Alex Woodie
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Zend Patches High-Risk Security Flaw in PHP
March 4, 2014 Alex Woodie
… Read moreZend Technology last week issued emergency hotfixes for the latest PHP runtimes for IBM i, Windows, and Linux to fix a high-risk security vulnerability in PHP that could enable an attacker to execute arbitrary code on affected systems.
Zend on Thursday announced the immediate availability of Zend Server 6.3 Hotfix 1. The hotfix implements a new release of the PHP language, version 5.5.9, and thereby patches a security flaw in its Zend Server PHP runtimes for IBM i, Windows, and Linux platforms. There is no hotfix for the Zend version 6.3 runtime for Mac OS X.
The patch addresses the
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m-Power Gets All Gussied Up with New Charts, Graphs
March 4, 2014 Alex Woodie
… Read moreA great tennis player from Las Vegas once proclaimed, “Image is everything.” While hardcore IBM i types weaned on sparsely colored 5250 screens may disagree, the folks at mrc have embraced good looks as a strategic advantage. Recently, the Chicago company outfitted its IBM i Web app dev tool, m-Power, with an array of new charts and graphs that it plainly admits are “beautiful.”
Topping the best-dressed list in m-Power’s graphs and chart lineups are several new chart types, including interactive funnel charts, cylinder charts, and “zoom line” charts. The charts are included with a subscription to m-Power, and are
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Krengel Rejiggers Mailing Automation Lineup
March 4, 2014 Alex Woodie
… Read moreKrengel Technology last month introduced DocuTransfer, the new name for its suite of document and mailing automation software for Windows. Formerly called DocuMailer, the new DocuTransfer suite allows users to pick and choose exactly which options and capabilities they need to support their mailing operations.
Instead of one DocuMailer product, Krengel Tech now offers a family of document management and mailing automation solutions under the DocuTransfer banner. Customers gets started by selecting one of the core DocuTransfer products–Pro or Lite.
Both DocuTransfer Pro and Lite offer core mailing automation features, such as CASS and NCOA address validation, PAVE presorting, various
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RJS Bolsters Report-Delivery Tool
March 4, 2014 Alex Woodie
… Read moreRJS Software Systems last week announced that the latest release of its DeliverNow report-delivery tool has passed all QA tests and is ready for adoption by IBM i customers.
DeliverNow is a Windows-based product that automates the capture and delivery of reports over the network. The software can take reports generated from IBM i spool files (or the output of Windows, Linux, or AIX applications), convert them into PDF (or RTF, HTML, or Excel) formats, and then distribute them via email, fax, FTP, or posted to a document management Web portal.
Version 1.2 of the product brings a series of
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Infor Adds Industry-Specific Functionality to M3
March 4, 2014 Alex Woodie
… Read moreInfor last week launched a new release of its Infor M3 ERP software. Version 13.2 brings enhancements in six industry verticals, including food and beverage, clothing, and equipment dealers, among others.
When we last visited M3, Infor explained to IT Jungle how M3 version 13.1 would be the last big release of the ERP suite for some time, that Infor was going to slow things and simultaneously become more agile in an attempt to keep new capabilities within reach of users on older M3 release. It’s not unlike the Tech Refresh (TR) approach that IBM adopted for the IBM i
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Buy One XIV Array, Get Another For A Buck
March 3, 2014 Alex Woodie
… Read moreIBM last week unveiled a new pay-as-you-go pricing scheme for its high-end XIV storage systems, which supports IBM i and other server platforms. The deal prevents customers from paying the full price of their XIV array until they’ve used a certain amount of the storage capacity. And when the first array fills up, IBM will ship a second XIV for an incredibly low–and incredibly un-IBM–price.
The deal is available to IBM customers through something called the Advanced System Placement program. Under this program, customers can get an XIV array installed at just a fraction of the full cost. The customer
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Oracle To Make JDE More Agile, Less Painful To Upgrade
February 24, 2014 Alex Woodie
… Read moreIn a bid to make it easier for JD Edwards shops to upgrade their ERP systems, Oracle is moving its JD Edwards suites to a more agile product release cycle that emphasizes a continuous stream of product enhancements rather than periodic big-bang releases. The change in development cycle, which will impact both EnterpriseOne and World suites, was announced by Oracle at the recent JD Edwards Partners Summit, and corresponded with the release of JDE EnterpriseOne Tools version 9.1.4.
Lyle Ekdhal, the group vice president of the JD Edwards business at Oracle, apparently discussed the new agile development cycle during his
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Judge Gives Oracle Partial Victory in Rimini Case
February 24, 2014 Alex Woodie
… Read moreThe four-year legal battle between enterprise software giant Oracle and third-party maintenance provider Rimini Street is not over. But it’s closer to finally going to a jury after a judge issued a partial ruling this month that granted Oracle summary judgment over Rimini’s handling of PeopleSoft customers. The court did not issue a ruling regarding Rimini’s handling of JD Edwards and Siebel clients.
Oracle sued Rimini in January 2010, alleging that Rimini’s third-party support business for JD Edwards, PeopleSoft, and Siebel software infringed on Oracle’s copyrights, among 12 other allegations. While the companies continue to prepare for a jury trial,
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Inuendo: An Associative Database Model for IBM i
February 18, 2014 Alex Woodie
… Read moreIt’s often said the strength of the IBM i server is its integrated database. However, while IBM‘s relational database is very much a rock-solid engine, the data models that people deploy on top of DB2 for i are often overly complex, brittle, and inefficient. One person who’s doing something about the legacy data models is Christopher Burns and his open source Inuendo project that distributes a sleek, SQL-based associative data model for the platform.
Inuendo represents a radical rethinking of what a database on IBM i is–what it looks like, how it works, what it stores, and how developers
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CIOs Not Feeling the Green (Screen), Survey Says
February 18, 2014 Alex Woodie
… Read moreWhile CIOs around the world are enthusiastically embracing green computing when it reduces energy footprints and hazardous waste in landfills, they are not so thrilled with the other variety of green computing–the one that’s associated with old mainframe and AS/400 programs. In fact, CIOs are more likely than not to report that their 5250 or 3270 applications are doing a poor job, according to a recent Micro Focus-sponsored survey.
The study of 590 CIOs and IT directors from around the world paints a dim view of text-based user interfaces, which are used by 93 percent of the organizations surveyed.