Top OS/400 Stories from Around the Web

(IT Jungle) It's not uncommon to take file transfers for granted. But it is unwise. There are good reasons to manage transfers and make sure they are secure. You should have a record of what files are being transferred, where and how they were sent, whether they were received and arrived without corruption or tampering. Without file transfer management, you could be farther out on a limb than you realize. READ MORE >

(System iNews) To some, the quest for improved business intelligence is no less enigmatic than the search for life on Mars. And, in some large enterprises, the investments are more or less equal. What has IBM done to put BI within reach of the AS/400 users that commonly reside in the small to mid size market? It pumps up its Classic Query Engine, adds automated report distribution, and introduces dashboards. But that's not all. READ MORE >

(Forbes) More cores? What for? In an attempt to gain more processor performance, chip makers (IBM is one of them) have turned to multiple cores. The problem is that applications can't take advantage of them. Are there ways around this bottleneck? Sure, but no single way that pleases all of the people all of the time. READ MORE >

(The Register) Five consecutive months of semiconductor sales increases feels pretty good even when year-to-year comparisons show the industry remains underwater. Consumer products are fueling the increase. Enterprise purchases remain sluggish. READ MORE >

(MCPress) Here's a three-pack of topics that starts out with some basic info on IBM's Power7 chip (coming in mid-2010) and an upgrade path for companies using Power 570 and 595 servers. Also in the article mix are social networking topics. Did you know there are plans for a geo-location tool that can pinpoint from whence Twitters flow or that a free, cloud-based microblogging suite is now available? READ MORE >

Vendor Announcements, Promotions, and Deals

(IT Jungle) Managed and secure file transfers between a company and its partners and customers is not only a smart plan, it is often a regulatory compliance mandate. Our top story in Four Hundred Monitor this week explains the benefits of managed transfers, and this article examines an i OS-based file transfer product that performs file conversions, queues jobs for execution on servers, and keeps an audit trail of all activities. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Eclipse-based EGL development tools for creating Web 2.0 applications on the System i server are expected to be available next week, according to IBM's product line manager for the Rational Business Developer and EGL development tools. No EGL skills are required and the tools are free. EGL is sort of the Java two-step in case you didn't know that. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) If you have a single IBM AS/400 server running applications that serve multiple time zones, you can understand why some users need to change the system time and date values for the purposes of application testing, re-running reports, or shifting time zones at service bureaus. You'll find people who will swear that applications have to be separated by logical partitions to accomplish this task. Read this and learn otherwise. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Here's a couple of items specifically for BPCS users. The first is a secure off-site archiving repository for copies of scanned invoices. The second is an outsourced invoice entry and processing system. Consider it as a software as a service (SaaS) accounts payable imaging system, with the option of an outsourced ACP invoice processing service. READ MORE >

Redbooks, White Papers, and Other OS/400 Resources

(ARCAD) Regulatory compliance from an IT standpoint requires a structured framework based on rules and defaults to ensure rules are followed. This white paper describes how change management defines a set of working environments and provides the needed traceability for regulatory requirements. READ MORE >

(Linoma Software) "Beyond FTP: Securing and Managing File Transfers" is a white paper that elaborates on increasing IT manageability, decreasing security exposures, and adhering to compliance and auditing requirements. READ MORE >

(Patrick Townsend Security Solutions) This white paper discusses PCI compliance, the auditing process, and places an emphasis on understanding encryption and key management requirements. Topics such as key management, impact on existing applications, tokenization, and point of sales systems are included. READ MORE >

(ECC) Desktop computing expenses have received a lot of attention as IT departments are being required to help organizations reduce costs. This paper reveals how some forays into virtualization are masking problems rather than eliminating them. It focuses on a strategy that separates the applications from the desktops. READ MORE >

(Raz-Lee) Guidelines for best security practices related to PCI compliance and the IBM Power i are covered in this report. Of particular note are vulnerabilities related to system exit points and the lack of application data trails. Either one can allow data to be exposed. READ MORE >

Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings

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

September 9 -- Webinar - Partition resource utilization and IBM i Performance analysis and capacity planning are the main agenda items during this online session presented by Lloyd Perera, a specialist in IBM i Collection Services performance analysis and capacity planning. The session is scheduled for 8 p.m. CDT. That's 8 o'clock in the evening, which is unusual for a Webinar, but it's coming from Australia. LEARN MORE >

September 9 -- Webinar - Migrating from internal integrated storage to an external storage area network will be discussed in this session, which promises to shed light on the process and the solutions available to IBM i users. Topics to be discussed include System storage products that can be used in an i partition, how to size a storage solution, and the functionality that a SAN can provide. This presentation, by IBM's Chuck Stupca, begins at noon CDT. LEARN MORE >

September 10 -- Maryland Heights, Missouri - Tips on implementing encryption with RPG and WDSc will be presented by Charles Guarino at the monthly meeting of the Gateway/400 Group, a System i user group serving the greater St. Louis area. The meeting begins with lunch at noon and the presentation following lunch. RSVP no later than Monday before the meeting date. LEARN MORE >

September 10 -- Webinar - Web enablement of 5250 screens--including menus, subfiles, and window lookups will be featured in this online session that highlights BCD Presto. This product demo will also show how to enhance screens with images, links, and other user interface changes. The session begins at 1 p.m. EDT. LEARN MORE >

September 10 -- Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Two sessions on control language (CL) and RPG are on the agenda during the monthly meeting of the Wisconsin Midrange Computer Professional Association. Guest speaker is Bruce Vining who will discuss a product he is introducing that provides database, display file, and printer file support to CL in a session at 4:30 p.m. and later, in a session at 7:30 p.m. he will discuss CL and RPG updates that relate to V5R3, V5R4, and V6R1. Vining runs a contract programming and consulting business and is a highly regarded application development expert, author, and speaker. The meeting will be held at Klemmer's Banquet Center located at 10401 West Oklahoma Avenue. LEARN MORE >

September 14-17 -- Indianapolis, Indiana - COMMON Directions and COMMON Focus double up in the Midwest to offer a variety of education opportunities. COMMON Directions will be held Monday, September 14 and Tuesday, September 15. COMMON Focus will be held Tuesday, September 15 through Thursday, September 17. The one day overlap allows attendees of either conference to take advantage of the unique educational opportunities that the other conference offers. Both conference events will be held at the Hyatt Regency Indianapolis. In addition to the educational sessions, this conference also features a vendor expo where attendees can learn about hardware, software, and services innovations. LEARN MORE >

September 15 -- Irving, Texas - Upgrade planning for the move to IBM i 6.1 (V6R1) is on the agenda during the monthly meeting of the Metro Midrange Systems Association, a user group for the Dallas and Fort Worth metro areas. Guest speaker John Cothran, a veteran IBM program manager, will discuss major upgrade planning tasks and the keys to a successful implementation. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. with dinner at 6 and Cothran's presentation at 7. MMSA meetings are held at the Dallas - IBM Innovation Center. LEARN MORE >

September 15 -- Costa Mesa, California - A presentation on SQL and a conversion from DDS to DDL is the highlight of the regular monthly meeting of the OCEAN User Group. Guest speaker Peter Eaton will discuss the benefits in areas such as improved QA and savings in development time. The OCEAN User Group serves the greater Orange County, California, area. Meetings are held at the IBM offices located on Harbor Boulevard. This meeting begins at 6 p.m. LEARN MORE >

September 15 -- Bloomington, Minnesota - Jim Diephuis, a veteran IBMer who works in the lab services organization, will present a session based on the top 10 things he likes about RDi at the regularly scheduled QUSER local user group meeting. The event begins at 2 p.m. at the Comfort Inn located at 1321 East 78th Street. LEARN MORE >

September 15 -- Nashville, Tennessee - This meeting of the Tennessee IBM Mid-Range User Group will feature a presentation on BCD WebSmart Web development tools, the HTTP Apache Web server, and the IFS. Guest speaker is Lisa McClintock, a systems administrator for Optimum Solutions. The meeting will be held at the Holiday Inn Vanderbilt located at 2613 West End Avenue. It begins at 5:30 p.m. LEARN MORE >

September 16 -- Webinar - Web 2.0 development skills IBM i programmers need to create rich, highly responsive Web applications that can be used with PHP, RPG CGI, ASP, Java, and EGL will be the focus of this online session. Guest speaker Duncan Kenzie, president and CTO of BCD Technical Services, will demonstrate methods for getting skills that go beyond the creation of dynamic Web applications that use little client side code other than HTML. The session begins at 12:30 p.m. EDT. LEARN MORE >

September 16 -- Atlanta, Georgia - Free form RPG coding techniques using embedded SQL is the topic of discussion at the Atlanta Mid-range Computer Users monthly meeting. The agenda includes replacing F-Specs with SQL scripting, converting ODP programs into ILE programs, subprocedures, functions, and compiling options, plus much more. Guest speaker is Darryl Freinkel, CEO of Assignment 400. The event is scheduled from noon until 4 p.m. It will be held at Brio's Tuscan Grille. The registration fee is $60. LEARN MORE >