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 Guides are for Nov. 9 and Nov. 16. An archive of OS/400 PTF Guides is also available on our site.

• IBM is quietly showing customers a version of its BladeCenter blade servers that use its own Power4 processors rather than Intel's Pentium 4 Xeon processors. We detailed these machines back in September ("BladeCenters Can Be IBM's Fifth Kind of eServer"). The BladeCenter is a 7U form-factor chassis that can house up to 14 two-way server blades, yielding a total of 168 processors in a standard 42U rack. This is twice the level of density as the rack of two-way 1U form factor servers that have been shipping for more than two years. IBM isn't saying what Power4 processor it is showing in the BladeCenters, but odds are that it is the single-core PowerPC 970 processor (a derivative of the Power4) that IBM expects to start shipping in mid-2003 or so, not the Power4 or Power4+ chips it is currently shipping in the iSeries and pSeries server lines. So why should OS/400 shops care about a Power4-based BladeCenter? Because it could, in theory, run OS/400. And as a rack-mounted machine with logical partitions built in to the OS/400 operating system from the get-go, this would be a great machine for a lot of customers who want to have physical partitioning as well logical partitioning. If you think an OS/400 blade server is a good idea, tell IBM. You won't get one any other way. That's for sure.
  
  
• Supply chain software provider JDA Software Group last week announced a "Customer Value Program," which tries to put a positive spin on a restructuring that includes the layoff of 170 employees and the relocation of 150 others. Several offices in the United States and the United Kingdom have been or will be closed. The restructuring stems from dismal third-quarter revenues, which were down substantially from company expectations. JDA's software licenses and service revenues were hard hit, particularly in the area of large merchandising systems. Software license revenues in the third quarter of 2002 were down 30.6 percent, to $10.8 million, and consulting revenues were down 10.3 percent, to $21.8 million. JDA pushed up maintenance revenues to $14.9 million, but that was not enough to offset other declines, and total sales in the quarter dropped by 4.5 percent, to $49.4 million. JDA is increasingly focusing on selling software and services to its customer base, and its Customer Value Program, sources say, is designed to provide customers with "full lifecycle attention" from a single contact at the company starting with the sales process and continuing through implementation. JDA's corporate systems are used for merchandising, warehouse management, and logistics, while its in-store systems handle point-of-sale and back-office applications. The company also offers analytic applications for decision support.
  
  
• One week after announcing its acquisition of Ascent International Solutions, PKWARE, which develops and owns licensing rights to the PK Zip compression technology, has formed a strategic alliance with RSA Security, a leader in encryption technology. The two companies' new partnership extends to sales, marketing, and product integration. Both companies have committed to selling each other's products and to building higher levels of integration between the two products in upcoming releases. This integration will be spread across PKWARE's entire line of compression utilities, which run on Windows, Linux, Unix, OS/400, and mainframe platforms. Company officials said that their respective products are a natural fit for one another, as compression can aid in reducing the network bandwidth and storage requirements associated with encryption. Encryption still has an overhead in terms of processing power, however.
  
  
• Alliance Gaming's collection of OS/400 software continued to expand last week, when the company announced that its Bally Gaming Systems subsidiary has acquired CMS LLC, a Jackson, Mississippi, software developer. CMS had developed a suite of OS/400 programs designed to help casinos manage their gaming environments, including a player database management system, player tracking, and tracking of casino promotions. Along with CMS's OS/400 software products, Bally gets about 60 new customers in the deal, including casinos owned by Mandalay Resort Group, Isle of Capri Casinos, Station Casinos, Boyd Gaming Corporation, and Coast Hotels and Casinos. CMS was owned by Venture System Source. Terms of the deal were not announced. While Alliance's main business is building, selling, and maintaining slot machines and other gambling machinery, it has been stocking up recently on ancillary products that it can sell to its customers. In September, Alliance acquired (through its Bally subsidiary) the OS/400-based LSI Casino Management System from Logical Solutions International. Bally said its new OS/400 software from CMS is a good fit with its existing OS/400 applications.
  
  
• Manhattan Associates' presence in Japan is set to increase, thanks to the signing of a letter of intent to partner with Site Design Company, a systems integrator located in the capital of Tokyo. The agreement has Site Design acting as Manhattan Associates' master distributor for the Japanese market, which is the second largest economy in the world and a growing consumer of OS/400 technologies. As Manhattan Associates' master distributor, Site Design would market, sell, and implement PkMS, its OS/400-based supply chain execution package, as well as support additional distribution channels and partnerships. The proposed agreement also involves a joint commitment to set up a PkMS Center of Expertise to serve users and other Japanese business partners. The entire Asia/Pacific region is of strategic importance to Manhattan Associates. Last year, Manhattan Associates delivered a double-byte-character-set-enabled version of PkMS, which allows the software to be localized for character-based Asian languages, and the company has also recently relocated some of its technical personnel to the region. According to an ARC Advisory Group survey, sales of warehouse management systems in the Asia/Pacific region will experience a compounded annual growth rate of 26 percent through 2005.
  
  

Sponsored By AFFIRMATIVE COMPUTER

In light of IBM's recent departure from the thin client market, signified by the discontinuation of the thin NetVista™, a large group of users are wondering where to turn for thin client solutions. More and more companies are now discovering one of the industry's most innovative thin clients: the YEStation from Affirmative Computer Products. Affirmative designs, develops and supports enterprise-strength YEStation thin client systems, including keyboard, display and printer products for use with IBM midrange and mainframe systems. A broad range of models and options are available to accommodate a diversity of computing needs. From large corporate environments, to healthcare and manufacturing organizations, YEStations can be customized to help companies of all kinds realize the benefits of lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). Key features: Compact size and flexible mounting options suitable for all types of uses and environments. Under the desk, on a vertical bulkhead, or secured to the top of a work surface--whatever is most convenient. Powerful Central Management Software allows configuring and updating units over the network. Centralized, shared application software means you can update thousands of users in minutes without leaving your desk. Linux and Windows CE versions available. Durable 122-keyboards for productive switching between host and local application programs. Models available in 5250 and 3270 layouts. Support for touchscreen monitors makes the YEStation the perfect warehouse or factory floor device. Linux based terminal (LBT) version can be used as Lotus Notes email client. Affirmative backs every system and peripheral it sells with the service and support necessary to keep your enterprise running at peak efficiency. To learn why Affirmative's YEStation is the premier thin client computing solution, call 888-353-5250 or visit http://www.affirmative.net.