Control Your Code, Control Your Costs And Destiny
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

After decades of reading this newsletter, you know a thing or two about me. One of them, which may not be immediately obvious, is that I can be something of a control freak. (Just saying that in a sentence is difficult, and I want to deny it. But there it is.) And guess what? So were AS/400 shops back in the day, and a fair argument could be made that they were better off, technically and economically, when they freaked out (in a good way) and controlled their application code. READ MORE >

AURA Launches Alternative PHP Server Stack for IBM i
by Alex Woodie

AURA Equipments today launched iAMP Server, a free collection of software for running PHP workloads on the IBM i server. iAMP is composed of binaries for several products, including PHP, the standard Apache Web server, and the MySQL database. AURA says it developed iAMP, which runs primarily in the PASE AIX runtime, to provide IBM i shops with a standards-based alternative to Zend Technologies' PHP solutions for the platform. READ MORE >

IBM's Move On Up To Power7 Upgrade Math
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

If you are using an old PowerPC, Power4, Power5, or Power5+ system, you have no doubt long since paid for the machine. And I would even go so far as to guess that you have created your own applications to run on OS/400 or i5/OS--and perhaps even IBM i--on these old machines, or maybe you have some third-party apps that do what you tell them to and, more importantly, don't do things you don't tell them to do, like crash all the time. READ MORE >

Mad Dog 21/21: Jumping The Shark
by Hesh Wiener

IBM just finished a banner year. It recorded the highest revenue in its history and impressive profit. But if you depend on IBM's proprietary systems, the IBM i and the System z platforms, don't let the headlines fool you. You (and IBM) have a strategic problem. When it comes to computer hardware, IBM jumped the shark years ago. Jumped the shark? When Fonzie jumped the shark, five years into Happy Days, it marked a zenith, an irreversible turning point although the show lasted another five years. IBM jumped the shark in 1981, as it introduced the PC. READ MORE >