Happy Holidays From IT Jungle

December 12, 2018 Timothy Prickett Morgan

And now we come, once again, to the holiday season here at IT Jungle. This coming year, which we are already planning for, we enter the 30th year of publishing news, tech tips, strategy, and tactics concerning the AS/400 and its progeny. It has been such an education for all of us, and a privilege and an honor to serve the AS/400, iSeries, System i, and IBM i communities all those years, as well as those many shops who hung back in the early years on the System/36 and System/38 platforms while we are thinking about it.

We are always looking for ways that we can improve the publication, and we welcome any input from readers to help us in this regard. We cannot do everything, of course, being a small organization, but we are always open to the possibilities so long as they make fiscal sense. One thing we know for sure: We are always looking for new insight into the IBM i market, and new voices to add to the chorus. So if you have a burr under your saddle or some knowledge or opinion you want to share, reach out to me by email and we can talk.

We are always hopeful and optimistic by nature, but it goes without saying that some years are harder than others. And by saying that, it makes us face these facts. Those of us who work at IT Jungle lost Dan Burger, a dear friend, a colleague, and a valued member of the IBM i community. The IBM i community is less cohesive and less aware of itself in his absence, and a voice has been taken away from our lives. There are other valuable members of the community who passed away as well this year as well, notably for us Pete Elliot, the long-time marketing director for Key Information Systems and more recently of Focal Point Solutions Group. We do not claim to have an exhaustive list of those who are gone, and perhaps we need a wall of gratitude to commemorate those who were members of the IBM i tribe who are no longer with us.

Life is for the living, whether we like it or not. And if we live, then we might as well live well and carry on as those who were with us would have wanted for us to do. We carry on their work, and are empowered by their perseverance and joy – and not just during the holiday season which we now begin to celebrate, but each and every day going forward. So, join us in carrying on this work that we love in their honor, and have a happy and healthy holiday season, one and all.