looksoftware's Modernization Suite Resembling a Full IDE
by Alex Woodie

For looksoftware's customers, modernization of existing applications through the creation of composite programs is usually the goal. Leave it to the IBM's and Microsoft's of the world to build fully integrated development environments (IDEs) for writing new applications from scratch, the thinking goes. But with the upcoming release of version 9 of look's modernization suite early next year, developers will find more powerful capabilities typically associated with full-blown IDEs. READ MORE >

Pat Townsend Normalizes i5/OS Log Data for Security Analyses
by Alex Woodie

There are many advantages to using a System i server to run business applications, including high degrees of security, scalability, and reliability. But there are also disadvantages to the proprietary platform, such as the fact that its security log data is incompatible with industry standard formats used by Windows, Unix, and Linux machines, which poses a challenge to security event correlation. Last week, i5/OS software vendor Patrick Townsend & Associates launched a new product, called the Alliance LogAgent, that transforms i5/OS log data into the industry standard 'syslog' format. READ MORE >

Linoma Boosts Surveyor/400's SQL Functionality
by Alex Woodie

With SQL making such deep inroads into the System i platform as a data access language, programmers can use every little bit of help to make writing and managing SQL easier. To that end, Linoma Software recently introduced a new version of its multi-function Surveyor/400 database utility that provides users with more powerful SQL-generating capabilities, including new wizards that automate SQL actions, such as joins, new color-coding to make SQL easier to read, and new security functions. READ MORE >

PowerTech Updates Compliance Manager
by Alex Woodie

System i shops looking for a powerful, System i-based security compliance reporting product may want to check out the new release of Compliance Monitor unveiled by PowerTech Group last week. With the capability to process bigger chunks of security log data from more systems into plain English results that are easier to understand, Version 2.0 promises to be the nontechnical security auditor's best friend. READ MORE >