WDSC Is Out, Rational Developer for System i Is In
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

If it has not been made clear to you yet from our coverage of i5/OS V6R1, this is a big release. While prior releases have also been big in terms of bringing database clustering, integrated high availability plumbing, logical partitioning, an AIX runtime environment, support for Linux, or the WebSphere application server and development tools, just to name some big features from the past decade's worth of OS/400 and i5/OS versions and releases, V6R1 is important in that it involves the rejiggering and repackaging of the application development toolset for the System i platform. READ MORE >

Q&A with MKS CEO Philip Deck: Automating the Automaters
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

As the chairman and chief executive officer of application lifecycle management software maker MKS, Philip Deck spends a lot of time thinking about how other people and his own company create and manage software. Deck joined the Canadian and publicly traded software firm in 1999 after running a company called Certicom, a maker of cryptographic hardware and software, but he is clearly at home in the ALM software space and clearly enjoys his job, as this interview shows. READ MORE >

The System i Loses One Big Account and a Mid-Sized One, Too
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

Somewhere, deep in the heart of Georgia, there is a System i sales rep whose is none too happy. And just a little further north, up in America's capital, there is another sales rep who is also probably not feeling too chipper. Two long-time AS/400 shops--the billing operations of cellular phone service provider AT&T Wireless and the United States Mint, the division of the U.S. Treasury department that prints and sells money--are both rumored to be ditching their iSeries and System i machines for alternative platforms. READ MORE >

As I See It: Why IT Will Save the Economy
by Victor Rozek

Explanation #1: Fifteen years ago, two college kids were jogging along the beach and, as they were passing a large clump of flotsam wrapped in ropes of kelp, they noticed something glinting in the sunlight. They stopped, looked, and one of them reached into the slimy mass and pulled out what appeared to be an ancient lamp. As is the custom with ancient lamps, the young man began to rub it vigorously. No sense in taking a chance; they'd feel pretty stupid if they passed up their opportunity to awaken the Genie. READ MORE >