Salaries at OS/400 Shops Get Crunched by Economic Downturn
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

According to the salary experts at NateViall & Associates, manager and programmer salaries at OS/400 shops, which are represented in every economic sector, company size, and geography, have not been insulated in any way from the faltering worldwide economy. Viall, which is continually surveying salary levels at AS/400 and iSeries shops, says that salaries for managers and programmers were up, but that the general trends don't tell the whole story. Some salaries are up, and some are down. READ MORE >

IBM Teaches Resellers the Economics of iSeries Server Consolidation
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

So many phenomena in life are cyclical. As far as I can tell, this is the third or fourth wave of server consolidation that has swept the system/server market, which has spanned more than four decades. Distributed computing and server consolidation, the two main opposing forces in the data center, may have had different names in the past, but the economics of small and large machines have always encouraged IT shops to evaluate and often change their systems and application architectures. READ MORE >

J.D. Edwards Elaborates on New ERP Offerings, Attacks SAP and Oracle
by Alex Woodie

J.D. Edwards is looking to be meaner and leaner as it goes to battle against high-end ERP vendors such as Oracle and SAP to win and retain customers in the midmarket sector. This was evident from what J.D. Edwards executives said during the company's annual FOCUS 2002 user conference, where they filled in the blanks created three weeks ago when the company made its initial announcements about its next generation of software, known as J.D. Edwards 5. READ MORE >

Regatta-L Entry pSeries Servers Due Soon, Foreshadow Future iSeries
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

Sources familiar with IBM's plans say the company is readying its first entry servers using the Power4 processors that will make their debut in the iSeries Model 890 servers this week. Exactly when IBM will announce the pSeries 630 entry servers, which will probably offer uniprocessor, two-way, and four-way configurations, is unclear. It could be this week, or next, or after the July 4 holiday. If history is any guide, these pSeries 630 machines will very likely resemble a future replacement for the iSeries Model 270. READ MORE >

Admin Alert: When the V5R1 Management Central GUI Won't Start
by Joe Hertvik

IBM's Management Central server that comes with OS/400 V5R1 is used for a number of things, including performance data collection, running commands on other systems, and synchronizing PTFs between iSeries boxes. However, Management Central is configured through the iSeries Operations Navigator's Java GUI, and that GUI sometimes misbehaves and won't start properly, forcing you to troubleshoot it into working properly. Here are a few of the problems I've encountered when the Management Central GUI won't start. READ MORE >

Gartner Says Companies Don't Cover Their IT Assets
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

Analysts at Gartner have released a report that espouses the value of IT asset management tools to help companies organize their computers, software, and peripherals, and, most importantly, to save them money in these tough times. Gartner recently held a conference that focused on IT asset management issues, and has divulged some internal data about how even its prestigious clients do not use this technology effectively, even though asset management tools have been around since the advent of PCs. READ MORE >

But Wait, There's More . . .

IBM Raises BRMS, Infoprint Server Prices . . . Read the Latest OS/400 PTF Guide, Compliments of DLB Associates . . . Nexgen, Cosyn Software Ink Partnership . . . Original Software Partners with SoftLanding and Aldon . . . Create!form International Expands Latin American Presence Through Partnership . . . Gauss Recruits Thor to Provide Customized OS/400 Solutions . . . READ MORE >

As I See It: Rainbow's End
by Victor Rozek

If television advertisers can be believed, retirement will be a time of gracious living. With help from the pharmaceutical industry, the days will be spent frolicking with the grandkids, and the nights will be spent frolicking with the spouse. But for many Americans, the reality will be less idyllic and fraught with problems that are immune to designer drugs. Retirement is a little like death: Though everyone knows it's coming, few are fully prepared for the swiftness of its arrival. READ MORE >

Reader Feedback and Insights

We value your feedback and your insights into the OS/400 market. Feel free to drop us a letter to the editor and we will post them in a reader feedback column associated with this newsletter. READ MORE >