• IBM i 7.1 Tweaked To Be More ISV Friendly

  October 17, 2011 Timothy Prickett Morgan

  As part of the October 12 Power Systems announcements, the IBM i 7.1 operating system-database combo was tweaked with Technology Refresh 3, the second update this year and the third such refresh since IBM moved toward a regular update cycle that was more akin to (but still distinct from) the way AIX gets updated. The Technology Refresh focuses on new functions and I/O support that is meant to be installed with the current operating system release and be less disruptive. Steve Will, the chief IBM i architect at IBM, explained this Technology Refresh approach to readers of The Four Hundred

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• I/O, Memory Boosted On Entry, Enterprise Power Systems

  October 17, 2011 Timothy Prickett Morgan

  I can sum up IBM‘s entry Power Systems announcements on October 12, which are not being formally announced until sometime this week, in a way that will flash you back to either your own or your parents’ childhood. This is the refrain of the theme song from The Power Systems Show: “They’re servers, nearly identical servers: They look alike, they cost alike, at times they even compute alike–you can lose your mind when computers are two of a kind.” Aren’t you glad I didn’t sing that? Be grateful that I think a newsletter should be printed and not

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• Skipping Robot/SCHEDULE Runs on AS/400-Class Machines

  October 12, 2011 Hey, Joe

  On our System i 550, we use Robot/SCHEDULE for batch processing. Every so often, we have a programming issue where we have to skip running a job in the middle of a long job stream. The skipped job sometimes has reactive jobs hanging off it. We still want to run the reactive jobs, even when we don’t run their prerequisite job. Got any ideas? –Keith Like many other shops, we also use Robot/SCHEDULE for running batch job streams on our System i and Power i machines. Like you, we’ve encountered the same issue where we want to skip running one

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• Add Outfile Support to Your Applications

  October 12, 2011 Ted Holt

  Note: The code accompanying this article is available for download here. When I compare IBM i to other operating systems, I am amazed. This well-designed, well-built operating system has numerous features that are foreign concepts to other operating systems. One of those features is that of “outfiles”, files that are built by display-type and work-type commands. If you haven’t done so, consider that it may be advantageous to write your own commands with outfile support. In general, programs that write to database files always write to certain database files, and that’s as it should be. A file maintenance program

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• TMW Unveils New Trucking Solutions at User Confab

  October 11, 2011 Alex Woodie

  Trucking software developer TMW Systems made three product announcements at its recent TransForum 2011 user conference. Among the new solutions are a new Android version of its driver communication system, a new Web-based driver recruiting and hiring application, and a new integration point between one of its IBM i-based dispatching applications and Qualcomm‘s Hours-of-Service (QHOS) program. QHOS is an electronic on-board recorder that automatically tracks how many hours a driver has logged on the road. The software transmits this data to the dispatch center using the cellular communication system from Qualcomm Enterprise Services that’s widely used in the trucking

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• Quadrant Expands Reseller Program

  October 11, 2011 Alex Woodie

  Quadrant Software last week announced the signing of five new resellers that will distribute its line of document management products for IBM i and other platforms. All five of the companies signed on with Quadrant within a month, the vendor says. The new Quadrant resellers include GEMKO Information Group, a provider of Microsoft Windows and IBM i services based in Amherst, New York; High Plains Technology, an IBM business partner based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; NSI, an IT and network consultancy based in Naugatuck, Connecticut; Synthasys, a management consultancy based in Rochelle Park, New Jersey;

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• ACOM Partners with EasyAccess for Web-Based Accounts Payable

  October 11, 2011 Alex Woodie

  ACOM Solutions and EasyAccess (EA) have combined resources to deliver a Web-based accounts payable (AP) solution designed to drive down costs by eliminating paper-based processing. The new offering connects with existing ERP systems, and can run in the cloud. The new automated AP offering utilizes technology and services from both ACOM and EA. IBM i shops will recognize ACOM, which makes document management, workflow, and electronic payment software, and has extensive experience connecting to IBM i-based ERP systems. EA is less well-known in the midrange, but it, too, has experience connecting with the most popular IBM i-based ERP systems. The

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• Maxava Now Selling IBM i Monitor Through Apples iTunes Store

  October 11, 2011 Alex Woodie

  Any IBM i shop can now get Maxava maxView Lite free of charge from Apple‘s iTunes App Store, the company announced last week. The software provides real-time monitoring of IBM i server status, and doesn’t require a Maxava high availability product. maxView Lite is a version of the full maxView product that Maxava develops to provide monitoring and management of IBM i server and HA systems. maxView Lite provides a Web browser-based GUI console that shows the status of key IBM i server performance metrics, including CPU and ASP utilization, and WRKSYSSTS- and WRKSACTJOB-related information. maxView Lite is also

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• Innovative CIO Keynotes at RPG & DB2 Summit

  October 11, 2011 Dan Burger

  Innovative CIO Keynotes at RPG & DB2 Summit Roxanne Reynolds-Lair, CIO at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM), will be the keynote speaker at the upcoming RPG & DB2 Summit held October 16-19 in St. Louis, Missouri. Reynolds-Lair will talk about the value of planning and implementing innovative projects from the perspective of a CIO who happens to prefer running an IBM i-centric business. Reynolds-Lair’s success has not been rare or fleeting. FIDM has received four IBM-COMMON Innovation Awards. The most recent was presented at the COMMON Annual Meeting and Exposition in May 2011. FIDM also won in

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• LANSA Updates Product Data Synchronization Software

  October 11, 2011 Alex Woodie

  LANSA last week unveiled a new release of Data Sync Direct, a product data synchronization solution that allows companies to participate in the Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN). DSD version 6.7 brings new features aimed at helping companies manage their data more efficiently, as well as support for additional protocols. LANSA DSD is an IBM i- or Windows-based product that handles the management and communication aspects of participating in the GDSN. The software automates many aspects of connecting a company’s ERP master product data list with specific GDSN data pools, such as the 1SYNC pool in the United States, to

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