Top OS/400 Stories from Around the Web

(IT Jungle) Yes, Lotus Notes 8 has packaged Web 2.0-style collaboration with composite application capabilities and put it on an open source Eclipse-based environment. It's hard to find fault with that. But if you if you're running Notes on the System i, you have to wonder where is the DB2/400 support? READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Server shipments are up. Ditto for server revenue. In case you didn't realize it, this is the fifth consecutive quarter of quarter-to-quarter revenue growth and server revenue numbers haven't been this high since the turn of the century. Scale up. Scale out. Life is good for the server sellers. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Kyle Wurgler, product manager for integrated servers for the System i product line, says there's been rumbling among IBM's largest System i customers about a lack of support for VMware hypervisors. These are customers with 70 to 80 servers attached to their System i machines and customers whose voices get heard. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) DB2/400. You may know it by another name, but I'd bet against it. We all know too well the name game that IBM has played with the AS/400. Are you ready for more of the same when it comes to your integrated relational database? I'd bet against that one, too. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) You may think that King Kong could kick Godzilla's butt or that it would be easier to colonize Mars than Venus. But when it comes to Java vs. .NET, which developer tools do you think are most popular? Four hundred developers who said that they have deployed Web services gave their opinions on this one. Here's what they had to say. READ MORE >

(ComputerWorld) Delete all thoughts about Lotus Notes being nothing more than an e-mail and calendaring application. The version 8 release is about integrating business applications and bringing the user experience into the modern era. Microsoft Outlook/Exchange used to blow away Lotus Notes/Domino, but that's not the case anymore. READ MORE >

(InfoWorld) The new Lotus Notes is indicative of the evolution of e-mail--what it has become and what it will be. The desktop is in the midst of being transformed into a communications hub that includes multiple sources such as RSS feeds, blogs, wikis, IMs, and voice. READ MORE >

Vendor Announcements, Promotions, and Deals

(IT Jungle) Why buy multiple security products when a single one wraps up all the features that you need in one tidy package? Sounds like a good idea, but the problem, you say, is that you don't know what you need until you need it? Well, you know what the problem with that is. Unless you have it, it's not there when you need it. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) When your database becomes a bottleneck do you send your system users an e-mail asking them to cut back on queries and reports? Not likely. Increasing demands on the database calls for a boost in database performance. Got any ideas? READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Why doesn't the software you use to analyze and enforce security policies on your i5/OS system help you monitor other system settings? I mean, you have plenty of other user profiles, objects, libraries, and commands to keep an eye on. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Let me guess . . . you (or someone you know) use a green screen interface to develop your queries and reports. You've been doing it that way since Reagan was president and you're really pretty good at it. You even read Four Hundred Guru and you've memorized all the tips. Well, not everyone is that good, and a graphical, drag-and-drop interface is easier to learn and produces faster results. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Some companies have their fingerprints all over biometric authentication systems. Is that just a bad play on words or a fact that draws your attention because your highly sensitive information deserves that level of security? Here's another question for you. Did you know biometric authentication can be embedded into existing RPG applications? READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) It's a hard time to be a homebuilder. Sales are slumping. Inventories are stacking up. They have to be extremely efficient when it comes to lead generation and follow-ups in order to make sales. So they built an Active Lead Management system that is hooked into the System i database. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Finding a distribution company that doesn't run on the System i is like finding a lake in Minnesota without a bait shop. And when it comes to ERP systems for distribution companies, they all need strong supply chain management capabilities. READ MORE >

Redbooks, White Papers, and Other OS/400 Resources

(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 >

(IDC) This white paper, written by IDC analysts and sponsored by IBM, makes a strong business case for the System i. It covers many of the points we all know well, but upper management at your company may believe it if it comes from IDC. After all, what do any of us know? Distribute it anonymously to the powers that be. READ MORE >

(MySQL) Interest in MySQL is growing along with the interest in PHP among the System i developer crowd. Find out what MySQL database users are doing based on a variety of survey responses posted on this site. Two examples: What database connectors/APIs are use or are you planning to use with MySQL? And, How do you backup your production MySQL databases? Many more insights to be found. READ MORE >

(Key Information Systems) The benefits of IP telephony are covered in this report on managing voice information like you manage your other corporate data. The emphasis is on making the network infrastructure a foundation for voice communications using Internet Protocol, commonly referred to as voice over IP or VoIP. Key issues include cost comparisons and management issues. READ MORE >

(iMessaging Systems) This white paper examines interactive voice response software (sometimes referred to as call routing) and how it works with OS/400-based applications. The description includes examples of how customers can gain automated 24-hour-a-day access to company services and information. Cases are taken from several industries and an ROI analysis based on each example. READ MORE >

Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings

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

August 30 -- Webcast - Voice over IP and telephony technology is the featured topic of this iSociety Fireside Chat. IBM's VoIP expert, Mike Rousseaux, and Roxanne Reynolds-Lair, who led a VoIP implementation at The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, will be the guest speakers. The Fashion Institute was one of the winners of IT Innovation Awards co-sponsored by COMMON and IBM. LEARN MORE >

September 10 -- Jacksonville, Florida - Guest speaker Susan Yoskin will discuss DB2 Web Query for System i at the Central Florida Midrange Users Group meeting. The presentation will cover the new Web-based query and report-writing tool and include demonstrations of the report and graph modules as well as modules relating to On Line Analytical Processing and dashboard building. The event will take place at the IBM offices, 4601 Touchton Road, and begins at 5:30 p.m. E-mail benbrower@comcast.net for more details and reservations.

September 11 -- Orlando, Florida - Guest speaker Susan Yoskin will discuss DB2 Web Query for System i at the Central Florida Midrange Users Group meeting. The presentation will cover the new Web-based query and report-writing tool and include demonstrations of the report and graph modules as well as modules relating to On Line Analytical Processing and dashboard building. The event will take place on the campus of DeVry University and begins at 6:15 p.m. LEARN MORE >

September 12 -- Maryland Heights, Missouri - IBM's Jacqueline Jansen will discuss the DB2 Web Query for System i product at the monthly meeting of the Gateway/400 Group, an iSeries user group serving the greater St. Louis area. LEARN MORE >

September 12 -- Webcast - This session titled "Practical Application Modernization," intends to highlight how the word modernization causes confusion in the System i industry. Midrange expert and award-winning speaker Trevor Perry will outline an approach to modernization that aims to reduce confusion and illuminate modernization goals using an example relevant to companies with applications implemented over many years on System i. Managing change as applications are modernized means using new tools, and bringing cross-platform development teams together. Ray Bernardi, Solutions Architect at ARCAD Software, will demonstrate ways to organize development and ensure application integrity -- whether you are working with RPG, RPGLE, SQL, Java, .NET or other Web technologies. LEARN MORE >

September 13 -- Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Making modifications to third-party applications and then dealing with product updates is the topic of the day at the monthly meeting of the Wisconsin Midrange Computer Professional Association. Guest speaker is Christopher Burns, director of client system modernization at the GEMKO Information Group. Burns is well versed in the areas of custom programming, modernization, networking, database, web development, the IFS and Windows integration. This session will focus on "Externalization," which he describes as "getting ample equivalent custom function without altering the vendor's source code." Two sessions are on the agenda. The first begins at 4:30 p.m. The second begins at 7:30. In between is dinner and networking with the members. LEARN MORE >

September 18 -- Norwalk, Connecticut - The Fairfield AS/400 Users Group monthly meeting topic is an introduction to DB2 Web Query, the new IBM alternative for Query/400. Guest speaker is Jackie Jansen, a senior consulting IT specialist with 30 years at IBM. The presentation will include demonstrations of creating reports, graphs and dashboards that can be used effectively for operational or data warehouse reporting purposes. FASUG meetings are held at the Norwalk Inn and begin at 5:30 p.m. LEARN MORE >