Top OS/400 Stories from Around the Web

(IT Jungle) If the i5 515 and 525 servers are going to successfully ward off the intrusion of Windows servers that are siphoning System i workloads, they face the inevitable head-to-head comparisons. In this match up, the SPECjbb2005 benchmark test becomes the playing field and we get an indication of what the System i boxes can do. Don't think for a minute, however, that the benchmarks are the whole story. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Within the System i customer base, which numbers approximately 200,000 organizations, high availability software is being used in an estimated 6,000 firms. The lion's share of those companies now rely on Vision Solutions since that company acquired rival Lakeview Technology this week to go along with the acquisition of another competitor, iTera, late in 2006. A product roadmap explaining the future of the acquired products is expected in the coming months. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Employment opportunities in the IT industry are expected to be better in the coming months than any other time in the past 5 ½ years. Retail, wholesale, and business services companies are the best bets to be adding employees. And don't forget that employers will be looking for programmers who can also do project management and employees with interpersonal, verbal, writing, and business skills, too. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Gender salary differences can be described as a hot button topic. Go ahead and bring it up in the lunch room and see how long it takes before a few faces turn red, veins start protruding from foreheads, and voices raise several decibels. Start the discussion with this: There is no gender pay gap at the level of title or pay grade, including in the IT field. Keep this article close at hand for reference. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Open-source software is everywhere we look. The trick is just looking a little harder than we're used to doing. Although it's grown considerably, you can't really say it's beyond the infant stage of development. What are its prospects for growth? I'm glad you asked that question because IDC has made some projections pertinent to that topic. READ MORE >

Vendor Announcements, Promotions, and Deals

(IT Jungle) Selling Java to the OS/400 customer base has proved to be almost as difficult as selling ice cubes to Eskimos. So why not take the anti-Java approach, which in some cases means moving RPG assets to Windows and .NET? Among the bluest of Big Blue supporters, that's no better. But you'll find that option on the System i Developer Roadmap, and you'll find a software vendor in San Antonio helping companies that choose to take this road. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) When businesses cross international borders, the likelihood of applications being lost in translation increases significantly. Software development, whether commercial or homegrown, is susceptible to the nuances of non-native languages and dialects. To maintain accuracy and consistency, application translation duties are often turned over to professionals. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Integrating a Web-based system that utilizes a Web services-based transaction service with 10- or 20-year-old RPG-based applications has more than a few companies tied up in knots. Too difficult, too time consuming, and therefore too costly are the usual reasons for being stymied. What if each of those obstacles was hurdled in a single leap? READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Access to business software without having it on site, without devoting staff to maintaining it, and without licensing it, has some appeal. It also has a name: software as a service, also referred to by the acronym SaaS. If you are considering business-to-business integration and/or EDI software, but you don't need the added complexity in your data center, you might find SaaS to your liking. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) (IBM) Instant messaging, Web conferencing, point-to-point video capabilities, mobile device support, and Voice over Internet Protocol voice chat are all bundled in Lotus Sametime 7.5.1. If you'd like to give Sametime a try, IBM is offering a 90-day trial version for System i users. The suggested list price is $57 per user for a one-time software license. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) InfoGenesis, a software vendor specializing in hospitality and food service applications, has been purchased by System i reseller Agilysys. The two companies had been partners combining their skills in a strategy that emphasizes information management in the guest services business yields increased revenue. Agilysys and the System i platform are widely known for their customer base in the gaming and resort industry. READ MORE >

Redbooks, White Papers, and Other OS/400 Resources

(IBM) Consolidating AIX 5L applications and other Unix-based applications natively in a logical partition on the System i platform is covered in this report. Topics of discussion include LPAR concepts and tools, installation and configuration of an AIX 5L partition, and virtualization engines. For System i shops that are not crazy about running WebSphere on i5/OS, this is an interesting alternative. READ MORE >

(InfoGenesis) Hospitality and food service organizations looking to drive more revenue by applying technology to improve guest services should peruse the white papers available on the InfoGenesis Web site. One focuses on cashless payment alternatives to credit and debit cards, another examines enterprise analytics applications, and the third describes credit card security requirements with suggestions for evaluation criteria to address general security issues. READ MORE >

(Ericom) This white paper titled "Remote Access: Providing On-Demand Access to Business-Critical Information - Anytime, Anywhere" deals with increasing the accessibility of corporate resources by employees that can use information to improve an organization's potential for business success. READ MORE >

(XAware) From one of IBM's service oriented architecture business partners comes this series of white papers that focus on SOA integration tools, the value of increasing the amount of shared information, and the return on investment potential for SOA. 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 18-21 -- Boston, Massachusetts - The Enterprise 2.0 Conference features a keynote address by Mike Rhodin, General Manager of IBM Lotus, where he will provide more details of how IBM is putting Web 2.0 to work. Rhodin's session is scheduled for June 19 at 9:30 a.m. EDT. The conference will highlight the collaborative advantages of Web 2.0 technologies and how they provide business value. LEARN MORE >

June 18-22 -- Scottsdale, Arizona - The IBM System i Spring Technical Conference features excellent training sessions on topics ranging from server consolidation and WebSphere to PHP and VoIP. Other topics include: Java Virtual Machine, free-format SQL in RPG applications and enhancements to CL, workload management, and database-performance management and index-maintenance tools. Educational sessions are geared for IS managers, programmers, system analysts, administrators, and operators. LEARN MORE >

June 18 -- Richmond, Virginia - The Mid Atlantic Midrange is hosting a one-day seminar titled "A Power Day of Java and PHP Technology--Grounds for Java & PHP" presented by Blair Wyman from IBM Rochester. LEARN MORE >

June 19 -- Norwalk, Connecticut - The Fairfield AS/400 Users Group monthly meeting topic is an an overview of the WebSphere Portal family of products for i5/OS. Guest speaker is Dan Hill, a technical consultant with IBM Systems and Technology Group Lab Services in Rochester. The session will include Hill's insights into portal solutions based on typical requirements and tips that will save effort and shorten time to deployment. FASUG meetings are held at the Norwalk Inn and begin at 5:30 p.m. LEARN MORE >

June 19 -- Costa Mesa, California - A presentation on DB2 Web Query is the highlight of the regular monthly meeting of the OCEAN User Group. Guest speaker is IBM's Doug Mack. DB2 Web Query is an end-user reporting tool that can be used for operational or data warehouse reporting purposes. This session will include live demonstrations of creating reports, graphs, and dashboards with this new product. Dinner is at 6 p.m. with the meeting from 7 to 8:30. The event will be held at the IBM Offices on Anton Boulevard. LEARN MORE >

June 19 -- Lombard, Illinois - The featured topic at the monthly meeting of the OMNI User Group will be portal technology. This session will describe how business problems can be addressed using portals. A key benefit promised by portals is the capability to deliver critical information to employees while they are carrying out the company business. Guest speaker is John Quirk, vice president of PSC Group, where he is responsible for managing the enterprise systems practice, which includes portals, content management, business intelligence and SOA. The meeting begins at 5 p.m. at the Embassy Suites Hotel. LEARN MORE >

June 19 -- College Park, Maryland - The Mid Atlantic Midrange is hosting a one-day seminar titled "A Power Day of Java and PHP Technology--Grounds for Java & PHP" presented by Blair Wyman from IBM Rochester. LEARN MORE >

June 20 -- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - The Delaware Valley Computer Users Group meeting will feature System i General Manger, Mark Shearer, as its guest speaker. Shearer will discuss IBM's continued investment and future plans for the platform. There will be time for questions and answers as part of this session. Also on the agenda is Rick Clements, who will discuss the latest IBM product announcements. The meeting begins at 5:30 and will be held at the Union League of Philadelphia, which is located at 140 South Broad Street. LEARN MORE >

June 20 -- Independence, Ohio - Recent IBM product announcements, including the i5 models 515 and 525, plus disk drives and controllers, 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. V5R4 is also on the agenda. Guest speaker is Dean Woodke, an IBM field tech specialist. LEARN MORE >

June 21 -- Ft. Washington, Pennsylvania - The Mid Atlantic Midrange is hosting a one-day seminar titled "A Power Day of Java and PHP Technology--Grounds for Java & PHP" presented by Blair Wyman from IBM Rochester. LEARN MORE >