Power 720: Same Entry Price, But More Room to Grow at Less Cost
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

As is usually the case with an IBM Power Systems announcement, there is no one simple way to characterize the price/performance of the new entry Power7-based machines that made their debut in August and that started shipping on September 17. But I can tell you this much after an initial analysis of the entry Power 720 boxes that are the most likely choice of platform for IBM i shops: If you plan to grow, this box is a lot better than its predecessors. READ MORE >

Microsoft Technologies Gaining Ground in the IBM Midrange
by Dan Burger

The battle of the midrange continues. And Microsoft continues to put the heat on IBM. We know it best as a struggle for IBM i shops to remain i-centric when it comes to their mission critical applications as Microsoft technologies gain stronger footholds in enterprises. Last week I talked with Dee Hester, who heads up platform migration sales in North America and Latin America for Microsoft. Here's the view from where he sits. READ MORE >

IBM Offers Sun, HP Shops Generous Leases--What About iSeries Shops?
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

Not to sound like a broken record or anything, but how come IBM is always giving shops using Unix gear from rivals Hewlett-Packard, Oracle, and Fujitsu a good deal? How come Big Blue takes a long time to get around to giving a similar deal to its own iSeries shops, if at all? Don't they need a little financial help as encouragement to move up to more modern Power Systems machines, too? READ MORE >

As I See It: Of Better Jobs and Billy Joel
by Victor Rozek

File this under useless proclamations: The National Bureau of Economic Research announced that the recession officially ended in June 2009. Pardon us if no one noticed. With over 15 million unemployed and one in seven Americans living in poverty, a lot of folks were too busy surviving to join the celebration. Granted, poverty is relative. In this case it means that a family of four is subsisting on less than $22,000 a year. Good luck with that. READ MORE >