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, October 2
October 2, 2019 Jenny Thomas
Each week, it seems like we point to far too many articles about data breaches and other types of cybercrime. So this week it is nice to be able to direct your attention to some positive news on the cybercrime front. IBM has launched a program to help cities learn how to protect citizens and businesses from those criminals lurking in the interweb. In the first article below, you can read more about a new project IBM has started with the City of Los Angeles better prepare and defend against cyberattacks. It’s a step in the right direction for getting …
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Four Hundred Monitor, September 25
September 25, 2019 Jenny Thomas
Summer came to an end this week, although it certainly doesn’t seem that way in Southern California where temperatures are still topping 90 degrees. With the onset of fall comes the promise of tech news as conference season gets back underway and the companies that sell hardware and software look to get into the 2020 budgets of the companies that will be looking to buy hardware and software in the new year. Whiles we linger in this limbo between summer and fall, take a gander on what’s been happening around IT in the last week, and don’t miss the Calendar …
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Four Hundred Monitor, September 18
September 18, 2019 Jenny Thomas
This week, Steve Will, Chief Architect of the IBM i, tweeted out the link this week for new followers. It’s interesting to think there are still new followers popping up, but if you’re one of the Twitter holdout, you might want to consider giving it a try. The Twitter-verse gives us direct access to the movers and shakers of our ecosystem (not to mention the writers of IT Jungle), and it’s a great place to see the chatter around our little ecosystem. Of course, if you still don’t think Twitter is for you, you can always count on Four Hundred …
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Four Hundred Monitor, September 11
September 11, 2019 Jenny Thomas
For many of us, life is settling back into familiar routines as schools go back into session across the U.S. and we all hunker back down at our desks to get done what we put off for the summer before the holidays show up to derail us again. But before we get to the IT news of the week, we would be remiss if we did not acknowledge today – Patriot Day – as the day we remember those who died or were injured during the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001.
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Four Hundred Monitor, August 19
August 19, 2019 Jenny Thomas
Today marks one year since we lost our friend and colleague Dan Burger. It still doesn’t seem real most of the time, but we have forged ahead, like he encouraged us to do, although we all still miss him. I started writing this feature for him, intermittently at first when he was too sick to do it, and I was glad to do it because it was one of the few things I could do to help. Now I write it every week with a weird mixture of sadness from being reminded of losing my friend and pride as I …
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Four Hundred Monitor, August 12
August 12, 2019 Jenny Thomas
It often seems like there aren’t any new ideas any more. Instead, newer versions of old ideas come back around every few decades (1980s fashion is one current example), or in the case of our first featured article this week, every few hundred centuries or so. For instance, the Trojan Horse was likely the inspiration for the most recent method of breaking into data, another idea that isn’t new but is a simple twist that can result in a frightening outcome for IT managers. You can read about “warshipping” as well as get a little taste of the IT news …
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Four Hundred Monitor, August 5
August 5, 2019 Jenny Thomas
The temperatures are still rising outside but summer is winding down, especially for those of us with school age kids who know their carefree days will soon be replaced with reading, writing, and arithmetic. In the IT world, this is the time of year when we start to get our second wind. The fall conference season is just around the corner, and solution providers are looking to do a last push, and we are ramping up to make sure we keep you in the loop for all of it. In the meantime, enjoy the last few weeks for summer and …
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Four Hundred Monitor, July 22
July 22, 2019 Jenny Thomas
Sometimes it’s a good idea to toot your own horn. But before you dust off your passé paper resume to add to your latest accomplishments, you might want to take a look at the new rage: digital badges. You may have noticed these badges popping up on your Twitter feed if you follow and of our 2019 IBM i champions, but there are many more badges available for all sorts of IBM-related skills. In our Top Story below you can find a link to Acclaim, a site that works with vendors, including IBM, to verify talent through digital credentials representing …
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Four Hundred Monitor, July 15
July 15, 2019 Jenny Thomas
The IBM i is in a constant battle to defend itself from being regarded as a legacy platform. Still, worries about its future persist and companies continue to look for the latest slick technology to propel them into the future. But a new report from Gartner warns that jumping platforms not only might not be a viable solution, it could leave your organization in a worse situation than where you started. You can get a closer look at and some takeaways from the Gartner report via the Seiden Group at the first link below. Isn’t it about time that we …
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Four Hundred Monitor, June 24
June 24, 2019 Jenny Thomas
There was a lot of excitement in the world of IBM i last week. Last Friday, June 21, marked the 31st birthday of the IBM i. But you may have forgotten to celebrate because it also marked the release of IBM i 7.4. We have been writing about the coming 7.4 enhancements for weeks in The Four Hundred, and you can continue to follow us for the latest news as the rollout continues. For now, check out all the latest news and happenings around our industry at the links below, and don’t forget to check the calendar for …
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