IT Matters, But Not Like Vendors Think It Does
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

Almost universally, IT vendors have a bunch of bright but self-righteous people at the helm--in this regard, they are like newsletter editors, I suppose--and they do not take lightly any criticism of information technology and its importance in the fabric of our being. It's a matter of faith with all of these people that what they do matters, and matters in very important ways that are distinct from other important ways since the dawn of time. READ MORE >

Software Must Catch Up to Hardware for Multiplatform Tape Backups
by Alex Woodie

Companies today have the capability to run their nightly backups for multiple servers on a single tape drive or library, bringing them economic savings through hardware consolidation. Midrange tape vendors eStorage and GST, which have concentrated on serving OS/400 shops, are two of the latest to roll-out multiplatform support with their tape offerings. But when it comes to using a single piece of software to manage backups and recoveries for multiple platforms, OS/400 still presents difficulties, mandating a best-of-breed approach. READ MORE >

Do You Upgrade or Trade In that Old AS/400?
by Dan Burger

If IBM had the answer to this one question, maybe it could decide what to do with the iSeries. How do you quickly convince 80 percent of the OS/400 installed base to move up from old AS/400s and join the modern iSeries world? Traditional IBM upgrade paths for those boxes have been left in the dust, but plenty of those machines are operating quite nicely with upgrades provided by companies that specialize in keeping the old iron running as good as new. READ MORE >

Admin Alert: Reader Feedback on How ENDJOBABN Affects PTF Application
by Joe Hertvik

In last week's Admin Alert, I discussed some different ways to abnormally end an OS/400 job, including using different variations on the End Job (ENDJOB) and the End Job Abnormal (ENDJOBABN) commands. After writing that column, I received a few interesting e-mails highlighting some different features of ENDJOB and ENDJOBABN that I hadn't discussed. This week, let's review the e-mail feedback and see what we can learn. READ MORE >

IBM's Blue Gene/L Shows Off Minimalist Server Design
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

IBM recently gave the world its first look at the Blue Gene/L supercomputer, which is a scaled down version of the original million-processor, 1 petaflops Blue Gene supercomputer that Big Blue announced its IBM Research division was undertaking to build to much fanfare in 1999. While Blue Gene/L doesn't have a lot in common with the current iSeries, some of the minimalist ideas in the machine could very well find their ways into the iSeries and other Power-based servers in the not-so-distant future. READ MORE >

But Wait, There's More

Get The Latest OS/400 PTF Guide . . . High Tech Jobs Loss Rate to Decline in the United States in 2003 . . . IBM iNation Hosts WebSphere Seminar . . . American Software Posts Higher Software Licensing Fees, Profits Even Though Services Sales Are Down . . . IBM, i-flex Form Alliance to Push Banking Apps on iSeries, pSeries . . . SMB Customers: Big Blue Wants Your Junk Servers, PCs, and Printers . . . European Union Creates Virus-Tracking Security Agency READ MORE >

Reader Feedback and Insights

We value your feedback and insights. Feel free to send a letter to the editor. Letters may be printed, unless otherwise specified, and edited for clarity or length. READ MORE >