i5 Memory and Disk Prices Need to Come Down
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

Over the past few weeks, I have presented a bunch of stories that have profiled the cost of AS/400e, iSeries, iSeries i5, and System i5 servers over time. The comparisons looked at the cost and performance of barebones servers as well as reasonable base configurations with various amounts of 5250 processing capacity on them. But the server is only a third of the story. At its most basic level, a system is comprised of a processor, its memory, and its disk storage, and ignoring software--which is almost always a good thing to do, if you ask me--these three items make up the largest part of a system acquisition. READ MORE >

Second-Hand iSeries Boxes Are Pretty Cheap
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

As we all know, the reliability and stability of the AS/400 and iSeries servers made by the good people in Rochester, Minnesota, are legendary, as was the ruggedness of the System/36 and System/38 before them. The fact that RPG is a relatively stable language, too, and is supported in both source and binary form on a range of machines that now spans a decade means that if your performance needs are modest, there is a used iSeries somewhere that can meet your processing and possibly your budgetary needs. READ MORE >

Microsoft to Lure Competing Business Partners to Windows
by Alex Woodie

Microsoft is in the middle of ramping up a new program to convince independent software vendors (ISVs) to make the move from OS/400, Unix, Linux, and other platforms to the Windows Server System. Under the "NXT" program, Microsoft is offering resources to ISVs in exchange for migrating ERP, supply chain, and other enterprise applications to Windows. NXT is currently in a pilot mode, and Microsoft expects to bring it to full force later this year. READ MORE >

COMMON's Curriculum Is OK; It's IBM that Needs to Change
by Brian Kelly

The COMMON conference, which gets underway next week, has always been a great place to be--even now in its reduced state of capabilities and offerings. It is still an awesome education deal. It's just not as much fun anymore, and while that is important, there are other things that are more important. Like RPG and DB2/400. READ MORE >