But Wait, There's More. . .

• If you are trying to keep abreast of what IBM has been doing with PTFs on OS/400 and related systems programs, you have to check out the OS/400 PTF Guides, put together by our partner, DLB Associates. You can get the January 25 guide by clicking here, the January 18 guide by clicking here, the January 11 guide by clicking here, and the January 4 guide by clicking here. IBM has been up to a lot of stuff in the past four weeks, so check it out.
  
  

• Microsoft, only three months away from shipping the "Whistler" version of Windows as Windows Server 2003, has extended the life of Windows NT 4.0, which is two generations back from Whistler on the Microsoft server product chain. Support for Windows NT 4.0 was set to expire December 31, 2002, for non-security hotfixes, but it reportedly has been extended until the end of 2003. Support for security-related hotfixes was set to expire at the end of 2003, and now reportedly has been pushed to the end of 2004. While Windows NT accounts for only about 15 percent of the installed base of Windows server environments, whoever is using it must be important, and using it pervasively, for Microsoft to offer this extension. Microsoft was unavailable for comment at press time, but we are chasing it down for next week. Our guess is that Microsoft is worried about the security implications of having millions of NT servers out there in the world with known security bugs and the blowback it would face if it knowingly left these users exposed, even if they are two generations behind. A very large portion of AS/400 and iSeries shops have Windows servers, so Microsoft's extension of hotfix support for Windows NT 4.0 is an important issue for them, and one that NT shops probably welcome. Many older Integrated xSeries Server coprocessors for AS/400 and iSeries machines only support Windows NT, not Windows 2000.
  
  
• Server maker IBM and chip maker AMD have signed up as technology partners for the UnitedLinux distribution of the open-source Linux operating system, being put forth as a concerted effort by commercial Linux distributors Conectiva, SCO, SuSE, and Turbolinux. The goal of UnitedLinux is for these Linux distributors to create a single core Linux distribution and then do value-adds (like language support or adjunct programs) to differentiate themselves from one another. IBM and AMD are not full members of the UnitedLinux consortium, since neither wants to be an OEM distributor of its own variant of the Linux code. They do, however, want to ensure that their respective products support UnitedLinux-based distributions and, more important, they want to use their weight to ensure that UnitedLinux evolves with their server and workstation platforms in mind. IBM and AMD are the first companies to sign up at the technology partner level. Red Hat, the market leader in commercial Linux distributors, has officially ignored UnitedLinux as if it were not there, but it is undoubtedly going to watch and see if other companies come in to the consortium as technology partners and then weigh its options.
  
  
• Farabi Technology last week announced it has become a member of RSA Security's Secured Partner Program. As a member of the program, Farabi gains an RSA certification that says Farabi's HostFront Web-to-host access software for OS/400 servers and mainframes is fully compatible for use with RSA's SecurID authentication technology. Farabi says that, when deployed in tandem, with SecurID screening access attempts before they get to HostFront, companies will be able to roll out air-tight security. RSA's SecurID software uses a two-factor authentication technique to secure access to online assets. First, users must remember their correct PIN code to gain access. Users must also possess of one of the SecurID authenticators, which can be a key fob, a hardware token, a software token, or a smart card. Loaded onto these small authenticators are a unique 64-bit symmetric key and an RSA algorithm that generates a new code every 60 seconds, which is displayed on a small LCD screen. These key codes are constantly synchronized with the RSA ACE/Server, which runs on Windows and Unix platforms, to provide a very high level of protection, RSA says.
  
  
• ERP software conglomerate SSA Global Technologies recently announced financial results for its first quarter of 2003. The company, which is privately held and not required by law to disclose its earnings, says total revenue for the quarter ended October 31, 2002, was $57 million, an increase of 76 percent over the previous year. More impressive is SSA GT's growth in software license fees, which was up 141 percent to $16.4 million for the quarter. Michael Greenough, SSA GT's chief executive, also took the opportunity to raise his projections for the company's fiscal year 2003 revenues by 14.6 percent, from $245 million to $281 million. Greenough's earlier prediction, from last August, were made before SSA GT's $95 million acquisition of Infinium Software, which was finalized late last year. Infinium had revenues of $66.7 million for its fiscal year 2002, which ended on September 30.
  
  
• OpenMFG, the ERP software company that seeks to sell and distribute its software based on the open-source model, has officially launched its partner program, the Open Partners Program, and enlisted its first 10 members. The Norfolk, Virginia, company launched its ERP software for small to midsized manufacturers, OpenMFG Standard and OpenMFG Deluxe, last year, and it is now building the reseller channel that will be critical to the software's acceptance in this marketplace. The company says the potential market for manufacturing ERP for small to midsized businesses is quite large, with an estimated 300,000 companies requiring ERP software that gives them greater insight into their businesses. OpenMFG's partner program has three levels: referral partners, consultants who implement the software, and value-added resellers who sell and implement the software in a defined sales territory. Among the companies signing up for OpenMFG's partner program are Texum Technology, a value-added reseller from Long Beach, California, and CompuAll, a Fountain Valley, California, company that will install ERP for some of Texum's clients. For more on the company's unique views on development and distribution, see "OpenMFG Takes Open Source Ethos to ERP."
  
  

Sponsored By FAST400

What makes IBM different from Microsoft regarding Fast400?? What is Fast400? You are hearing a lot about Fast400 aren't you? But what is Fast400? Fast400 is a "tuning" product for the iSeries. Fast400 will allow an iSeries server to utilize the available CPW for interactive processing. IBM would have you believe that these interactive cards that cost thousands to millions of dollars, actually add value to your server. By buying Fast400, you do not ever need to buy anther interactive card for your iSeries. For a free demonstration of Fast400, please visit www.fast400.net. Why Fast400? A few years ago Microsoft would not let other software companies build tools to work with the Windows operating system. Microsoft did all kinds of scurrilous things to stop other manufacturers software from working on their platform. They would put code in the base operating system that prevented other companies code from working properly. IBM even had these issues with Operations Navigator. In the early days of Operations Navigator, the developers in Rochester had to scrap early versions because Microsoft did not want IBM leverage on what was proprietary to them. Netscape also had a few problems using the Windows operating system. The result Now we all know what happened to Microsoft. After spending tens of millions of our tax dollars in the trial, the US government told Microsoft that they were acting as a monopoly and what they did was not right or fair. The similarity IBM is doing exactly the same thing to Fast400 as Microsoft did. IBM has changed the operating system of the iSeries 400 to prevent Fast400 from working. In fact this has been done several times now, and each time the Fast400 developers produce a new fix to circumvent the IBM action. Why does IBM do this? because Fast400 takes money out of IBM's pocket. The potential for IBM to make billions from its user base, for delivering virtually no product is tantamount to corporate deception! Did IBM change the operating system when EMC introduced a low cost storage solution for the iSeries? The future The cat and mouse game between IBM and Fast400 is already a year old. Every time IBM changes the operating system to disable Fast400, the developers of Fast400 produce a new version within days to enable it again. Does Fast400 have a commercial agenda? Of course it does. Fast400 is in business to provide its clients with added benefits, which will maximise the interactive performance of iSeries 400 servers. And as we are a business, why shouldn't we charge a nominal fee for that service? A fee that our clients see as being fair and proper. After all, it's not Fast400 that is making enemies in the user base. As long as IBM wants to play "David and Goliath" we will continue to "out" the giant. Fast400 is not running, you can be assured!! For more information, please visit www.fast400.net.