Top OS/400 Stories from Around the Web

(IT Jungle) Just when you think IBM is so exasperatingly predictable, it eventually gets around to not only introducing Power6 BladeCenters and virtualized I/O, but pricing the blades as an attractive alternative to Power Systems 520 and 550 servers. This is quite a surprise. No, wait. It goes beyond surprise. It's actually more like a shock. Check out the speeds and feeds and the comparisons here. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Like the journey of 1,000 miles beginning with one step, the quest for the paperless office is a gradual, procedural trek. Companies are continuing the migration from print to electronic documents, but starting points and destinations vary from situation to situation. Often it's a departmental push that launches the project and when that happens there's risk of it becoming a silo instead of a company-wide endeavor. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Survey results are often a disguise. Attempting to find out what's behind the disguise can be . . . well, has anyone ever pulled the mask off the Lone Ranger? One widely cited survey of System i shops indicated 43 percent plan to upgrade to the new i 6.1 operating system in 2008 and 23 percent would upgrade to Power6-based servers. If this is no disguise, the sales of Power Systems should be very good and there will be indications of that today when IBM provides its second quarter financial reports. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Upgrade paths are created for more than reasons pertaining to technology and sometimes the whys and the wherefores make interesting tales. This is particularly so when talking about high-end servers and the customers who buy them. There are boatloads of money being invested and the game is played differently on this field. READ MORE >

(System iNetwork) Does anyone in the data center care one iota about being green? Does anyone feel the heat because they are considered energy hogs and the electric bill has doubled? Maybe this environmental/power consumption babble is a non-issue or just another way to sell products. READ MORE >

(ComputerWorld) According to this article, the combination of IBM, Microsoft, and Hewlett-Packard annually spend $17 billion on research and development. The biggest piece of that pie gets eaten by product development, but a substantial amount is being invested in areas such as nanotechnology, computational biology, and long-term exploratory projects that may or may not pay off. READ MORE >

Vendor Announcements, Promotions, and Deals

(IT Jungle) When you are the world's largest SAP shop, that makes you one pretty big puppy. An enterprise that size has a purchasing department that all by itself is larger than a lot of SMB companies. So imagine running analyses of purchase transactions and specifically looking for errors, inefficiencies, and fraud. And to keep this in perspective, imagine that data needs to be pulled from 800 corporate entities that run off 10 SAP implementations, plus 500 other entities that utilize 200 various ERP systems. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) The WebFacing Tool was one of IBM's green-screen application modernization tools of choice. It wasn't a particularly good choice, but it was fairly popular because when some companies buy IBM, they buy 100 percent IBM. Now System i shops that want to modernize apps using Big Blue software, but that want to side-step Java and WebSphere, will be pointed to the solution known as Host Access Transformation Services. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) There's no shortage of terminal emulation software for IBM's i operating system. That's an indication of how important it continues to be. And if you think that all terminal emulation software includes the same features, it may be surprising to learn that support for Windows Vista, new single sign-on features, and enhanced FTP functions can be part of the package these days. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) While we're on the topic of terminal emulation software, what do you think the chances are that it's available on the new Apple iPhone? If you guessed that the chances are slim and none, give yourself a slap on the forehead with the palm of your hand. Actually, it's not available yet, but it is coming soon. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) IBM's offer to remove the older gear from your site when you get a new box is not new. What is new is the length of the server list which qualifies for no-charge removal. And, by the way, IBM will responsibly and ecologically dispose of that vintage machine in case you were wondering. READ MORE >

Redbooks, White Papers, and Other OS/400 Resources

(Open Source for i) The open source model of software development and distribution is something less than a sensation in the System I, iSeries, and AS/400 community, but it is thriving. Here's a site that provides links, new applications, and additional resources that can be useful to RPG, Java, and PHP programmers. READ MORE >

(Adam Gartenberg's Blog) Is it true that all members of IT departments running SAP on DB2 for i (also known as i5/OS and OS/400) know a secret handshake and can recognize other members of the clan by the unique arrangement of pens in their shirt pockets? Not that I know of, but if you have a specific interest in SAP on i, here's the link to a blog that discusses more serious topics that deal with that combination of SAP ERP software and IBM hardware. READ MORE >

(COMMON) Job hunters can never have too many sources of employment. This online job board offers resume posting and automatic e-mail notification of new job listings, as well as consulting projects and internships for students. READ MORE >

(IBM) This Redpaper summarizes integrated DASD configuration, DASD protection capabilities, and DASD performance through the disk controller hardware announced through 2007 and supported by i5/OS V5R3 and V5R4. This publication does not specifically address new disk adapters or the latest OS release known as i 6.1. READ MORE >

Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings

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

July 23 -- Webinar - A one-hour session about using SQL queries to access remote data will be presented by ProData Computer Services. The company's RDB CONNECT is featured throughout this Webinar. The software allows full SQL access to MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, Postgre and DB2. Topics of discussion include sharing data across platforms; importing and exporting remote data to and from the iSeries; using RPG, COBOL, and CL programs to directly communicate with remote databases; and using batch or interactive programs. The presentation begins at 2 p.m. CDT. LEARN MORE >

July 24 -- Webinar - Real-time monitoring of IBM i (System i, iSeries, and AS/400) security events will be discussed in this online session hosted by the security software and services vendor, PowerTech. Topics of discussion will include gathering network information that detects inappropriate or anomalous activity, identifying possible security breaches, integration with SIM and IDS consoles, and complying with SOX, HIPAA, PCI, and other regulatory guidelines. A preview of PowerTech's cross-platform security monitoring software is also on the agenda. Two sessions will be presented--one at 9 a.m. PDT and the other at 11 a.m. PDT. LEARN MORE >

July 24 -- Webinar - Getting up to date on expense-controlling options and managing document output more efficiently will be the topic of this session hosted by Quadrant Software, a paperless process management software vendor. Content in this session is appropriate for department managers, purchasing and accounting personnel, customer service personnel, controllers and CFOs, and MIS and IT project leaders. LEARN MORE >

July 29 -- Webcast - PHP application development for i5/OS will be the topic of this session presented by Mike Pavlak, customer sales engineer, at Zend Technologies. Increasing developer productivity, shortening the time to production, and improving PHP application performance by taking advantage of investments in people and hardware, will be the focus of this presentation. Pavlak is the former director of IT at Tripp Lite, a Chicago area System i shop that put PHP to use. His presentation begins at noon EDT. LEARN MORE >

July 30 -- Webcast - This online presentation examines one of the most difficult systems management tasks: gaining visibility into multi-tier applications. It focuses on supporting users, diagnosing problems, improving performance, and passing security audits, as well as the tools and techniques for monitoring and auditing database server jobs used by Java, Web applications, .NET access, and Excel. The discussion also will include the pros and cons of IBM's Navigator, i5/OS APIs and commands, and tools from Centerfield Technology, the vendor that is hosting this Webcast. The session begins at 7 p.m. CDT. LEARN MORE >