Top OS/400 Stories from Around the Web

(IT Jungle) Like the name "iron horse" provided great symbolism during the industrial revolution, the name "big iron" stirs the imagination for those involved in the ongoing informational revolution. The servers that can legitimately call themselves big iron have the fastest processors, low-latency backplanes, and cache coherent memory architectures. They also have very big price tags. But how do they stack up against one another? READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) I wonder if Mark Shearer has a recurring dream about people coming after him with rocks and sticks? Maybe that's no dream! Every time there's a COMMON Conference, there's a Town Hall meeting and executive meetings with the press that bring the inevitable questions about what is being done to make the System i (although few people call it that) as successful in the marketplace as it is in the data center. Here's what the System i general manager has to say about what's been accomplished and what's to come. READ MORE >

(Insider Weekly) Other esteemed members of the media also have their 30 minutes with the System i GM, and, much to his credit, Shearer takes these on back-to-back-to-back. I might have even left out a back-to-back or two. Here is more from Iron Man Mark on the topics of iSociety, the Academic Initiative, and whether he's approaching term limits as GM. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) From the crucible of high speed interconnections and high volume, high density chip manufacturing, comes a new breed of co-processors. Yes, co-processors. It might seem that with billions of transistors on a chip, the need for a co-processor would be greatly diminished. This isn't so much a re-invention of the wheel as it is putting more air in the tire. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) The System p boxes got a nice power boost by taking advantage of quad-core modules. The fact that the System i is not being treated to the same type of performance kick in the processors is enough to make an old sailor cuss a Big Blue streak. READ MORE >

(System iNetwork) T-mobile, you've probably heard of them, has a tidy little U.K. business consisting of a retail network, telesales, and online activities. This is just a piece of the worldwide T-mobile pie, but it is accomplishing some interesting projects with an i5 570 system. Worth noting is the management of business-critical Windows-based systems. READ MORE >

Vendor Announcements, Promotions, and Deals

(IT Jungle) New technologies make the System i relevant, but only if they can be put to good use in the business world. So should anyone get all fired up about PHP? I think so. Keep your eye on this. Right now, it's only supported by i5/OS V5R4, but in 2007 it will hook into V5R3 and the Eclipse development environment. In short, there are plenty of indicators that point to PHP playing a big role in the future of i5/OS application development. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) If you are gathering information about building Web interfaces to host applications, you're not the Lone Ranger. You just have to decide which trail you are riding down. If your preference involves .NET, Java, or XML, this could be your silver bullet. Get it? The Lone Ranger used silver bullets. C'mon, humor me a little bit. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Some of you know what it feels like to be working in the shadows of what we call monolithic RPG and COBOL programs. If your job depends on taming these beasts and converting them into open, platform-neutral, service-oriented applications, then this XML-based option might help you move forward. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) This may sound like science fiction, but what if there was a world where executives and other non technical users are connected with the development team for the purpose of incident tracking and requirements management of IT projects. What? Business executives communicating with the IT department using service level agreements and other reporting capabilities? I'm not kidding. The software exists. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) It looks like an elephant, eats like an elephant, and sounds like an elephant, but based on the following description let's see if you can guess what I am describing. It has a 150 kVA online UPS, a DC plan with 12,800 amp hours of DC backup, a one million watt generator, and more than 3 million BTUs of cooling capacity. Take a guess and then click through. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) The Hoosier state is packed with manufacturers that supply parts to the auto makers. And most of those auto supply companies have AS/400s (or whatever they're called these days) parked in their IT department garages. Yes, there's a lot of tradition in this industry. And a lot of innovation, too. READ MORE >

Redbooks, White Papers, and Other OS/400 Resources

(SoftLanding) Overcoming real-world compliance challenges and optimizing your Sarbanes-Oxley compliance will be a bit easier after reading "The IT Manager's Working Guide to Sustainable SOX Compliance." This white paper includes resources, tips, and a SOX-specific list of COBIT 4.0 objectives. It includes the latest guidance from the SEC, information on internal control frameworks, and advice on using technology to facilitate SOX compliance. READ MORE >

(IBM) Making the System i the focal point of an IP telephony project has been on the minds of iSeries executives for more than a year. Within just a few weeks there will be software available to iSeries customers who are enthusiastic about integrating core business processes with calling customers. This report is an overview of why the iSeries is the logical choice for replacing aging PBX phone systems with VoIP on i. READ MORE >

(IBM) This report makes a case for running a Lotus Domino e-mail system on the System i while citing low costs, high scalability, managed workloads, and collaboration superiority. Detailed cost comparisons with other platforms are provided to back up the case for System i. READ MORE >

(IBM) Security, reliability, and availability become increasingly valuable as businesses become more aware of the importance of safeguarding data, shielding assets, and keeping business applications and data available to users. Where system failures and security breaches are unacceptable, the value of the System i factors into decisions on what system to deploy. 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 10 -- Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois - The OMNI Day of Education is a one-day presentation of System i technologies including session topics such as V5R4, RPG IV, WebSphere, Java, WDSC, CL, DB2, and virtual tape. Sessions begin at 8:45 a.m. and conclude at 4 p.m. The event will be held at the IBM training facility. LEARN MORE >

October 11 -- Waltham, Massachusetts - Don Yantzi, David Muir, and George Voutsinas--key members of the IBM WDSC development team--reveal strategies and usage tips that help get the most out of WDSC, whether you are working with RPG, COBOL, Java, or traditional Web technologies. Hear about convenient keyboard shortcuts, wizards, tips for faster coding, and must-have utilities such as the RSE Extensions. Also get a sneak preview of specific new tools being developed for the next release of WDSC. The event is scheduled from 10 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. LEARN MORE >

October 12 - Webinar - The advantages of viewing OS/400 & i5/OS reports in a browser are highlighted in this session hosted by Help/Systems. Key topics include documenting who receives specific reports, splitting large reports into useable segments, and reducing printing costs by as much as 50 percent. This Web-based seminar will be presented at 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. CDT. LEARN MORE >

October 13 -- Toronto, Ontario - Don Yantzi, David Muir, and George Voutsinas--key members of the IBM WDSC development team--reveal strategies and usage tips that help get the most out of WDSC, whether you are working with RPG, COBOL, Java, or traditional Web technologies. Hear about convenient keyboard shortcuts, wizards, tips for faster coding, and must-have utilities such as the RSE Extensions. Also get a sneak preview of specific new tools being developed for the next release of WDSC. The event is scheduled from 10 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. LEARN MORE >

October 15-18 -- Las Vegas, Nevada - The 2006 International LANSA User Conference provides the educational sessions to sharpen technical skills and provide tips, techniques, and early exposure to the latest LANSA technologies. The conference curriculum includes topics such as Web application modules (WAMs), LANSA's integrated development environment (IDE) workbench, the Visual LANSA framework, object oriented development and component development, and the rapid application modernization process LANSA refers to as RAMP. LANSA experts, developers, product managers, consultants, customers, and business partners will present the educational sessions. Mark Shearer, general manager of the IBM System i and the Systems & Technology Group, is the keynote speaker. LEARN MORE >

October 15-20 -- Anaheim, California - The IBM Information On Demand Conference is six conferences in one: the Business Intelligence Customer Solutions Summit, the CM Technical Conference, the DB2 IM Technical Conference, the IMS Technical Conference, Information Integration Live, and the Master Data Management Conference. The overall agenda includes 650 technical sessions, 180 business leadership sessions, free on-site professional certification, and a vendor expo area. LEARN MORE >

October 17 -- Chicago, Illinois - Don Yantzi, David Muir, and George Voutsinas--key members of the IBM WDSC development team--reveal strategies and usage tips that help get the most out of WDSC, whether you are working with RPG, COBOL, Java, or traditional Web technologies. Hear about convenient keyboard shortcuts, wizards, tips for faster coding, and must-have utilities such as the RSE Extensions. Also get a sneak preview of specific new tools being developed for the next release of WDSC. The event is scheduled from 10 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. LEARN MORE >

October 18 -- Honolulu, Hawaii - This one-day iSeries application modernization seminar is designed to introduce the concepts of Web Services and service oriented architecture while exploring the use of .NET technologies that take advantage of existing iSeries assets. The presentation is hosted by ASNA, a well-known iSeries software vendor, and features ASNA solutions that reuse substantial portions of your existing applications or add new service oriented components. LEARN MORE >

October 19 -- Coppell, Texas - Don Yantzi, David Muir, and George Voutsinas--key members of the IBM WDSC development team--reveal strategies and usage tips that help get the most out of WDSC, whether you are working with RPG, COBOL, Java, or traditional Web technologies. Hear about convenient keyboard shortcuts, wizards, tips for faster coding, and must-have utilities such as the RSE Extensions. Also get a sneak preview of specific new tools being developed for the next release of WDSC. The event is scheduled from 10 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. LEARN MORE >

October 19-20 -- Washington, D.C. - PHP is gaining ground as programming language and enterprise-class technology. This conference, with its focus on the public sector, provides insight into the advantages of implementing PHP into your daily operations. Session track topics include: security and accountability, the art of PHP, and the business case for PHP. This conference is hosted by the local Washington, D.C., PHP community. LEARN MORE >

October 26 -- Webinar - A discussion of autonomic computing features that benefit users of the System i, and particularly those users who are considering high availability solutions, will be the focus of two, one-hour sessions co-hosted by IBM and the information availability vendor Lakeview Technology. Systems management as it relates to customer demands, market opportunities, and external threats are included in the focus topics. The first session begins at 9 a.m. CDT. The second session begins at 2 p.m. CDT. LEARN MORE >

October 30-November 3 -- San Francisco, California - The IBM WebSphere Technical Exchange is designed with sessions to provide basic to advanced skills for managing an evolving WebSphere infrastructure. Some of IBM's leading technology experts in WebSphere solutions development and implementation are in charge of training sessions. LEARN MORE >

October 30-November 3 -- Las Vegas, Nevada - The IBM System i Fall Technical Conference offers an opportunity to update your skills on the i5/OS V5R4 operating system by presenting more than 250 sessions and labs, designed to help you stay competitive in today's marketplace. Among the session highlights are topics such as: the Java virtual machine (JVM) designed to provide higher performance on smaller systems; BladeCenter to System i5 storage across an iSCSI-based network; simplified application development with free-format SQL in RPG applications and enhancements to CL; and application workload management with enhancements to i5/OS subsystems. LEARN MORE >