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IBM i To Ride The Coattails Of Linux On Power
September 23, 2013 Timothy Prickett Morgan
I have said it before, and I will say it again. And probably again after that. Anything that makes the Power Systems business stronger lets the IBM i platform live a lot longer. And it is with that spirit that we should all greet IBM‘s announcement last week that it will be pumping $1 billion in investments in the Linux operating system running on Power processors.
It is always hard to tease out details on such big pronouncements from any vendor, but Jim Wasko, who is director of the Linux Technology Center in IBM’s Systems and Technology Group, says
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Midrange Dynamics Bolsters JDE World Support, Adds Migration Utility
August 13, 2013 Alex Woodie
The era of big, expensive change management systems (CMSes) has come to a close, opening the door for smaller, easier-to-use CMSes such as the MDCMS product from the Swiss company Midrange Dynamics to capture market share. The company hopes to build more momentum in the North American IBM i market with a new version 7.1 release, which brings features like full support for JD Edwards World and a new migration utility to help customers move away from competing CMSes.
MDCMS is designed to be an easy-to-use change management system that helps developers with various lifecycle management tasks, including source code
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IBM Dresses Up The Power 750+ In A Linux-Only Tuxedo
August 5, 2013 Timothy Prickett Morgan
Big Blue wants a much bigger piece of the $10 billion annual Linux server business, and it is rolling out a fatter version of its Power7+ server lineup in the PowerLinux line to chase big Java, database, and analytics workloads. The new machine, called the PowerLinux 7R4, is a Linux-only version of the four-socket Power 750+ server that was announced back in February along with a revamped entry Power7+ server line and an even fatter Power 760+ machine.
Like other PowerLinux machines, the new PowerLinux 7R4 is designed specifically to compete head-to-head with Intel Xeon E5 and E7 machines in
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Under Constellation, Friedman Assembles IBM i Assets
June 27, 2013 Alex Woodie
Infor may have the most well-known collection of IBM i ERP systems, but there are other such groups of IBM i assets, particularly for tier-two applications. One such grouping of tier-two software vendors is the ongoing work of Friedmann, the developer of ERP for windows and door makers that is owned by the mega software conglomerate Constellation Software.
Friedman has been owned by Constellation for many years. But it’s only been over the last several years that Friedman has been let loose to gobble up IBM i software companies. The list of IBM i-related acquisitions (including date acquired)
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Away With The SQL Slash Separator
June 19, 2013 Michael Sansoterra
One potentially confusing aspect of programming SQL in DB2 for i for non-IBMers is the use of the forward slash character to qualify an SQL object with a schema. IBM i devs don’t have a problem with the slash because we recognize it as the character we use when qualifying objects while tooling around the i/OS green screen. Others database devs may wonder what sophisticated function the slash serves. However, in IBM i 7.1, IBM introduced a change in DB2 Group PTF SF99701 Level 15 that is worth noting.
When using the system naming convention, developers can now
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IBM i Security Firm Looks To Mobile Biometrics For Growth
June 3, 2013 Alex Woodie
The day is fast approaching when people who need access to sensitive data will be able to authenticate themselves using biometrics embedded right on their smart phone. Industry experts anticipate Apple to embed a biometric scanner of some sort into the next version of its iPhone. And when it does, the folks at Valid Technologies will gleefully ride Apple’s coattails as it rushes to keep up with orders for its IBM i-based biometric authentication software.
At least that is the hope for Valid, which is based in Boca Raton, Florida. Liberty-loving Americans display a general wariness and resistance to using
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ISV Advisory Council: Untold Secrets And Free Advice
May 20, 2013 Dan Burger
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
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Knee Deep In Database Modernization
May 13, 2013 Dan Burger
Twenty years ago, the DB2/400 database from IBM was not being asked to do the things that the DB2 for i database for the IBM i operating system is being asked to do today. Database limitations sometimes sneak up on us. Even though the handwriting has been on the wall for some time, there has to be a reason to stop and read it. Jim Ritchhart read it. He knows database modernization because he is living it. His story of database modernization is a good one.
Ritchhart works for Uline, a shipping supplies and packaging materials manufacturer with headquarters near
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IBM Adds Power7+ Iron To Virtual Loaner Program
May 13, 2013 Timothy Prickett Morgan
If you are a business partner who can’t get access to a new Power7+ machine but you want to compile and test your code on some shiny new iron, then IBM has a slice of iron it wants you to take for free.
On April 24, the developerWorks web site aimed at application developers announced that the Virtual Loaner Program, a long-running service that Big Blue set up when it decided to go cloudy for developers instead of giving them cut-priced Power Systems on which to code their apps, had been updated with Power7+ machines. IBM does not say what
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IBM Is Working On New Software Licensing Schemes
April 22, 2013 Alex Woodie
The old tier-based licensing scheme worked great for many years, but is rapidly outgrowing its usefulness, thanks to widespread virtualization, cheap CPWs, and cloud workloads. Some software vendors who play by the P-group rules have taken it on the chin, while others have jury-rigged complex rules to make ends meet, and managed service providers (MSPs) just roll their eyes. IBM apparently has taken notice of the problem, and the Power Systems team is working on some kind of fix, IT Jungle has learned.
Ordinarily it wouldn’t be news that IBM is working on a new licensing scheme. After all, Big