Top OS/400 Stories from Around the Web

(IT Jungle) For those well-versed in AS/400 history, the System/38 is the grand daddy of this illustrious family tree. No one knows this better than Frank Soltis and no one speaks to more people about the AS/400 platform's origins, its progress through the years, and its prospects for the future. Frank packs the seats whenever he speaks, and last week--via a Webcast audience of 1,000--he connected the past, the present, and the future while evangelistically making a case for the platform being technologically right where it needs to be. READ MORE >

(Rochester Post-Bulletin) There wasn't a parade down Main Street, but the hometown newspaper helped celebrate the 20th birthday of the IBM AS/400 with this article that covers a familiar midrange computer that's a little bit old, a little bit new, often borrowed from, and still true Blue. It's probably nothing you've never heard before, but it includes comments from Frank Soltis, Randy Dufault, and even Bill Gates. READ MORE >

(Search400) It seems like Frank Soltis has been featured in more articles this week than political surveys and the price of gasoline combined. Like the others, this one looks back at the 20 years of AS/400 history, the 40 years Soltis has logged at IBM, and makes note that he's much more interested in the future than in the past. So what does he think lies ahead for the system now identified by a single lower case i? In this report, Soltis talks about special purpose processors, no Windows on Power, and minimal impact by blade servers. READ MORE >

(MCPress) The question being posed here is how will Power System i (what most users still refer to as the AS/400) look at age 30, now that it's just turned 20? Does it have another decade of life in it? If you look at the investments in the platform that have been made by IBM, the software vendors and business partners, and the customers, you have to believe that the AS/400 by another other name will still be hanging tough when the summer of 2018 rolls around. READ MORE >

(eChannel) Here's another take on IBM's modular data center designs that was first noted in last week's edition of Four Hundred Monitor. In case you missed the earlier reports on this topic, these standardized data center units from IBM are putting an emphasis on conserving energy, preserving space, and reducing the amount of time (and therefore money) it takes to get a modern and efficient data center up and running. READ MORE >

(Blogspot) "The Mythical Man Month," by Fred Brooks, a project manager at IBM who led the development of the IBM System/360 operating system, was first published in 1975. Now in its second printing, several new essays have been added to the widely acclaimed first edition. Brooks' essays uncover many of the underlying causes for IT projects that go astray, as many are known to do. READ MORE >

Vendor Announcements, Promotions, and Deals

(IT Jungle) Making reports easier to read is the point. If all you're doing is converting a difficult-to-read document into an electronic document, you're missing the point. Reformatting may not always be necessary, but when it is required in order to make sense out of spooled file output, you need solutions. No one will thank you for sending them a jigsaw puzzle. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) The IBM System i (now Power Systems) knows how to make the hospitality industry feel right at home. Although the hardware can be found in many of the largest hotels, resorts, and casinos, it's the applications that make this industry a hot bed of IT business. New versions of lodging management, procurement, and inventory software are the news here. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Open source software configuration management recently gained some ground with the introduction of Subversion 1.5. An estimated 3.2 million developers are using Subversion, and that includes a segment that uses Subversion for the i OS, which provides evidence of its enterprise-level capabilities. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) When the topic of software delivered as a service (SaaS) is discussed, there is usually little or nothing said about how that software integrates with other business critical applications. If you believe that what you don't know won't hurt you, then this type of pro SaaS discussion shouldn't bother you. Then again, if integration issues might cause you to ask some deeper questions, here's an enterprise application integration article that takes a few new things into account. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Like a bird dog with its nose pointing into the wind, some people can smell a Power5+ System i or Power6 i Edition rebate a mile away. For the olfactory challenged, let this be your wake up call (or maybe your dinner bell). The hunt has been under way since May and some companies have already bagged their discounted i 525s and 520 M25s. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Application development without change management controls is somewhat analogous to making your morning commute while steering with your knees. You do the comparison in your mind and let's sum it up by saying both activities are dangerous. However, for many companies that have made a wise investment in change management software, their fullest return on investment may not be realized. The difference between what they do with change management software and what could be done can be a wide gap. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) There are jet-powered aircraft flying almost 2,200 mph. There are weightlifters lifting more than 400 pounds. But what can a brand new, out of the box, Power6-based 595 running the i 6.1 operating system do? Oh, about 300,000 CPWs. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Looking for a job is a job in and of itself. If that's your job, then having another source of finding job opportunities might just come in handy. The same goes for companies looking for skilled staff. Here's a Web site you should add to your list of resources. READ MORE >

Redbooks, White Papers, and Other OS/400 Resources

(CCSS) Because the upgrade to the newest operating system i 6.1 can be a daunting task for even experienced IT managers, this white paper provides a guide to simplify the process. It's based on the first-hand experiences of the CCSS team following an in-house upgrade. The white paper takes into account three possible scenarios and outlines a tested procedure for each. In the first scenario, users may start with an existing pre-6.1 release of the OS and an existing installation of the CCSS QSystems Management products. The second scenario is for users who already have CCSS products installed on a number of pre-6.1 systems to which they want to add a new system or partition running IBM i 6.1. Finally, in the third scenario, users can be performing a first-time installation on a system which is already running on i 6.1. 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. READ MORE >

(s4i Systems) Benefiting from content management systems means paying attention to the security-related challenges that come with self-service over public networks. This white paper covers CMS technology on the IBM System i and the forces that are driving these deployments. READ MORE >

(SkyView Partners) The importance of object level security and its advantages over exit point security is discussed in this white paper. Particular emphasis is given to regulations that require implementation of "deny by default" protections and on performance issues that can plague exit point programs. 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 26 -- Webinar - A session on data breech prevention and industry-specific guidelines, such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS), will be presented by PowerTech. The presentation will emphasize the enforcement of measures to close security loopholes in a company's infrastructure. The session begins at noon EDT. 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 >