TFH Volume: 27 Issue: 49 Archives

The Power Neine Conundrum

July 24, 2017 Timothy Prickett Morgan

If you take a very liberal interpretation of what the term cognitive systems means, including database, middleware, analytics software and the underlying system hardware and software, then IBM has spent untold tens of billions of dollars – probably hundreds of billions, really – creating its Cognitive Systems stack. We wonder what all of that analytics and machine learning software would say, with Watson’s voice of course, if it was pointed at IBM’s entire financial and technical history.

What is the prognosis, Doctor Watson?

We here at IT Jungle are an optimistic lot, and we realize that IBM, like many of …
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Mulling Midrange Optimism

July 24, 2017 Alex Woodie

It can be hard to be positive about the state of the IBM i server. While there are occasionally signs of growth, the overall size of the market is a small fraction of what it used to be. Outside of Rochester, you can scarcely find an IBMer who can even spell “eye bee em eye.” But a recent merger involving third-party vendors indicates there may be hidden life in the legacy platform.

Last month’s blockbuster acquisition involved IBM i HA software vendor Vision Solutions being sold by Clearlake Capital Group to Centerbridge Partners in order to merge it with Syncsort …
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Guru: Fundamentals Of Prototyping, Part 1

July 24, 2017 Jon Paris

In my series on parameter passing fundamentals, I mentioned the importance of using prototypes to help ensure consistency of parameter definitions; i.e., to help ensure that the parameter passed to the called routine matches what is expected. After that article was published, it came to my attention that many of my readers were unaware of some of the additional capabilities of prototypes, in particular that prototypes can not only identity errors in parameter usage, but that in some cases they can actually fix them for you!

Before we can begin, though, it would be a good idea to ensure that …
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As I See It: Those Accursed Millennials

July 24, 2017 Victor Rozek

Kids!

I don’t know what’s wrong with these kids today!

Kids!

Who can understand anything they say?

Kids!

They are disobedient, disrespectful oafs!

Noisy, crazy, dirty, lazy, loafers!

While we’re on the subject:

Kids!

You can talk and talk till your face is blue!

Kids!

But they still just do what they want to do!

Why can’t they be like we were,

Perfect in every way?

What’s the matter with kids today?

That little ditty was sung by the wonderfully snarky Paul Lynde from the 1960s musical Bye Bye Birdie, still performed in high schools around the country. Beyond …
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Education And Enterprise Computing Not Passing The Test

July 24, 2017 Dan Burger

The education-to-employment system flat out fails for most employers and young people seeking employment. Let’s introduce that elephant in the room right now. It’s not a dry well, but it’s not close to being what it should be. It’s much bigger than the IBM i community. It’s bigger than the IT industry. But it certainly is a factor in filling positions at IBM i shops. The mismatch between colleges and the needs of the job market is apparent.

There are expectations and finger-pointing on both sides: the educational system and the employers. What there doesn’t seem to be is the …
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The Power Neine Conundrum

Mulling Midrange Optimism

Guru: Fundamentals Of Prototyping, Part 1

As I See It: Those Accursed Millennials

Education And Enterprise Computing Not Passing The Test

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