Jenny Thomas
Jenny Thomas is the Publisher and Advertising Director for Guild Companies' IT Jungle newsletters. Thomas has 25 years of experience in the publishing industry and has worked as an editor and writer in several industries, including the IT and medical fields. Thomas has a bachelor's degree in journalism from San Diego State University.
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Four Hundred Monitor, May 17
May 17, 2023 Jenny Thomas
A few years back, Reader’s Digest told a story about the Henn-Na hotel in Nagasaki, Japan, which hired 243 robots to cover duties ranging from concierge to bellhop. It wasn’t long before managers “fired” half the robots because they kept malfunctioning. This foray into AI may have gone awry pretty quickly, but the idea wasn’t abandoned. In fact, AI is all we are reading about these days. It’s definitely the focus at IBM, as evidenced again in our Top Stories this week. We are also keeping an eye on news closer to home, so take a peek at the resources …
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Four Hundred Monitor, May 10
May 10, 2023 Jenny Thomas
“The robots are coming! The robots are coming!” If Paul Revere were here today, he might be shouting a different kind of warning. Artificial intelligence is in the news a lot these days, and you might want to start paying attention if you aren’t already. Especially after the recent revelation directly from IBM CEO Arvind Krishna, who said Big Blue could replace up to 7,800 current employees with AI. Eeek! Read on through our Top Stories for all the AI latest from IBM. You can also get the virtual scoop on what lies ahead by listening live to IBM’s annual …
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Four Hundred Monitor, April 26
April 26, 2023 Jenny Thomas
This has been an exciting week for the IBM i ecosystem. The world’s largest IBM i conference POWERUp 2023 is wrapping up soon, and our team came back with lots of news that you will be reading in The Four Hundred in the coming weeks. If you were (or are) in Denver, you might have seen editors Tim Prickett Morgan and Alex Woodie hopping into sessions or roaming the expo floor. So while they finish up in Colorado and start working up the latest news, read on for the latest news from in and around the industry. More to come …
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Four Hundred Monitor, April 19
April 19, 2023 Jenny Thomas
Almost everyone is worried about their pocketbooks these days. The flow of pandemic money has run dry, and individuals and businesses are navigating the way forward after some unprecedented circumstances. The first quarter ended for IBM on March 31, and there are lots of guesses floating around about the impending earnings report. We won’t know until we see the numbers, and it’s important to look as it will tell us a lot about what’s going on at Big Blue and the industry at large. Of course, you can count on the team here to crunch the details in the weeks …
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Four Hundred Monitor, April 12
April 12, 2023 Jenny Thomas
Artificial intelligence is not a new concept to our readership. But in recent weeks, we’ve seen a flurry of activity regarding AI, and frankly even we are a little worried. Imagine if some computer sucked up every article IT Jungle editor Tim Prickett Morgan ever wrote to create a digital TPM? It’s hard to believe even the most clever ChatGPT could do more than a weak imitation, but still a frightening thought that any of us might be so easily replaced. The Top Stories this week are heavily focused on AI, and we give you a sampling of what’s happening …
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Four Hundred Monitor, April 3
April 3, 2023 Jenny Thomas
We may have flipped the page on the calendar, but the new month didn’t free us from the same issues that have been plaguing 2023. This week’s headlines bring us more news of layoffs and security worries, which we should probably expect to be par for the course in the foreseeable future. It’s not all bad news, though, and we have offered some resources and expert advice below to help you weather the coming weeks. Before you go, be sure to check the latest additions to our calendar for more in-person and online learning opportunities. Here’s wishing for a successful …
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Four Hundred Monitor, March 29
March 29, 2023 Jenny Thomas
As we inch (or depending where you live “float” due to some of the rains happening around the U.S.) toward April, the world remains cautious when it comes to just about everything. But it’s not easy to slow down technology, and probably not smart when it comes to happening in the world, and we do see IBM making some major moves in the chip industry in our Top Stories below. So thrown caution to the wind and don’t hesitate to catch up on the news around the industry, which we’ve cumulated for you below.
Top Stories From Around The Jungle
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Four Hundred Monitor, March 22
March 22, 2023 Jenny Thomas
We’ve seen the layoffs of tech employees ramping up as of late. Amazon, Meta (nee Facebook), Twitter, Yahoo, Zoom, and the list goes on, have all announced significant personnel cuts in 2023. It’s a big turnaround from the midst of the pandemic, when tech companies were on a hiring spree to keep up with the surge to go online when everyone was stuck at home. The good news is IT pros with cybersecurity, cloud, and data analytics/machine learning skills have remained in high demand. We hope our efforts to keep you informed on these topics and learning opportunities have kept …
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Four Hundred Monitor, March 6
March 15, 2023 Jenny Thomas
March Madness is taking on a different meaning this year. Yes, it’s still the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament that fans look forward to every year, but March 2023 has also been a little crazy. Parts of Northern and Southern California have been covered in snow, burying roads and houses, disrupting power, and snapping branches off trees in areas that aren’t prepared for more than an occasional light dusting snow. The Federal government is attempting to stave off panic in the banking industry following the collapse of two banks. And let’s just not even think about world politics right …
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Four Hundred Monitor, March 6
March 6, 2023 Jenny Thomas
The topic of artificial intelligence has really heated up in recent weeks. ChatGPT took over the news cycle recently, and not just because it has teachers pulling their hair out as they try to contend with how to prevent students from plagiarizing essays. We’re seeing AI make headlines in our industry this week, which isn’t as surprising, but we must admit the story of a giant 3-D printer building a neighborhood in Texas did catch our attention. (You can find that one in the Top Stories below.) And another reminder to check out all that is available to you on …
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