In last week’s issue, I talked generally about big data and the use of tools like the Hadoop big data muncher created by Yahoo to emulate the very early unstructured data processing and related file system created by Google to power its search engine. While you do not have to take a snapshot of the Internet and index it continuously, as Google did when the Google File System and the MapReduce batch processing method was created, you do have your own big data challenges.

Well, they are probably more accurately described as midrange data problems, to be honest, and if

Being more responsive to customer needs is a common theme these days. Companies can quickly get into hot water by neglecting customers either completely or by choosing favorite segments, such as those with the biggest budgets. IBM‘s customer consciousness, as it applies to the Power Systems and IBM i community (the focus of IT Jungle newsletters), includes the independent software vendors (ISVs). The IBM i ISVs are hugely important. Big Blue must wish it had a similar vendor base for its other platforms.

Responsiveness to customers depends on awareness. To improve its awareness of ISV customers, Big Blue formed

COMMON Europe has given a jolt to the IBM i community, and right as we are approaching the 25th birthday–the silver anniversary, in fact–of the “Project Silverlake” machine that became the AS/400 minicomputer. After a hard look at the attendance data for its European Power Summit 2013 a month from now, COMMON Europe made the tough decision to cancel the event.

In a statement published on the COMMON Europe site, the European Power Summit Organizing Committee that is organizing the pan-European and pan-platform event, said that the event in Annecy, France, near Switzerland and a positively beautiful location, was

I never found Leonardo DiCaprio believable as an actor. No matter the costuming or how much makeup they trowel on his face, he always comes across as being a 12-year-old playing dress up. (He’s not unlike Tobey McGuire in that regard, but at least Tobey knows enough to make movies that appeal to 12-year-olds.) So when a moving flash ad for DiCaprio’s new opus, Gatsby, darkened my computer screen, it was both annoying and amusing. It did interrupt my browsing, but it also conjured up images of a child in a tuxedo throwing fits.

Not everyone finds advertising amusing,

In 2004, PowerTech unveiled its first report on the state of security for the iSeries server, as the IBM i platform was then called. The report uncovered major problems at iSeries shops involving passwords, remote access, and user profiles. Fast forward to April 2013 and PowerTech’s 10th annual report, which uncovered systemic problems with–you guessed it–passwords, remote access, and powerful user profiles.

If you think back to 2004, computer security issues were just beginning to grab headlines. Microsoft was under daily threat from hackers seeking to expose vulnerabilities in its products, which it would patch every month on “Patch Tuesday.”

It’s not exactly what you think. This isn’t about speeding tickets or parking tickets. It’s about tickets to sporting events and how the IBM i platform and a software vendor in the United Kingdom have teamed up to create a faster, more dependable, and much more user friendly experience for buying tickets and merchandise. It’s also about what a performance boost, courtesy of Power7 processors, and an innovation boost, thanks to the cloud, can mean for business.

Talent Sport is software that runs on IBM Power Systems servers and the IBM i operating system. It has a successful record based

With new Power7+ entry and midrange servers fully ramped and Big Blue well into its second quarter, it is time to add the new Power Systems machines to more deals, and that is precisely what IBM has done.

In announcement letter 313-040, the Power 710+, Power 720+, Power 730+, and Power 740+ entry machines are now part of the Power Systems First-In-Location rebate offering, which gives customers a cash rebate if they are installing their first Power Systems machine along with pre-qualified application software from independent software vendors. Power 750+ and Power 760+ midrange boxes are also now eligible

High availability and disaster recovery software maker Maxava is throwing its money around the IBM i community again, and I mean that in the best way possible. The New Zealand company, which has become an increasingly global company over the past decade, has been generous once again and has ponied up $50,000 to fund the Maxava iFoundation, which it started three years ago.

A lot of companies whine about needing to do something to support the IBM i community in direct and tangible ways, but Maxava has put $150,000 of its money where our mouths are. There have been

If you’re looking for some training for IBM‘s Rational Developer for Power Systems (RDP), you know it can be hard to come by. But the fact of the matter is there are plenty of businesses that need people to maintain programs in RDP. The good folks at Manta Technologies have some good news if you’re in that category: A new Manta series covering the most popular IDE for IBM i application development.

“There has been a large demand from our customers for RDP, we have had courses on all the predecessors to it, so it was time,” said Bill

The Michigan IBM i and AIX Technical Education Conference (MITEC), the annual opportunity for Power Systems professionals to distinguish themselves and the companies they work for by building on their current skills, is coming up June 4. The training day is sponsored by six local user groups in Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio, and has 51 sessions on its agenda. MITEC is one of the top Power Systems technical conferences in the nation, with attendance topping 200.

Paul Ubelhor, one of the volunteers who helps plan and organize the conference, says the forecast for the event is excellent.

“Things are shaping