The AS/400: 16 Years of Bending, Not Breaking
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

If I could rewrite history, I'd tell you I was there on Day One. And that I did all the snooping in advance of "Silverlake," IBM's project that was born as the AS/400 on that day in June 1988. I wish I had been there, so I could say my career spanned the entire history of the OS/400 server line. But jumping from aerospace engineering to English in my junior year of college cost me time, and I didn't enter the computer business until July 1989. READ MORE >

The eServer i5 Versus Linux Servers
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

There are two great things about IBM's AS/400 and RS/6000 midrange servers: they have very good hardware and software technology, and Big Blue goes out of its way to demonstrate the performance of its machines with internal and public benchmark tests. Sometimes IBM may not offer the best deal in town, but you can always qualify and quantify the deal. This is not the case with Linux servers running real commercial workloads, however. You move to Linux, you are on your own. READ MORE >

IDC Says Server Market Will Grow 5% in 2004
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

For all the chatter about virtualization and automatic reprovisioning for server platforms, the major server makers and platform component suppliers can thank their lucky stars that this technology has not yet taken off. Because most people are still putting one application or database on one server, which means the slight recovery in IT spending is driving server sales this year. READ MORE >

Mad Dog 21/21: Panda to the Masses
by Hesh Wiener

A panda is as rare as a generous man. And, it seems, similarly difficult to reproduce. Pandas are indigenous to China and come mainly from Sichuan, their archipelago of habitats spanning, in part, the northern border with Gansu, with some living northeast in Shaanxi. The generous appear in every nation, every culture, every age, every walk of life. About ten percent of the world's panda population is in captivity. No similar information is available about the generous, but they have played an instrumental role in computing through free or open software. READ MORE >

  But Wait, There's More

Web Services: Programmers Say Spanning Platforms More Vital Than Spanning Languages . . . New Manta Courses Available Through Guild Companies Store . . . Earthquake Highlights Lack of Preparedness Among L.A. Companies . . . EPCglobal Establishes First-Generation Standards for RFID Tags . . . SSA Global Resumes Business As Usual, Acquires Arzoon . . . Bytware Rebrands StandGuard Security Products . . . Daimler-Chrysler IT Exec: Oracle Acquisition of PeopleSoft Would Hurt . . . OS/400 PTF Guide Moves to Four Hundred Guru Newsletter . . . READ MORE >

Reader Feedback and Insights

The article "The i5s Start Shipping with Predictable Fits and Starts" has been corrected since its original publication. The Power5 and PowerPC 970 processors are not made with a 90 nanometer process, but rather an upgraded 130 nanometer process. The Power5+ chips will use the 90 nanometer process some time next year. Guild Companies regrets the error. [Correction made 06/18/04.]

We value your feedback and insights. Feel free to send a letter to the editor. Letters may be printed, unless otherwise specified, and edited for clarity or length. READ MORE >

BCD Int'l
SoftLanding Systems
Guild Companies
Cosyn Software
Affirmative Computer