http://www.mcpressonline.com/forum/blog.php?118960-Chris-Smith-s-Back-Page-News MC Press Online Forums en Tue, 21 May 2013 15:28:07 GMT vBulletin 1 http://www.mcpressonline.com/forum/images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.mcpressonline.com/forum/blog.php?118960-Chris-Smith-s-Back-Page-News http://www.mcpressonline.com/forum/entry.php?75-Maxava-Appoints-New-Sales-Management-in-Europe Wed, 20 Jun 2012 19:13:35 GMT Maxava has announced the appointment of two new senior sales executives to strengthen its European team. Anders Winther has joined Maxava as... Maxava has announced the appointment of two new senior sales executives to strengthen its European team.

Anders Winther has joined Maxava as senior director EMEA Sales. He brings broad experience to his role, having previously held regional roles with IBM in Europe and has more than 10 years as a senior manager and director with IBM Denmark. His prior employment also includes sales and management roles with solutions providers Merkantildata A/S and Vision Solutions.

Gerben Meeuwes joins Maxava as director of Sales-EMEA. He has a strong background in business continuity solutions, IBM Power, and IBM Storage Systems as well as business process monitoring. He spent more than eight years in sales management roles with IBM Netherlands and several years working with IBM Business Partners there.

“Our global growth strategy includes ensuring we have the right sales leadership in every market and adding Anders and Gerben to our European team, alongside our existing technical team, further cements our commitment to providing our partners and customers with a seamless experience” said Andrew Mansfield, vice president-Global Sales, Maxava.

"Adding high caliber locally-based leadership is central to our plan to develop deeper connections to both the IBM partner community and our existing and growing prospective customer base in Europe,” said Alan Campbell, Maxava CEO. ]]> C.Smith http://www.mcpressonline.com/forum/entry.php?75-Maxava-Appoints-New-Sales-Management-in-Europe http://www.mcpressonline.com/forum/entry.php?74-Patrick-Townsend-Addresses-Security-Questions-on-What-Happened-at-LinkedIn Fri, 15 Jun 2012 16:52:38 GMT Security expert Patrick Townsend has created a podcast discussing the recent security breach at LinkedIn that includes recommendations for system and... Security expert Patrick Townsend has created a podcast discussing the recent security breach at LinkedIn that includes recommendations for system and security administrators on how to avoid such a breach at your organization. Among Townsend's recommendations are the following:
1. Use industry-standard, strong hash methods
2. Use NIST-certified hash software libraries
3. Always use Salt with your hash
4. Use a strong Salt value
5. Protect the Salt value

To download Townsend's podcast, visit http://tinyurl.com/PTPodcast66 ]]> C.Smith http://www.mcpressonline.com/forum/entry.php?74-Patrick-Townsend-Addresses-Security-Questions-on-What-Happened-at-LinkedIn http://www.mcpressonline.com/forum/entry.php?71-iFoundation-Grants-from-Maxava-Attract-User-Groups Thu, 22 Sep 2011 22:36:43 GMT More than 20 IBM i user groups and educational organizations applied for and received grants from Maxava's iFoundation designed to promote all things IBM i, according to Allan Campbell, CEO of Maxava.

The company announced last spring that it was taking applications for grants from organizations whose mission was to support IBM i users. It said it had set aside $50,000 to support the effort, which was intended to stimulate grass-roots interest in the platform.

"The user group infrastructure was already in place, and we therefore thought that was a good place to make this kind of investment," Campbell told MC Press Online.

He said the $2000 grants were awarded to organizations from North Amereica, Europe, and South Afraica, with the funds going toward such things as training and speaker fees.

"A lot of people have been talking about ways to promote the IBM i platform, but we felt that helping those who are actually donating their time to support the users of the platform was a good way to go" said Campbell.

He said the company will evaluate how well the groups spend the grant money in deciding whether to make the grants available again next year, but so far, all signs are positive. ]]> C.Smith http://www.mcpressonline.com/forum/entry.php?71-iFoundation-Grants-from-Maxava-Attract-User-Groups http://www.mcpressonline.com/forum/entry.php?56-Frank-Soltis-to-Speak-at-iManifest-EMEA-Webinar-April-12 Fri, 25 Mar 2011 19:10:08 GMT Discussions to create a cohesive message surrounding the fact that the IBM i platform is not only alive and well but on track to grow and prosper... Discussions to create a cohesive message surrounding the fact that the IBM i platform is not only alive and well but on track to grow and prosper will be the subject of an April 12 webinar sponsored by iManifest EMEA.

Dr. Frank Soltis, founder of the AS/400 and pioneer of many IBM technologies, will be the featured speaker. Other as yet unnamed industry leaders will also participate.

This is the first webinar for iManifest EMEA and a sign the organization is re-gathering momentum in its quest to help support marketing efforts of the i platform. iManifest Americas, as it is now called, has held several webinars since Jenniefer Halverson, marketing director at S4i Systems, has stepped up to lend a hand. The group held one webinar today specifically designed for ISVs and product developers.

To register for the April 12 iManifest EMEA webinar and listen to Dr. Frank, click herehttp://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/536384568 ]]> C.Smith http://www.mcpressonline.com/forum/entry.php?56-Frank-Soltis-to-Speak-at-iManifest-EMEA-Webinar-April-12 http://www.mcpressonline.com/forum/entry.php?49-iScan-from-inFORM-Decisions-Was-Designed-to-Help-Save-Companies-Money Mon, 23 Aug 2010 22:14:20 GMT inFORM Decisions reportedly is generating a buzz among its clients with its latest product, iScan, a highly affordable document scanning solution for... inFORM Decisions reportedly is generating a buzz among its clients with its latest product, iScan, a highly affordable document scanning solution for small businesses.

iScan is unique in that it is being marketed to SMBs at a comparatively low price. The solution starts at $4,800, a sharp step off competing products that cost about $20,000, making inFORM Decisions among the few—or perhaps the first—to OEM a low-end scanning module for IBM i, says Dan Forster, president of inFORM Decisions.

“I think what makes this really slick right now is the price point,” says Forster. “The competition's products are $30,000, $40,000, and $50,000 on up—and one is even in the $100,000 range—really high-end stuff. We just do the basics: We scan the document in, give you the ability to read the data, set up folders and files, and you can store documents and retrieve them. That’s really the message we're taking to our customers. We say this is an affordable solution, you should take a look at it, and if it meets your needs—you’re going to save a lot of money!”

The company had a product it called iScan previously, but it didn't have a high-speed scanning engine. iScan's new high-volume engine allows for high-speed scanning and is designed to be a front-end solution to iView, inFORM's document archive and retrieval solution. iScan integrates with iView to make electronic documents available immediately to selected authorized users anywhere in the world. With the two products working side-by-side, companies can ensure quick, secure access to documents while dramatically lowering storage and mailing costs.

“Everything we’ve done historically has been what we call 'output'—documents that are already going out we can store as long as they are digitally born," says Forster. "Now we have this front-end piece, so customers can take a pile of paper and scan it in, and bring everything into our iView archive and retrieval system.”

While iScan can be used as a stand-alone product, most users will prefer to connect it to a back-end document management and routing solution, whether iView or someone else's existing solution, says Forster.

iScan can be installed and configured in a matter of minutes thus avoiding serious downtime. For more information, read inFORM's press release on iScan here. ]]> C.Smith http://www.mcpressonline.com/forum/entry.php?49-iScan-from-inFORM-Decisions-Was-Designed-to-Help-Save-Companies-Money http://www.mcpressonline.com/forum/entry.php?47-Which-HA-Providers-Always-Play-by-the-Rules Thu, 10 Jun 2010 01:18:06 GMT It was only a matter of time, I suppose, until the wrestling match between Maximum Availability and Vision Solutions, the leading high availability... It was only a matter of time, I suppose, until the wrestling match between Maximum Availability and Vision Solutions, the leading high availability solutions providers in the Power Systems market, spilled outside of the ring.

Yes, the two are in court it seems, with Maximum Availability accusing Vision of false advertising. Maxava says Vision distributed literature claiming that its competitor doesn't provide 24/7 global customer support—which it does—and also that a large number of customers (over 80) previously belonging to Maximum Availability had switched to Vision. The claims by Vision are false, says Maximum Availability, and convinced the U.S. District Court in California to issue a preliminary order requiring Vision Solutions to stop distributing its "comparative marketing" materials and for it to set the record straight with customers and business partners that the information was misleading.

Vision Solutions replied that the court injunction is "preliminary," said they are of the opinion the suit is "without merit," and that the company otherwise isn't at liberty to comment on pending litigation. ]]> C.Smith http://www.mcpressonline.com/forum/entry.php?47-Which-HA-Providers-Always-Play-by-the-Rules http://www.mcpressonline.com/forum/entry.php?30-Galloping-Migration-onto-Power Tue, 27 Apr 2010 04:00:00 GMT IBM will announce on Wednesday that the first quarter was good to the Systems and Technology Group. Migrations from Sun and HP to IBM systems and... IBM will announce on Wednesday that the first quarter was good to the Systems and Technology Group. Migrations from Sun and HP to IBM systems and storage galloped along at a pace even faster than in previous quarters. More than 200 customers moved critical business workloads to IBM from the other leading vendors. This makes nearly 2,700 companies who have migrated to IBM in the past four years, most from Sun and HP. IBM attributes part of its success to the company's world-class Migration Factory that helps make moving to IBM platforms a much smoother transition. In addition to the 171 customers who moved to Power, the company had gains on each of its other hardware platforms during the first quarter. System x had 21 migrations from other vendors, System z 16, and Storage 27--all from either HP or Sun. ]]> C.Smith http://www.mcpressonline.com/forum/entry.php?30-Galloping-Migration-onto-Power http://www.mcpressonline.com/forum/entry.php?29-RPG-Open-Access-Stirs-Debate Tue, 27 Apr 2010 02:54:08 GMT While looksoftware and Profound Logic move forward with plans to utilize RPG Open Access features announced in conjunction with IBM i 7.1, BCD and... While looksoftware and Profound Logic move forward with plans to utilize RPG Open Access features announced in conjunction with IBM i 7.1, BCD and LANSA say it's old technology.

"I think it's important to recognize that the world has moved on," says Steve Gapp, LANSA president. "Ten years ago, it (RPG Open Access) would have been more relevant," says Gapp. "The definition of a Web application 10 years ago is totally different from today...we've gone to Web 2.0, AJAX, JSON.... vendors like BCD and LANSA...are working on...rich-Internet applications...we have a whole new level of richness at the client. We have Silverlight--we have all this stuff coming down the pipe. That's the gold standard now. We need to have tools that RPG developers can use without learning any other of these complex skills to build the next generation of Web applications. So this (RPG Open Access) is just so far short of the mark as to be potentially insulting."

"Other solutions today are so much better," says Eric Figura, director of Marketing at BCD. "RPG Open Access is not like closing the barn door after the horse leaves." It's so outdated, he says, "it's like the horse forgot he was ever in the barn," quips Figura.

Undoubtedly the value of RPG Open Access and the concept of handlers, and what developers can do with them, will be one of the hot topics discussed at COMMON next week.:rolleyes: ]]> C.Smith http://www.mcpressonline.com/forum/entry.php?29-RPG-Open-Access-Stirs-Debate http://www.mcpressonline.com/forum/entry.php?26-High-Higher-Now-Highest-Speed-Internet Tue, 16 Mar 2010 23:48:44 GMT In 1979, Time Warner created the first two-way interactive cable system--QUBE. Developed in Columbus, Ohio, QUBE was a darling of the media because... In 1979, Time Warner created the first two-way interactive cable system--QUBE. Developed in Columbus, Ohio, QUBE was a darling of the media because it offered viewers the ability to vote and answer questions via the system’s polling technology. QUBE eventually led to the development of Nickelodeon and MTV.

Below is an interesting note from the city of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.—or Rancho Googlemonga, as it would like to be soon called—urging its citizens to join in a massive lobbying campaign to nominate their city as a Google beta site for its proposed high-speed fiber network. Speed dating anyone? Heck with Rancho, what about your town?
C. S.
___________________________

"The City of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., has launched a “Rancho Googlemonga” campaign, a community-wide effort to bring Google’s Fiber for Communities project to the Southern California city of 177,000.

"Google. recently announced its intentions to initiate an experiment that it hopes will make Internet access faster, and perhaps better, for everyone. The company plans to test ultra-high-speed broadband networks in one or several trial locations throughout the U.S. The networks will deliver Internet speeds more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today—over a gigabyte per second fiber-to-home connections.

"Currently, Google is soliciting RFIs from communities interested in being considered as potential candidates. Rancho Cucamonga has begun the RFI process and intends to submit its package prior to Google’s deadline.

"In addition to Google’s request that municipalities provide information about their communities including demographic and geographic data, infrastructure assets and related information, the company is also soliciting feedback from community stakeholders — residents, business owners and their employees, representatives of community organizations, etc.

"Through its 'Rancho Googlemonga' campaign, the city will take a multimedia approach to encourage all community stakeholders to submit a nomination form on behalf of Rancho Cucamonga. The city will utilize multiple media platforms to accomplish this task in hopes of generating thousands of online submittals to the Google website. In addition to traditional media outlets, the city will also tap into its electronic resources including city and redevelopment agency websites, email blasts, electronic newsletters, social media sites, and digital displays.

"Even though it is anticipated there will be numerous cities competing for a slice of the Fiber for Communities pie (which may ultimately be only one slice), Rancho Cucamonga officials are confident that the city has as good a chance as any to convince Google that Rancho Cucamonga should be the community selected to launch its fiber network.

"'We have a very enthusiastic and engaging group of citizens when it comes to innovation and technology,' says Rancho Cucamonga Mayor Donald Kurth. 'That’s why Google’s Fiber for Communities effort is the right project at the right time for the right community, and we believe that community is Rancho Cucamonga.'

"With the help of its residents, thousands of business professionals and representatives of local community organizations communicating the same message, it could certainly bring more awareness of the city’s desire to bring Google’s project to Rancho Cucamonga.

"Rancho Cucamonga residents, business owners, employees, community organization members and anyone else who lives or works in the community can nominate the city through a special Web page that has been posted on the Rancho Cucamonga Redevelopment Agency website at: www.RCRDA.us/Google

"The Web page provides information, instructions and direct access for submitting a nomination form to Google, and the city is encouraging the entire community to take part in the effort. The deadline for submitting nominations is March 26, 2010, unless Google chooses to close the nomination period early." ]]> C.Smith http://www.mcpressonline.com/forum/entry.php?26-High-Higher-Now-Highest-Speed-Internet http://www.mcpressonline.com/forum/entry.php?24-Free-Help-Desk-Software Thu, 25 Feb 2010 23:08:17 GMT There is a reason the IBM Power platform is incorporating three separate operating systems today--it lets you run so much more software! Here is a... There is a reason the IBM Power platform is incorporating three separate operating systems today--it lets you run so much more software!

Here is a free download of help-desk software that runs on Linux that any company with 100 computers or less can effectively deploy without charge--no trial period and no ads, according to the company (if you have more than 100, you may wish to get the full, paid edition of SysAid Help Desk).

SysAid Technologies (www.sysaid.com) is an Israel-based company that offers helpdesk software solutions and customer service support software. In April (28-30) it will host the first SysAid Technology Conference at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas with a keynote address from nine-time gold medal Olympic champion Carl Lewis, and a CIO panel on the future of IT led by John Dix, editor in chief of Network World.

The company recently released a new version of SysAid Free Help Desk Software that includes:

• A self-service portal so users can submit service requests through simple online forms
• Sort, search, and address service requests with SysAid's simple methodology
• Print help-desk status reports
• Communicate with users through live-chat
• Receive automatic notifications and keep users up to date with email or text message
• Use features such as escalation, automatic notification, and knowledgebase
• Manage and monitor your IT inventory
• Get free support and updates for six months

Download Linux version (http://www.ilient.com/download-linux.htm) 57.2 MB.

Download the Windows version (http://www.ilient.com/download.htm) 82 MB.

According to the company, SysAid's flagship product, SysAid IT, is now deployed by more than 60,000 companies and organizations in 127 countries across the globe. Could be worth a try. ]]> C.Smith http://www.mcpressonline.com/forum/entry.php?24-Free-Help-Desk-Software http://www.mcpressonline.com/forum/entry.php?17-Quadrant-Software-Linoma-Software-BCD-Join-iManifest Fri, 31 Dec 1999 00:00:00 GMT In addition to Linoma Software and BCD (see my interview with Eric Figura... In addition to Linoma Software and BCD (see my interview with Eric Figura (http://www.mcpressonline.com/analysi...-from-bcd.html) who joined iManifest within the past two weeks, Quadrant Software has thrown its hat into the iManifest ring.

"Throughout our history, Quadrant Software has demonstrated its commitment to the IBM i platform by participating in associations devoted to the community, by helping organize events and initiatives that promote the use of the platform," says Gary Langton, co-founder and CEO. The company's continued development of solutions on the IBM i platform to help companies remain and become more efficient has been a Quadrant mainstay.

"The iManifest initiative is in line with our long term goal of continued development and commitment to our customers and the IBM i marketplace; we are proud to support it," says Langton.

He adds that the company's 3,500 customers will begin seeing regular communication from the company about iManifest in order to rally support.

"It is only logical that as companies like Quadrant Software join the iManifest group, their customers and business partners start paying attention to the movement as well and participate with financial and word-of-mouth support. That's what we are after, and we are leading by example," he says.

The company says it has pledged "significant" financial support to iManifest. ]]> C.Smith http://www.mcpressonline.com/forum/entry.php?17-Quadrant-Software-Linoma-Software-BCD-Join-iManifest http://www.mcpressonline.com/forum/entry.php?16-Frank-Soltis-Joins-iManifest-Movement Fri, 31 Dec 1999 00:00:00 GMT Dr. Frank Soltis has agreed to join the iManifest board of directors, according to Jeff Olen, Olen Business Consulting, who is heading up the... Dr. Frank Soltis has agreed to join the iManifest board of directors, according to Jeff Olen, Olen Business Consulting, who is heading up the iManifest U.S. initiative.

"As iManifest builds its membership of IBM ISVs, vendors, and users worldwide, one of the things we have looked for is someone who can serve as a rallying point for the entire community," says Olen. "From the beginning, Dr. Soltis was our ideal candidate; there is no one who could fulfill that role better," says Olen.

Soltis says that he has been a supporter of iManifest since its inception in Japan adding, "I believe in the objectives that they are working toward. So when the iManifest team in the U.S. invited me to join the board, it was a good fit. I look forward to continuing to work with the iManifest groups worldwide." ]]> C.Smith http://www.mcpressonline.com/forum/entry.php?16-Frank-Soltis-Joins-iManifest-Movement http://www.mcpressonline.com/forum/entry.php?10-iManifest-Picks-Up-Steam-with-ProData-Support Fri, 31 Dec 1999 00:00:00 GMT ProData's Allen Hartley, a longtime supporter of all things i, has thrown his weight--and financial resources--behind both the U.S. and EMEA iManifest initiatives.

"We appreciate the efforts of the System i community to continue to build the ecosystem and tout the values of the midrange system to the entire business world," said Hartley. He said ProData will contribute financial support to both the U.S. and EMEA iManifest organizations and will promote the initiative both within ProData and across the company's large customer base.

ProData's DBU database utility and the company's other products are in widespread use in IBM midrange shops throughout the world and have been for nearly 30 years.

Hartley noted that iManifest supporters now have groups set up on LinkedIn and said that he would be joining them too in order to keep up on the latest activities. ]]> C.Smith http://www.mcpressonline.com/forum/entry.php?10-iManifest-Picks-Up-Steam-with-ProData-Support http://www.mcpressonline.com/forum/entry.php?5-After-Hours-Today-August-18-2009 Fri, 31 Dec 1999 00:00:00 GMT For those of you who live in the Miami, Fla., or Orange County, Calif., areas, you have an excuse to stay out late this evening. Drop by the WITI... For those of you who live in the Miami, Fla., or Orange County, Calif., areas, you have an excuse to stay out late this evening. Drop by the WITI panel discussion on security and PCI compliance in Miami or the OCEAN User Group monthly meeting in Costa Mesa, Calif.

Our friend Gary Palgon from nuBridges will join Silka Gonzalez, a risk management expert, and Michael Freer, the Tyco Safety Products director of enabling technologies, in the Miami panel discusion focusing on the costs and benefits of PCI and DSS security standards. The security and compliance sector is slated to become a $10 billion industry by 2013, so this event could be a good opportunity to network and become better acquainted with the issues. Registration begins at 5:30 p.m. at Assurant Solutions, 11222 Qual Roost Drive (see the MC Press Events Calendar for more information and to register).

Bob Langieri and Carole Comeau, both of whom have their fingers on the pulse of the IT job market in Southern California, will give a presentation at the OCEAN User Group meeting tonight and will share their views on today's job market, what employers are looking for, and what's happening with outsourcing. A special presentation by Jorge Sanguinetti of Perot Systems-at-Apria on Web services concepts for beginners will preceed their talk. The nice thing about OCEAN meetings is you always get to eat, and tonight it's free. Dinner and networking begin at 6:00 p.m. at the IBM-FileNet building, 3545 Harbor Blvd., Costa Mesa. See the listing in the MC Press Events Calendar or register online at www.ocean400.org. ]]> C.Smith http://www.mcpressonline.com/forum/entry.php?5-After-Hours-Today-August-18-2009 http://www.mcpressonline.com/forum/entry.php?4-Will-moving-to-VOIP-require-that-you-upgrade-your-system Fri, 31 Dec 1999 00:00:00 GMT There are a number of issues to consider before implementing an IP telephony system. Whether or not you upgrade your sever--or buy a separate... There are a number of issues to consider before implementing an IP telephony system. Whether or not you upgrade your sever--or buy a separate appliance--you likely will have to upgrade your network before implementing a VOIP solution. See story (published 7/13/09) in iTechnology Manager and on the MC Press Online home page. ]]> C.Smith http://www.mcpressonline.com/forum/entry.php?4-Will-moving-to-VOIP-require-that-you-upgrade-your-system