New IBM z14 Capabilities Make it Easy to Get Started in the Cloud
November 1, 2017
July’s IBM z14* announcement features technology to make cloud computing easier for IBM Z* organizations. With a strong focus on pervasive encryption—where organizations can encrypt data associated with an entire application, cloud service or database in flight or at rest (ibm.co/2fzkphp)—encrypted APIs, a new pricing model, blockchain services and more, clients can feel safer about […]
ArticlesIBM Z Offerings Help Clients Take Advantage of the Cloud
November 1, 2017
The cloud was once considered simply part of the computing stack—an extension of the data center that hosted non-critical applications and data sets seemingly in the air. Now for many organizations, however, it’s become an essential part of operations, allowing them to more quickly deploy new technologies and nimbly respond to changing market forces. As […]
ArticlesSteven Morales
November 1, 2017
Name: Steven Morales Title: RPGLE programmer Company Name: P.C. Richard and Son Company’s Function: Retail HQ: Farmingdale, New York Years in IT: 21 The biggest challenge our data center is facing today is modernization without losing legacy systems that have proven reliability. My favorite activity outside of work is kayaking. The next big thing […]
ArticlesEco-Friendly IT Infrastructure
November 1, 2017
We live and work in a changing world—one of technological marvels that just a few short years ago would have seemed akin to magic and one whose climate is being vastly altered by our use and abuse of the Earth’s resources. A heating planet has been a call to arms for those of us who […]
ArticlesDeep Thinking in IBM Rochester With Watson Analytics
October 27, 2017
Charles Guarino reflects on the IBM i Driveway to Watson event.
ArticlesHow to Create an IT Offering
October 23, 2017
This is the fourth post in a series about things they never taught me in school. Attending classes, I never learned how to create an IT offering. In fact, I never heard of an IT offering until I was 20 years into my IT career. At that time, elements like professional or support services were […]
ArticlesThe Art and Science of Performance: Firmware, History and More
October 18, 2017
Performance tuning is the greatest art in computer management. How to get peak performance out of your existing AIX systems. Part 1 of 4.
ArticlesHow to Automate an Entire Software System
October 16, 2017
I studied to be a computer application developer. My interests were halfway between business and computers, so developing applications were a pretty good fit. Besides, I didn’t know anything about the system side of things—OSes, middleware software, job entry subsystems and system software installation—basically the tasks and concerns of the system programmers. After five years […]
ArticlesJim Michael Embraces Opportunities Throughout Career
October 16, 2017
Reg Harbeck: Hello. I'm here today, this is Reg Harbeck, with Jim Michael. I like to call him the best president SHARE never had because he was with SHARE as their vice-president and everybody expected to become the SHARE president, but then he had a change at his employer that meant that he was no […]
ArticlesOther Things They Didn’t Teach Me in School: Pseudo-Conversational Programming
October 9, 2017
I spent three months studying COBOL, wrote eight challenging batch programs, and then took my first assignment, which involved writing online transactions that I learned nothing about before taking the assignment. Since I had no training in real-time programming (i.e., online transaction processing (OLTP) applications, I needed some tutoring by the analyst assigned to be […]
ArticlesIBM Researchers Hope to Use Macroscopes to Answer Big Questions About the World
October 9, 2017
Microscopes have advanced so far since their inception, they may soon be able to see the small scale in almost infinite detail. But the large scale? It seems much easier to visualize—look up at the sky—but when big, complex data gets thrown into the mix, that may not be the case. The sky is blue, […]
ArticlesManfred Sielhorst
October 9, 2017
Name: Manfred Sielhorst Title: CEO Company Name: Sielhorst iT Beratung Company’s Function: Consulting on technology integration HQ: Darmstadt, Germany Years in IT: 28 If I weren’t in IT, I would not work. The trend affecting my work is math, real programming languages and standards such as Algol, Lisp, C, RPG, Java*, SQL, XML and LaTeX. […]
ArticlesThe Future of IT
October 5, 2017
My grandmother never learned to drive. She was born around the time Henry Ford invented the production line and began rolling out Model Ts in vast numbers. Those cars were shipped to every corner of the world and quite a few made it to our shores here in New Zealand. Ours were painted black, too. […]
ArticlesAnnouncing IBM i 7.3 TR3 and IBM i 7.2 TR7
October 3, 2017
IBM announces the latest Technology Refreshes for our two most current releases: IBM i 7.3 TR3 and IBM i 7.2 TR7.
ArticlesThings They Didn’t Teach Me in School: Polyglot
October 2, 2017
Over the years, you’ve probably spent a lot of time reading and studying computer topics. I have attended many classes and even taught a few and never came across the topics of polyglot persistence and programming. If somebody taught me about polyglot anything, I am sure that I would have remembered it. These are topics, […]
ArticlesUse z/OS Resources and Tools for Data Protection
October 2, 2017
The IBM z/OS* platform, with its unmatched reliability, availability and serviceability, outstanding I/O bandwidth and secure environment, provides an excellent platform for data protection. This is especially true if that client data already is on the mainframe, as the features of this hardware and software platform promote reliable and scalable data protection. If your organization […]
ArticlesRocket President Encourages Employee Collaboration With House Band
October 1, 2017
Andy Youniss has been drawn to music for as long as he can remember. Both his parents played guitar, and the president and CEO of Rocket Software would ask them to teach it to him. When he was in second grade, his dad taught him three chords, and he’s been playing the instrument since. Two […]
ArticlesFuture of Testing
September 25, 2017
This is the last post in this series on enterprise testing. The focus has been on both system and application programmers in an enterprise systems setting. The first post described enterprise testing and explained the many challenges that programmers experienced 40 years ago in deploying defect free software. The next two posts discussed system programmers […]
ArticlesPromoting IBM i—TCO, TCA, Reliability and Strategy
September 20, 2017
How to promote the value of IBM i through TCO, TCA, reliability and strategy.
ArticlesEvil Twins: 10 Network Tunables Every Admin Must Understand
September 20, 2017
Setting network tunables incorrectly on AIX systems is a very common problem. Nearly every tunable, be it CPU, memory, networking or storage, affects others to some degree.
ArticlesFocus on Application Testing
September 18, 2017
This is the third post in this series on system and application testing on enterprise systems. In this post, I discuss the daunting job of being a mainframe application programmer and how he or she goes about testing. The testing scope can cover everything from deployment of a new release of ISV software to a […]
ArticlesTroy Crutcher Helps the Next Generation Master the Mainframe
September 18, 2017
Reg Harbeck talks with Troy Crutcher about the next generation of mainframers, the Master the Mainframe program and other opportunities available for learning and playing on the platform. Listen to the interview via the orange play button or read the transcript below. Reg Harbeck: Hello, this is Reg Harbeck and today I’m here with Troy […]
ArticlesIBM Research Is Working to Improve Mental Health Diagnoses
September 18, 2017
Imagine being able to predict the onset of a mental health condition before it hits. Or receive a diagnosis at home instead of a psychiatrist’s office. Or being able to adjust your medications based on patterns in your speech when you casually talk with family and friends. Within the next five years, you may not […]
ArticlesChamara Withanachchi
September 18, 2017
Name: Chamara Withanachchi Title: Head of IT Company Name: Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka & Finance PLC Company’s Function: Banking and finance HQ: Colombo, Sri Lanka Years in IT: 16 The biggest challenge our data center is facing today is never-ending changes and upgrades in systems. The next big thing for our business will […]
ArticlesAn RPGers First Steps with JSON: Consuming JSON data with YAJL
September 12, 2017
How to use the YAJL library to consume a JSON document and extract the data for use by an RPG program. Part 2 of 2.