Top OS/400 Stories from Around the Web

(IT Jungle) Planners plan not to eliminate surprises. There's no chance of that. But they do expect to minimize the number of black eyes and fat lips that occur. Such it is with the advent of the IBM Power7 servers. Preparation for what's to come will save you some tears later on. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) IBM is aiming for iSCSI links to VMware's ESX Server 4.0 by early 2010. That's good news for those with a mind to connect external System x servers and internal disk arrays on Power Systems i boxes. When that happens, we'll see multiple Gigabit Ethernet links and a noticeable bump in I/O bandwidth. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) The iManifest is about promoting the IBM i because IBM won't. Martin Fincham, the guy with his hands on the wheel and foot on the accelerator, firmly believes the box is the world's best business server and there are a mob of people who are right there beside him in this belief. Their quest in some ways parallels the roller coaster ride of Apple's Mac. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Have you ever listened to a debate where one side accuses the other of completely misstating the facts? Me neither. But that's the kind of behavior that's going on between IBM and Microsoft whenever the topic of collaboration software. It's Lotus Notes versus Microsoft Exchange and the gloves are off. READ MORE >

(System iNews) IBM has made no secret that it's shifted its business model away from hardware and toward software and services--especially services. De-emphasizing hardware rubs a lot of the AS/400 faithful the wrong way. Better get used to it, because IBM is selling a "Smart Planet" these days rather than a smart platform. READ MORE >

(Jim Tompkins' Blog) This survey from the Supply Chain Leadership Forum last month indicates a strong belief that the economic recovery is at hand, but that companies are lagging in their plans to take advantage. You can bet that not everyone will be slow out of the gate. Have you ever heard that good luck happens when preparedness meets opportunity? READ MORE >

Vendor Announcements, Promotions, and Deals

(IT Jungle) It's not that expensive or troublesome to extend 5250 applications to the Web. Really. You can make use of images and users get more convenient access to information by using the expected functionality provided by dropdown boxes, checkboxes, and charts. The application modernization is purely cosmetic, but, in many cases, that's all that's really needed. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Job scheduler is one of those thankless tasks that managers often are unaware of until they are poked in a soft fleshy area with the sharp stick of reality. In this case, reality is a missed or delayed job. With jobs running across a whole herd of servers, someone has to be a circus-quality juggler or something needs to get automated. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) If you're a trucking company or you operate a dedicated fleet of trucks to move your own products, the top two priorities you want from your IT department are ways to save money and software that has cross-platform capabilities. Business intelligence tools, freight analysis, and managed services are areas that can steer your transportation management toward higher profitability. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Integration is the mother of innovation. That's not exactly word for word how the old saying goes, but it's true for many IT systems. Without an integrated system, you are the snowball and your food distribution business starts looking like it's one match away from the devil's barbecue. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Search engines are supposed to help users collect, organize, and act on information. And, most importantly, they are supposed to make these things easier than any of the alternatives. It might be nice if your enterprise software had these capabilities. What? You say this is already happening? READ MORE >

Redbooks, White Papers, and Other OS/400 Resources

(PowerTech) This assessment of security issues pertaining to the IBM i servers is based on data collected by the vendor. It reveals the common security risks such as change file rights to all users, systems that don't control or audit changes to data made through PC access applications and users with default passwords. It's a good starting point for conducting your own security assessment. READ MORE >

(S4i) The benefits associated with document automation and the functionality, flexibility, and security available to an organization implementing IBM System i-based electronic document management software is covered in this report that uses S4i's product to illustrate its points. READ MORE >

(RJS) Data integration between the System i and a PC can be painfully slow and loaded down with repetitive tasks. This Web page takes you to five customer success stories that reveal how each was able to remove integration barriers, work smarter, automate data conversion and delivery, and Web enable data. READ MORE >

(IBM) This IBM Redbook provides a technical overview of features, functions, and enhancements available in IBM i 6.1 (formerly called i5/OS V6R1). It summarizes changes in the operating system and also many of the licensed programs and application development tools associated with IBM i. READ MORE >

Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings

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

October 1 -- Webinar - An eight-part online session on project management and working with technology vendors to prepare a successful implementation will be presented on an every-other Thursday schedule through October 1. This is session number eight titled "Leading a Successful Project." Subject expert Susanne States, director of sales and client services at S4i, is the session leader. States is a tenured veteran of organizational development and project management. The focus of these sessions will be on driving efficiency, improving customer service, and gaining competitive advantage by putting in place adequate processes and resources. This session begins at 11 a.m. CDT and concludes at 12:30 p.m. All previous sessions are available in an archive. LEARN MORE >

October 6 -- Burlington, Vermont - The fifth annual Vermont Technical Mini-Conference features training and education opportunities in four areas: application development, system administration, database, and management and professional development. Each of the four educational tracks contain four individual sessions. A complete session grid is available online. The registration cost is $125 before September 22 and $150 after that date. LEARN MORE >

October 7 -- Webinar - Creating System i Web applications in minutes using the Web Object Wizard will be the focus of this online session hosted by CYBRA. The Web Object Wizard is a Java-based Web app development tool and runtime engine. During this hour-long session, topics of discussion will include creating applications; selecting, inserting, updating, and deleting records; creating reports and dashboards; and integrating Web apps with existing RPG apps. This session begins at 11 a.m. EDT. LEARN MORE >

October 8 -- Webinar - Secure connections with customers, suppliers, and all others who depend on uploading and downloading data with your organization will be discussed in this online session hosted by Linoma Software and featuring the company's GoAnywhere Services product. Topics of discussion will include industry standard data services such as FTP, FTPS, SFTP, and HTTP/s. As part of the product demo, Linoma will show how to set up and administer trading partner accounts, how to use event triggers, and how to monitor user and file activity. The session begins at noon EDT. LEARN MORE >

October 8 -- Webinar - Smart Business, an IBM program for mid-size businesses, focuses on an integrated approach to hardware, software, and IT services designed so companies can focus on growing their businesses rather than spending time and resources to deploy and manage IT systems. Key points include increased efficiency, decreased complexity, and delivering business applications in a way that is easy to implement, operate and grow. The ERP software company VAI is hosting this session, which begins at 2 p.m. EDT. LEARN MORE >

October 8 -- Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Two sessions will be presented during the monthly meeting of the Wisconsin Midrange Computer Professional Association. Running SAP on IBM i will be discussed at 4:30 p.m. and single sign on will be the featured topic at 7:30 p.m. Guest speaker for both sessions is Kolby Hoelzle, a applications software engineer at IBM Rochester. In between the sessions will be dinner and networking with the members. LEARN MORE >

October 8 -- Maryland Heights, Missouri - Tom McKinley, one of IBM's top database experts on DB2 for i will discuss database modernization and SQL stored procedures 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 >

October 8 -- Toronto, Canada - Gaining greater efficiencies and competing more effectively through energy conservation will be discussed at this seminar hosted by Scalar Decisions and IBM Canada. Topics on the agenda include creating an infrastructure that drives down costs, is intelligent, and secure. The session is scheduled for 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., including time for networking and cocktails after the presentation. LEARN MORE >