Top OS/400 Stories from Around the Web

(IT Jungle) Preconfigured System i boxes that support users of popular ERP software are ready to roll. New "Solution Edition" i525s for Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne and SAP's mySAP suite are a good deal for companies that fit under the user-based pricing ceiling. IBM also has a variant of the new Power6-based System i 570 that supports three chasses and a maximum of 12 processor cores. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Most IT shops have their sights set on taking their applications to the Web. They may even have itchy trigger fingers, but they are still worried about two possible outcomes: shooting themselves in the foot or missing their target. One factor in this atmosphere of apprehension is the whether the target is building applications for the Internet or is it something bigger, like SOA and Web services? IBM will soon release new software that is expected to provide greater rewards to those aiming at the SOA bull's eye. READ MORE >

(MCPress) Another way of looking at IBM's emphasis on Web service technologies and native i5/OS support for its WebSphere products is laid out in this article, which plays to the System i platform's increased versatility, openness, and a reason for customers to remain i5/OS loyal instead of migrating to other systems. READ MORE >

(System iNetwork) Based on surveys of the COMMON and COMMON Europe membership 41 percent of the North America membership and 58 percent of the COMMON Europe membership use Domino systems on i5/OS servers and they are not happy that IBM nixed the capability to use the i5/OS version of DB2 to store Lotus Domino documents and data. Now the question becomes whether IBM will reconsider adding NSFDB2 support for i5/OS in light of these surveys? READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) When a veteran AS/400-iSeries-System i guy attends his first System p Technical Conference, he finds himself "on another planet." Similar hardware for these two IBM divisions does not translate into similar environments. What follows are some great System p observations from the i guy. READ MORE >

(MCPress) IBM is making a big push to get the word out on DB2 Web Query, the replacement for Query/400, the Model T Ford of AS/400, iSeries, and System i query tools. Like Ford's famous "Tin Lizzy," Query/400 was utilitarian and widely used. It was also underpowered and behind the times. IBM's DB2 Web Query experts have been spreading the word about DB2 Web Query at local user group meetings, and you'll find articles like this one helpful in explaining what the heck is going on. READ MORE >

Vendor Announcements, Promotions, and Deals

(IT Jungle) PHP continues to light up the sky and for now the fireworks are coming from Zend Technology, where new development tools and runtime environments for specific platforms are being released along with a beta release of Zend Studio for Eclipse and various integrations with products from IBM, Microsoft, and Oracle. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) System i-native RFID software is taking shape as two vendors who were on track to be competitors in this software market agree to co-develop a product that will evolve from basic "slap and ship" RFID requirements to full integration with ERP, warehouse management, and EDI systems. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Accessing remote databases, whether they are DB2/400 SQL Server, MySQL, or Oracle, sorta reminds me of a sword fight with Orochi, the eight-headed monster. Given the choice of one or the other, a lot of folks would take the match-up with Orochi. Coincidentally, those people also confess to having bosses with at least nine heads (all of them angry). This might be a good time to find out that remote database access is easier than you think. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) We are still three or four months away from the introduction of the new operating system, V6R1. By and large it remains a secret regarding the specific enhancements that will be included. But for all you RPG-ers, particularly those who keep their skills on the leading edge, here are a few things IBM has built into V6R1 for you. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) i5/OS V5R4 software containing PHP and database programs designed to run PHP applications natively on the System i becomes available from IBM October 19. It includes a license to three programs from Zend Technology, the creator of PHP, and one from MySQL, the creator of the popular database engine that is often behind PHP applications. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Put up your antennae, System i users who are making use of PHP to build Internet-strength applications. Lurking on the Web are all sorts of security threats. Potential vulnerabilities need to be on your radar screen. Learn or get burned. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) What do you want a document scanning and content management solution to do? Let me help you with that question. It should provide indexing options, support of various types of scanners, and a Web interface that is comfortable and convenient. You might also appreciate the capability to capture and index documents from a wide array of sources. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) For some of you, performance management is as serious as a gun barrel snuggled up against your temple. You are constantly under upper management's gun to make sure there is plenty of DASD, CPU utilization is as high as possible, and maintenance tasks are being proactively handled. Here's how you can remain cool under that kind of pressure. READ MORE >

Redbooks, White Papers, and Other OS/400 Resources

(LANSA) It's one thing to realize the potential benefits of a service oriented architecture, but something else entirely to make a plan and then implement it without risking your company's existing business applications environment and operations. This report offers advice on achieving the SOA goal. READ MORE >

(System Objects) This method of application modernization, using the vendor's software called JACi400, is designed for RPG and COBOL developers to replace the green-screen interface with HTML/GUI. It includes coverage of the process of selecting the database, setting up the application for inquiry, data entry, or update, finalizing specifications, and deploying the application. READ MORE >

(Symtrax) This document covers the topic of computer-based decision support applications and how they can work to the advantage of various departments such as sales, finance, human resources, marketing, production and general management. It examines storage and analytical databases, retrieval and analysis tools, and the implementation of a decision support project. READ MORE >

(IBM) A side-by-side comparison of iSeries and AS/400 models with the new System i Express 515 and 525 models is presented. Included in the comparison are topics such as monthly cost of operations, workload throughput, software maintenance costs, and power consumption. IBM describes this tool as a way customers can find the right replacement system. 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 18 -- Webinar - Data security for companies struggling with SOX and compliance requirements is the subject of this online session with a focus on business intelligence. Topics of discussion will emphasize how New Generation Software--the company hosting this session--provides file, field, record, and output controls, while delivering data in Web performance dashboards, packaged analytics, Excel, OLAP, PDF, and other options. Also featured is the integration of NGS products with Patrick Townsend and Associates encryption software for handling sensitive corporate data such as credit card numbers and employee information. LEARN MORE >

October 19 -- Webinar - This 15-minute session explains how to convert AS/400 spooled files to fully formatted Excel spreadsheets without programming and without circumventing AS/400 security by using SpoolFlex software. Topics of discussion will include e-mailing reports directly from the AS/400 and archiving copies on the network server. The event begins at 2 p.m. EDT. LEARN MORE >

October 22 -- Cincinnati, Ohio - A one-day application modernization technical seminar focusing on the service oriented architecture, Web services, and extending the value of RPG-based applications and OS/400-based system hardware is being presented by ASNA. This event provides an introduction to Web Services and service oriented architecture while emphasizing team's skills. LEARN MORE >

October 23 -- Danbury, Connecticut - A full day of System i technical training is being presented by the Fairfield AS/400 User Group Technical Conference, which is now in its 15th year. Session topics include RPG from the basics to the advanced, SQL, XML, iSeries Access for the Web, upgrading to V5R1, the HMC, WDSc, data encryption, and many others. Conference sessions begin at 8:30 a.m. LEARN MORE >

October 23 -- Webinar - Extending legacy applications to increase functionality and intuitiveness will be discussed in this online presentation by David Brault, product manager at LANSA. Highlighted in this session will be several examples of businesses that have transformed applications quickly and without major disruptions to their users. The event is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. CDT. Additional Webinars, featuring additional customer deployments, will be held November 15 and 28. LEARN MORE >

October 24 -- Woodbury, New York - The Long Island Systems Users Group monthly meeting will feature two presentations this month. The first, which begins at 5 p.m., highlights WDSc 7.0 and its features such as relating to RSE, Web development, Web Services, WebFacing, HATS, and the selective install capabilities. The second presentation, which begins after dinner, will take a closer look at Web services with WDSc. This session will provide a technical introduction to Web services, how to call or create a Web service from RPG or COBOL, and using the Web services tools in WDSc. Guest speaker for both sessions will be IBM's Don Yantzi, a veteran developer from the Toronto labs. LEARN MORE >

October 26 -- Webinar - This 15-minute session explains how to convert AS/400 spooled files to fully formatted Excel spreadsheets without programming and without circumventing AS/400 security by using SpoolFlex software. Topics of discussion will include e-mailing reports directly from the AS/400 and archiving copies on the network server. The event begins at 2 p.m. EDT. LEARN MORE >