Top OS/400 Stories from Around the Web

(IT Jungle) Bucking declines in revenue and gross profits, IBM tightened the reins once again and rode into the Q3 sunset with an increase in net income that was almost 14 percent beefier than one year ago. Sales in the Systems and Technology Group stumbled by 11.6 percent, but received only scrapes and scratches. Many of the competitors limped home with more blood on their shirts. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Ian Jarman, IBM's manager of Power Systems software, spoke publicly last week about a roadmap for the i operating system. He acknowledged enhancements that are expected to rolled out next spring: the capability for DB2 to store and recognize XML files and open I/O access for RPG. Both will be appreciated and remembered for being a long time in coming. READ MORE >

(MCPress) Frank Soltis still has plenty of star power. When the retired chief scientist at IBM and the unquestioned patriarch of the AS/400 community talks, people line up to listen. Last week he was the featured speaker for a Webcast presented by Vision Solutions and 1,500 tuned in to listen. READ MORE >

(System iNews) IBM i executive Craig Johnson called the media together earlier this week to officially announce the release of i 6.1.1--highlighted by a list of connectivity and storage enhancements that have been in the works and are now ready to roll. He also elaborated on the statement of direction technology that's been rumored for some time and was noted by Ian Jarman in his keynote at the RPG & DB2 Summit last week. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Today is the launch of Microsoft Windows 7. For those of you who are using the IBM i Access (formerly iSeries Access) suite, support for Windows 7 should be available by December 1. Support for the AFB drivers will take a bit longer. Shops running older versions of the i client should be thinking about an upgrade to i Access 6.1. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Stop the teeth grinding already. The days when compiler software was bundled with OS/400 are gone. You don't have to like it, but compiler pricing is separate now. However, 'tis the season of the rebate. There are some deals on compiler sets and Rational Developer for i companion tools that deserve a closer look. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) I wouldn't think it would be hard to get along on an IBM executive's salary. But one thing I know is that Bob Moffat will not be asked to be an IBM Smarter Planet spokesperson. The senior vice president and general manager of IBM's Systems and Technology Group apparently isn't smart enough to steer clear of insider trading. FBI wiretaps were used to implicate Moffat. READ MORE >

Vendor Announcements, Promotions, and Deals

(IT Jungle) Traditional backup and recovery depending on tape and/or disk survives in many operations based on the "that's the way we've always done it" school of thought. Maybe it's time to go back to school. System i backups "over the wire" to off-site facilities can eliminate a boatload of inefficiencies and (sound the trumpets, please) reduce costs. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Managed file transfer means the automated (no scripting and limited programming) and secure movement (including audit trails) of files within and outside an organization. Add in multi-platform capability and you might be coming to grips with a realistic modern file transfer policy. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Pardon me for saying so, but chances are you need to improve your BIQ: business intelligence quotient. But what do I know? You might already be a genius when it comes to strategic decision making, long-range planning, and growing market share, but given the right kind of data, could you pick the World Series winner? READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) JD Edwards customers, particularly the large contingent that are married to the IBM System i, have been skittery ever since Oracle became their master. Many feared Oracle would quickly lose interest in supporting OS/400, DB2/400, and the iSeries. Last week, on his podium at the Oracle OpenWorld conference, CEO Larry Ellison signed up for at least a 10-year hitch with his acquired i candy. READ MORE >

(MCPress) No matter what your business, you need customers to keep your boat afloat. Without sales and customer service, your ship is going down. This lesson was learned long before computers and customer relationship management software was around, but the level of managing customer relations has taken huge steps forward thanks to applications that integrate multiple silos of data. READ MORE >

Redbooks, White Papers, and Other OS/400 Resources

(LANSA) This white paper discusses developing real world IBM i applications using Microsoft's .NET Framework. Topics include how .NET can be used to integrate the IBM i with other enterprise platforms like Microsoft SQL Server and SharePoint, the requirements for developing and running .NET applications connected to the IBM i and the most critical enterprise level development issues faced by IBM i .NET applications. READ MORE >

(10ZiG) This archived Webcast examines how desktop infrastructure costs can be reduced using thin clients and centralized management. This session is presented by IBM and its focus is on shared services, desktop virtualization, and achieving a return on investment. READ MORE >

(IBM) For those planning to deploy i 6.1, AIX, Linux, and the Virtual I/O Server on the Power6+ JS23 and JS43 blade servers, this technical guide should be on your reading list. You'll get the 411 on topics such as system configuration and management, operating system(s) installation, and system maintenance and diagnostics. 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 22 -- Webinar - A live demo of BCD's report distribution software, Catapult, will include topics such as distributing reports as PDFs, splitting reports, and archiving them to the Web, as well as converting reports to spreadsheet format. This session begins at 12:30 p.m. EDT. LEARN MORE >

October 22 -- Webinar - Improving and maintaining application reliability by using automated testing tools will be discussed during this online session. Topics on the agenda include putting programs in place to extract test case data; define test sequences; and capture, present, and compare test results. This presentation is hosted by ARCAD and features that company's automated testing software. The online session begins at noon EDT. LEARN MORE >

October 23 -- Dallas, Texas - A one-day seminar on EGL Web 2.0 for RPG programmers is being hosted by the Metro Midrange Systems Association, a user group for the Dallas and Fort Worth metro areas. Guest speaker P. Michael Virga, a member of IBM's EGL EcoSystem Team. His session topics will include using the EGL Community Edition workbench; DB2 database access via services; building Web 2.0 applications; creating, consuming, and using third-party WSDLs; and calling external RPG programs. He'll also talk about modernizing aging systems, reducing application development costs, and expanding solutions with distributed platforms. Registration fees are $50 for MMSA members and $86 for non-members. Sessions begin at 8:30 a.m. and conclude at 4 p.m. LEARN MORE >

October 27 -- Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois - The OMNI User Group will hold its annual Day of Education technical conference at IBM's training facility. A partial list of training topics includes modern RPG programming, PHP, AIX and Linux on Power Systems along with i, supporting Macintosh clients, and free open source software. A complete list of sessions is available online. Registration fee is $99 for OMNI members, with discounts available for unemployed members. LEARN MORE >

November 3 -- Chattanooga, Tennessee - The first meeting of the Tennessee Valley Midrange User's Group will feature a presentation on implementing backup recovery and media services on the System i. Guest speaker is Dave Prescott will explain how to install and set up BRMS to perform save and restore operations, implement backup strategies, track media, and automate recoveries. Prescott, a retired IBM Rochester Lab Consultant, is a speaker at the annual Education Connection Conference and has presented topics at numerous user group meetings. His expertise is system management with multiple iSeries and AS/400s. The meeting will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn - Hamilton Place located at 2343 Shallowford Village Drive. It gets under way at 5:30 p.m., with dinner at 6 and the presentation at 6:30. LEARN MORE >