for IBM's systems and technology group, provides his perspective on beefing up data center performance and other things like making users feel like the data is local even if it isn't. READ MORE >

(System iNetwork) Where is the IBM we once knew? It's not the company we see in 2008 with its emphasis on consulting projects and its diminishing interest in manufacturing. Hardware has taken a back seat. It's still called International Business Machines, but where are the machines? READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Biometric authentication is powerful stuff. In this case, it's preventing unauthorized users from peeping into sensitive data that should be locked away in core banking systems. In addition to the security, it also streamlines the user sign-on process reduced the aggravation (and costliness) of password reset calls to the help desk. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge a midrange computing platform or a programming language by the number of Help Wanted ads you reel in using Internet search engines? You most certainly can. Not that this provides conclusive evidence and should be the sole basis for decision making, but it still remains a valid snapshot that relates jobs to data center hardware. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Dr. Harvey Lowy teaches masters degree courses in computing at Fairleigh Dickinson University. He says the students there have no idea what enterprise computing is like and they have almost zero knowledge of IBM System i or System z environments. So he set out to change that. READ MORE >

Vendor Announcements, Promotions, and Deals

(IT Jungle) Stymied by the thought of moving RPG applications to the Web? It's not nearly as bad as you may be imagining it to be. One way to go is converting RPG to CGI Web programs that execute on iSeries, System i, or Power System servers. There are plenty of organizations that have used this method to build B2B, B2C, and e-Commerce sites, and they've been built by programmers with RPG skills. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) What do you do if your application modernization planning takes you in the direction of Microsoft .NET? Before your RPG programmers start jumping out of third-story windows (and attempt to make Workers' Comp claims), you should know this can be done without the theatrics, the medical bills, and the weeks of recuperation. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Those in the hunt for methods of creating new applications and modernizing old ones for the Web should take some time to talk with the PHP on i advocates. They certainly will be happy to talk with you, especially those PHP boosters at Zend Technologies who are very i-friendly. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Without the necessary expertise and resources, security management initiatives are at best wounded ducks. At their worst, they become dead ducks. Simplified System i security and compliance reporting--including such things as exit point monitoring, intrusion detection, user profile management, password resetting, auditing, and regulatory compliance--actually has a chance if you're willing to give it one. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Unstructured data, also known as the curse of needing info I don't have, has a way of avoiding all attempts to unlock and expose it. I don't pretend to be Indiana Jones (at least not in front of a crowd), but I've discovered a way to export unstructured legacy screen data into a structured RDBMS in real time. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Green Bay and Gouda are worlds apart, but both are known for their cheese heads. I'm not sure whether any citizens of Gouda wear headgear that resembles cheese (as some do in Green Bay), but I rather doubt it. What I do know is that Gouda is also the home of Imtech, a large--and getting larger--reseller of IBM systems hardware that is expanding its business in the United Kingdom. READ MORE >

Redbooks, White Papers, and Other OS/400 Resources

(NetManage and HiT Software) When it comes to using legacy data and transactions outside the legacy system, most organizations choose to export the unstructured data in real time while keeping the legacy system as the primary system of record while enabling external data users and business units with structured data via relational database. This report details how that is accomplished without writing SQL statements, which is the most often considered alternative. READ MORE >

(IBM) All programs moving to i5/OS V6R1 (i 6.1) will need a degree of conversion to run. In order for a program to be converted, its creation data (sometimes referred to as observability) must be available for the system to make use of during a conversion process. Programs created for V5R1 or later have their creation data automatically saved during program creation. Those with programs created for OS/400 V4R5 and earlier need to ensure that the creation data is available for the conversion process. This technical paper provides a focus on what you should expect in terms of conversion processes. 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 >

(Bytware) What are your security worries? Perhaps your security policy is shot full of holes or it is time consuming, difficult to manage, or error prone. This white paper distinguishes between an object-based approach and a transaction-based approach. When security is your responsibility, you should know all the potential weaknesses. READ MORE >

Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings

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

June 17 -- Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois - The featured topic at the monthly meeting of the OMNI User Group will be ILE RPG. Two sessions featuring different ILE RPG topics will be presented by guest speaker Scott Klement. The first session, beginning at 4 p.m., is an introduction to ILE concepts. The second session, beginning at 6:15, covers skills for writing good, reusable ILE code. Klement is an expert on RPG topics and one of the best known speakers on the topic. The meeting begins at 3:30 p.m. and will be held at the IBM Conference Facility. LEARN MORE >

June 17 -- Irving, Texas - Web Query and business intelligence will be covered by Chris Banks in his presentation at the monthly meeting of the Metro Midrange Systems Association, a user group for the Dallas and Fort Worth metro areas. Banks is director of business development for WebFOCUS at Information Builders. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. with dinner at 6 and Perry's presentation at 6:45. MMSA meetings are held at the Radisson Hotel DFW South. LEARN MORE >

June 17-20 -- Chaska, Minnesota - This four-day conference, hosted by Help/Systems, features a variety of sessions including the latest in System i news from IBM experts, techniques for using Help/Systems automation and business intelligence products, and new ways for IT professionals to integrate their professional and personal lives. Among those presenting are Dr. Frank Soltis, the creator of the System i architecture; Richard Dolewski, an expert in disaster recovery; and Kent Milligan, a specialist in System i database topics. Help/Systems will also offer a two-day workshop on June 16 and 17 that will provide in-depth training on its products. LEARN MORE >

June 17 -- Norwalk, Connecticut - The Fairfield AS/400 Users Group monthly meeting topic is increasing productivity by using Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, a portal, collaboration, and enterprise content management (ECM) software package. Guest speakers are Nick Mattera, the vice president of business partner relations for mindSHIFT Technologies, and Matt Spies, a supervisor, programmer/analyst, and the administrator for the System i at Amphenol's RF division. FASUG meetings are held at the Norwalk Inn and begin at 5:30 p.m. LEARN MORE >

June 17 -- Atlanta, Georgia - Converting iSeries spool files to PC formats such as Excel and Word, creating PDFs from reports, and distributing reports via e-mail are part of the presentation at the Atlanta Midrange Users Exchange meeting this month. Guest speakers Richard Voss and Chris Burns will emphasize automating the distribution and storage of electronic reports and laser forms, linking them to a searchable audit trail, and cutting costs in the process. The event begins at 11:30 a.m. and will be held at the Brio Tuscan Grille located at 700 Ashwood Parkway. LEARN MORE >

June 18 -- Webcast - The use of encryption for protecting confidential information and expediting compliance with PCI standards, federal regulations (HIPAA and Sarbanes-Oxley being two examples) and state privacy laws is the focus of this online session hosted by Linoma Software. Topics of discussion include protecting sensitive fields and backups on the IBM System i (iSeries) through the use of encryption, integrated key management, and auditing. Linoma software will be used to automatically encrypt database fields without changing applications, protect System i libraries, objects and files, rotate keys without re-encrypting, and produce audit trails and reports. The session begins at noon CDT. LEARN MORE >

June 18 -- Freeport, New York - The Long Island Systems Users Group is hosting a dinner cruise rather than a regular monthly meeting this month. Emphasis on this four-hour cruise is on networking with members. The boat leaves the dock at 6:30 p.m. Register before June 13 and save $15 per ticket. LEARN MORE >

June 18 -- Seekonk, Massachusetts - OS/400 upgrades will be the featured topic at the monthly meeting of the New England Midrange Users Group. Guest speaker is Pete Masiello, an expert on systems management and technical support. RSVP no later than June 13. The meeting is held at the Ramada Inn and begins at 5:15 p.m. LEARN MORE >

June 24 -- Nashville, Tennessee - This meeting of the Tennessee IBM Mid-Range User Group will feature a presentation on the IBM Power Systems including the Power6 servers and the i 6.1 operating system. It will be held at the HCA Corporate Headquarters, 2545 Park Plaza, Building 3, Conference Room 110, and begins at 11:30 a.m. LEARN MORE >

June 25 -- Independence, Ohio - Data analysis and systems automation 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 Harry's Steakhouse. Guest speaker is Tom Huntington, vice president of technical services at Help/Systems. LEARN MORE >

June 25 -- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - The Delaware Valley Computer Users Group will host a presentation on the new Power Systems and the DB2 enhancements for i 6.1. Guest speakers will be IBM's Rick Clements and Mark Anderson. The event, which will be held at the Union League of Philadelphia, begins at 5:30 p.m. LEARN MORE >

June 25 -- Webinar - The migration path from Query/400 does not necessarily lead directly to DB2 Web Query. In this session, presented by New Generation Software, a comparison is made between New Generation Software's NGS-IQ and DB2 Web Query. Topics of discussion include replacement factors considerations such as ease-of-use, performance, licensing terms, and support. The NGS-IQ product will be used to demonstrate the capabilities related to building business dashboards, OLAP presentations, Microsoft Excel reports, and includes a look at the NGS Query/400 API that enhances existing queries with a variety of output options. The presentation begins at 1 p.m. CDT. LEARN MORE >

June 25 -- Jacksonville, Florida - Two sessions are lined up for this rare evening meeting of the Jacksonville iSeries User Group. At 6 p.m. the presentation topic will be leveraging IT investments and communication infrastructure to improve employee productivity, grow customer satisfaction, and improve the bottom line by using voice over IP technology. Guest speakers are Vinu Thomas, a Sirius executive practice leader, and Larry Johnson of 3Com, one of IBM's VoIP business partners. At 7:15, the topic switches to IBM's Host Access Transformation System (HATS) with an emphasis on altering green screen applications to get the look and feel of a graphical user interface. Also on the discussion agenda are topics such as creating Web services from legacy RPG applications and portlets without coding. This session will be presented by Doug Piner, a senior architect at Sirius. The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. at the IBM Offices, in Deerwood Park North. For additional details and to register for the event, email: benbrower@comcast.net LEARN MORE >

June 26 -- Bolton, Ontario, Canada - The Toronto Users Group is participating in a charity golf tournament benefiting Bloorview Kids Rehab. Starting time is 8 a.m. LEARN MORE >

June 30 -- Irvine, California - The 15th Annual OCEAN Tech Conference, Vendor Expo, and Executive Breakfast-Briefing on ROI is scheduled to take place at the Irvine Hyatt Regency Hotel. This full-day event includes training for developers, systems support, and IT management and includes some of the top experts in the business as well as a vendor expo. The six educational tracks include RPG IV, i5Web Development, Security and Infrastructure, System i5 Integration, and New Technology. A discounted registration fee is available until June 1. LEARN MORE >