But Wait, There's More. . .

• If you are trying to sort out the latest PTFs for OS/400 and its related systems programs that IBM has released, you need to check out the OS/400 PTF Guides, which our partner, DLB Associates, has compiled for you. The latest OS/400 PTF Guide is for July 13. An archive of OS/400 PTF Guides published to date is also available on our site.
  

• DataMirror's hostile takeover bid of the parent company of rival OS/400 high availability software vendor Vision Solutions is over. The four-month ordeal included three separate offers by DataMirror, of Canada, to purchase enough shares of IDION Technology Holdings, of South Africa, to form a majority. DataMirror owned about 17 percent of IDION's shares when it made its first offer to buy IDION in March. Over the next three months, DataMirror spent almost $7 million Canadian on IDION stock to bring its total ownership to about 39 percent, well shy of the 50 percent plus one share needed to form a majority and complete the takeover. IDION executives consistently rejected DataMirror's offers, saying they significantly undervalued the company. If nothing else, DataMirror's bids succeeded in showing how much of a beating IDION's stock had taken on the South African stock market. Meanwhile, Nicolaas Vlok, the chief executive of IDION and Vision Solutions, said that despite DataMirror owning more than a third of IDION, it will not be given a seat on IDION's board of directors. Vloc used the opportunity to try to turn up the heat on DataMirror. "We understand that having a significant portion of capital invested in a competitor--with no influence over day-to-day operations--presents a very uncomfortable situation for the CEO of a publicly traded company," Vlok stated in a press release. "I don't know how an executive could justify this to the board and shareholders."
  
  
• ASNA is extending to Europe a technology services program that it started in the United States 18 months ago for migrating green-screen OS/400 applications to Web and Windows environments. The new European group will consist of ASNA business partners, ASNA distributors, and ASNA staff, and will focus on providing consulting, training, and education for the European companies. Specific areas of coverage will include custom application development, enterprise systems architecture, data management and design, data security architecture and implementation, systems integration and project management, and advanced education. ASNA is based in San Antonio, Texas, and has offices in Guildford, England.
  
  
• Lakeview Technology last week announced it has completed beta tests on the latest release of its high availability software, MIMIX V4R4, and has begun to ship it. Lakeview says its new software takes advantage of new capabilities in OS/400 V5R1, including remote journaling integration, journal minimal data support, automated detection and recovery of out-of-synch conditions, integrated iSeries clustering, an improved user interface, and other enhancements. Lakeview announced MIMIX V4R4 at the COMMON conference in Nashville, Tennessee, this April. (For a more in-depth review of these enhancements, read "Lakeview Adds Remote Journaling, Other Features, with MIMIX V4R4.")
  
  
• Key Information Systems has launched a new online service that provides visitors with a recommendation on the type of tape backup solution they should be using. The Key Backup e-Lab, which is available at www.keyisit.com/tapeanalysis, bases its recommendation on the answers you provide to three questions: How much data do you have to back up? How big is your backup/restore window? What is your current tape technology? Based on your answers, Key will provide you with a cost/performance analysis report, delivered via a certified storage specialist from Key. There is no cost to the user for this service, except parting with a few details about yourself and where you work.
  
  

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