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Alex Woodie

Alex Woodie is Senior Editor at IT Jungle. He was previously editor of two of IT Jungle's main newsletters, Four Hundred Stuff and The Windows Observer. Prior to joining Midrange Server (as Guild Companies was formerly called) in October 2001, Alex was a products editor at now defunct publisher Midrange Computing, where he was first introduced to the AS/400 and covered hardware, software, and services for Midrange Technology SHOWCASE magazine. Before joining Midrange Computing, Alex was a staff writer for The Insurance Journal and a reporter and columnist with The Paradise Post newspaper. Woodie obtained his Bachelors of Arts degree in journalism from Humboldt State University in 1997. Upon graduation, Alex intended to make his way onto a major daily newspaper, but in 1999 he found himself drawn to the high-technology industry, where his background in science and engineering has suited him well. He lives in Northern San Diego County. When he is not writing next week's newsletters, Alex can be found in his favorite chair reading the day's paper, in the kitchen, or at the beach.

  • IBM i Education Goes a Mile High at COMMON’s POWERUp 2023

    April 19, 2023 Alex Woodie

    The IBM i community is gearing up for POWERUp 2023, the annual conference and expo held by COMMON that is taking place next week in Denver, Colorado. While information on the recent IBM i Technology Refreshes will be in demand, the event in the Mile High City will showcase just about everything going on with the ever-popular midrange server.

    The fun starts bright and early Monday morning at 8:30 MT, with the COMMON POWERUp Opening Session. COMMON President Dawn May will give the community an update on the state of the user group, present awards to the top speakers from …

    Read more
  • How IBM Improved Application Development with the Spring 2023 TRs

    April 19, 2023 Alex Woodie

    IBM i developers have a few exciting new features to look forward to with the latest Technology Refreshes for IBM i 7.5 and 7.4, including a new release of RDi and new RPG and COBOL functions in the compilers.

    As part of the Spring 2023 announcement for IBM i 7.5 TR2 and 7.4 TR8, IBM last week unveiled a new release of Rational Developer for i (RDi), version 9.8, that brings new functionality to the Eclipse-based integrated development environment (IDE).

    According to IBM’s announcement letter, RDi RPG and COBOL Tools Edition runs on

    One of the new features with …

    Read more
  • PSGi Offers Field-Level Encryption for IBM i Database

    April 19, 2023 Alex Woodie

    IBM i professionals who are concerned about the disclosure of sensitive data in their legacy applications may be interested in a new field-level encryption utility from Precision Solutions Group (PSGi). The software essentially functions as an easy-to-use wrapper for IBM’s native Field Proc for database encryption, delivering flexible data protection for legacy applications.

    PSGi has made a name for itself by providing third-party maintenance and support for aging IBM i-based ERP systems. Customers running older applications like JD Edwards World, PRMS, PRISM, and KBM rely on PSGi to keep their ERP systems running well decades after they were first created. …

    Read more
  • IT Modernization Goes Beyond The Apps, Kyndryl Says

    April 17, 2023 Alex Woodie

    When the word “modernization” is said in the midrange and mainframe circles, it usually means application modernization, or transforming your older RPG and COBOL applications to look and feel like they just came off the Java or C# assembly line. But there’s another view of modernization that encompasses more than just the apps, and according to a new report from Kyndryl, there’s quite a bit of work to do.

    While Kyndryl is certainly familiar with the application modernization needs of IBM i and System Z shops, the company (formerly IBM Global Technology Services) takes a broader view of the term, …

    Read more
  • Big Blue Refreshes The Technology for IBM i 7.4 And 7.5

    April 12, 2023 Alex Woodie

    As expected, IBM yesterday unveiled its Technology Refreshes (TRs) for IBM i, including version 7.5 TR2 and 7.4 TR8. These are relatively minor releases that bring incremental improvements to core areas of the platform, including IBM i Navigator, IWS, PowerHA, and RPG, among others. There’s nothing groundbreaking here, but the enhancements are undoubtedly just what many users need.

    We’re going to dive into each of the enhancements and do full coverage of them in the coming weeks here at IT Jungle. For today, we’re going to provide a broad overview of the new stuff that IBM just announced this …

    Read more
  • Wanted: Code For IBM i Contributors

    April 10, 2023 Alex Woodie

    If you have a knack for IBM i development and a passion for open source, then Liam Allan, the creator of the Code for IBM i project, would like a word. That’s because Allan, faced with large demands from his day job at IBM, is seeking help from the IBM i community to develop and maintain the Code for IBM i project.

    “Myself and the core team (three other people) are a little overwhelmed by our workload, balancing jobs and maintaining a large project is tough,” Allan wrote in a March 9 blog post on Ryver, the Web-based forum …

    Read more
  • Why Modernize Applications? The Reasons Might Surprise You

    April 3, 2023 Alex Woodie

    A wave of interest in application modernization seems to be cresting over IBM i and mainframe shops in the United States and Europe, and it’s having some unanticipated impacts. We’re also getting a better understanding of what’s motivating companies to jump into these potentially risky projects, which is a topic that EvolveWare touched on in its latest report.

    EvolveWare, which develops modernization tools for mainframe and IBM i applications, discussed several aspects of modernization in its report on modernization released last month. Our first take on the report, which is titled The State of Application Modernization 2023, focused …

    Read more
  • LANSA Developing Business Intelligence Tool

    March 29, 2023 Alex Woodie

    LANSA is rolling out a new Web-based business intelligence tool. Dubbed LANSA BI, the new offering is based on an underlying analytics engine from Yellowfin and will be targeted predominantly at IBM i shops looking to give users greater access to actionable data.

    LANSA has used its fourth-generation language (4GL) development environment as a springboard for many other technological endeavors over the years. From Web and mobile modernization environments to application and data integration tools, from ecommerce engines to ERP suite, the Downers Grove, Illinois, company has been there and done that.

    It has even offered customers some rudimentary query …

    Read more
  • Data De-Dupe Gives VTL Customers More Options

    March 29, 2023 Alex Woodie

    When your IBM i backup data is 10x smaller, the backups complete more quickly and the local storage requirements are smaller. But that’s just the beginning of the savings for customers of LaserVault, which added a new data de-duplication feature to its virtual tape library (VTL) last year.

    LaserVault has been providing IBM i backup solutions for many decades, and launched its line of VTL solutions in 2006. Customers can get ViTL, as the VTL is called, as a Fibre Channel- or SAS-connected backup appliance (LaserVault partners with Supermicro for hardware) or as shrink-wrapped software that customers can run on …

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  • The Disconnect In Modernization Planning And Execution

    March 27, 2023 Alex Woodie

    Feeling confident in your IBM i or mainframe application modernization plans? That could be due to your lack of understanding of what is about to transpire once you begin the project, according to a new survey from EvolveWare.

    EvolveWare, the Santa Clara, California, provider of modernization tools, last week released a study called The State of Application Modernization 2023. The 18-page report is based on a fourth-quarter survey conducted by Global Surveyz (that is not a typo) of 200 large American companies in financial services, insurance, and healthcare that are either in the midst of an application modernization …

    Read more

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