Pandora's Box: A Rumored Entry Power Server
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

According to sources familiar with IBM's plans, the company is working on a new entry-level server based on the Power5+ platform. Code-named "Pandora's Box," this server will, if the rumors are true and if it ever comes to market, have some of the features and capabilities that many of us in the OS/400 community have been yearning to see for IBM's Power machines to better compete with Wintel platforms, which rule the small and medium business market, and Lintel boxes, which might if Linux catches on as Unix and Windows did in their turn. READ MORE >

IBM Has Its Financial Ups and Downs in Q2
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

IBM reported its financial results for its second quarter last Tuesday after the markets closed, and as is often the case with a company as large as Big Blue, there were some good things and not so good things in the quarter. IBM's sales of System z mainframes and various software were up, but the transition to the Power5+ chip in the System p and System i Power-based servers and other issues with System x servers resulted in disappointing sales for these products, and services books and revenues were also down. READ MORE >

Horticulture Companies Grow With the System i5
by Mary Lou Roberts

I phoned Doreen Anderson, manager of platforms for Ball Horticultural from my patio, on one of the far-too-few gorgeous days (no thunderstorms, and a comfortable temperature in the mid-80s) in the past two weeks here in the Northeast. The planters around my patio are filled with impatiens, begonias, and geraniums, and the plants were lush and flush with color. It seemed like the perfect setting to talk about the important role that the System i plays in making all that beauty available. READ MORE >

Mad Dog 21/21: Big Indians, Little Indians
by Hesh Wiener

IBM is pumping something like $6 billion (or nearly 20 percent of its net worth) into its operations in India. This bold move is a big step that could, if the services business follows the trajectory of the PC business, first make India the primary source of IBM's services personnel and later allow an Indian company to acquire the whole division. But in its rush to capitalize on the Indians of South Asia, IBM and the many other computer companies facing east are overlooking the possibilities offered by some other Indians: Native Americans. READ MORE >