IBM Gets Hybrid with Servers, Talks Up BAO Boxes
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

I don't own any IBM stock, and you probably don't either. (Well, we probably do by virtue of the index funds most of us have at least a taste of in our 401(k) and IRA funds. But that doesn't count.) So you might be thinking that the annual IBM Investor Day event didn't really concern those of us who care about IBM's system platforms. On the contrary. The annual event is one of the few times when all of IBM's top brass are present and speaking their minds about the future. READ MORE >

Virtualization on i Boxes Depends on Consolidation, New Workloads
by Dan Burger

Server consolidation has been on the minds of IBM executives for years. It's been talked about like it's some kind of big deal since almost 10 years BC. (That's Before Convergence.) Usually it's been described as a top priority for companies with multiple AS/400 boxes spread across wide geographic areas. During these virtualized times, when the X64 server farms are catching on to this technology, it's appropriate to take a closer look at what virtualization brings to the i platform. READ MORE >

Jeff Jonas Explores the Nature of Data in COMMON Keynote
by Alex Woodie

Jeff Jonas knows a lot about data. Not only does the chief scientist of IBM's Entity Analytics group have a lot of actual data in his head, but he knows how to manipulate it and to get answers to security-related questions for governmental agencies and Las Vegas casinos. But without a breakthrough in how we store and query data, we'll soon be overwhelmed with more data that we can handle, leading to a decrease in understanding, Jonas told COMMON attendees during a keynote address at last month's convention. READ MORE >

Mad Dog 21/21: Sometimes You Eat the Bear, Sometimes Its Porridge
by Hesh Wiener

The computer industry is desperately in need of Goldilocks goods and services in these bearish times, things that are not too big and not too small, things that are just right. Can there actually be such offerings when there's not just one kind of customer, and when industry folk and pundits alike say business conditions are bad and getting worse? Some people think the answer is yes. These are the hardware, software, and services vendors behind those little computers called netbooks. In addition, there is another constituency: People who are buying these things by the millions. READ MORE >