IBM's Q3 in Servers, Redux: The i and p Platforms Do OK
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

When first we practice to deceive. . . . . Since the beginning of 2008, IBM has tangled itself in a web of nonsensical numbers to report its financial results for its System i, System p, and Power Systems lines. I know that the top brass has given some bookkeeping reasons why it started calling things Legacy i and Converged System p instead of just Power Systems running i, AIX, and Linux. And as I have said since the beginning of this process, it is horse hockey. READ MORE >

So Much For That Unbundled i Compiler Tool Pricing
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

For all of the talk about how IBM is enthusiastic about pushing the Power Systems i product into small and medium businesses, sometimes you just have to shake your head and wonder. I know a number of customers out there are doing just the same after IBM has apparently and quietly changed the pricing and bundling of its application development tools for the i platform yet again. READ MORE >

SOA Without the Middleware, Without the Pressure
by Dan Burger

Infor, with its 'Open SOA' initiative just beginning to spew out products for its massive ERP software installed base, is aiming for that customer dream of actually reducing IT complexity while increasing interoperability and reducing costs. Can it make that dream come true or does that only occur in the marketing department's dream world? With more than 18,000 ERP software customers running on the IBM System i, and another 50,000 or so running ERP on other platforms, there are a lot of eyes on Infor. READ MORE >

As I See It: The IT Election
by Victor Rozek

As the election draws near, the experts are again speculating about which sector of society will provide the winning margin. Will it be the undecideds, or first-time voters, or minorities who ultimately decide the course of the nation? Or perhaps our future will be fashioned by the frozen hands of hockey moms, or the lead feet of NASCAR dads, or the uppity minds of latte-sipping intellectuals. Or, who knows, maybe Chicago's cemetery precincts will weigh in, or space aliens will drop off their absentee ballots? READ MORE >