Deep Thoughts with Richard Schoen

Check out Bob Cozzi’s iSeries TV site for a Podcast done at the 19th Annual Omni Technical Conference in Chicago. This month, Bob Cozzi previews the WDSC 7 announcement. Then he visits the 19th Annual OMNI User Tech Conference–the oldest and largest Chicagoland User Group. Includes interviews with Joe Pluta from Pluta Brothers, David Gibbs from Midrange.com, Help Systems and Derek Nordaune of RJS Software Systems.  There’s also some footage from Randall Munson’s RJS sponsored presentation entitled: Discover the Magic of System i.

I found myself needing to use some Javascript this week and learned that my Javascripting skills were a little rusty.  During my travels on the web I found the following site that had some nice techniques.  Bookmark Javascripter.net as a Javascripting resource.�

Well, we completed our first round of .Net for iSeries Developers training after our initial class in Minneapolis and the second class in Phoenix wrapped up this week. It was fun to see our class attendees open their eyes to the new world of .Net programming and how .Net can be used to enhance their existing iSeries application code without re-writing existing iSeries business logic. Almost every customer we talk to is doing something or has plans to do something with .Net technology. As iSeries developers, learning .Net technology can make us much more valuable by having RPG skills, .Net skills and business analysis skills. Whether you learn .Net from RJS and High Monkey or on your own, make sure you take a look at how this technology can help you organization bring existing iSeries applications to the desktop or web without using the green screen.

I just spent my first day using the new Websphere Development Studio Client V7.0. The product was released this week and we promptly downloaded and installed it for testing. My biggest beef against using WDSC previously was the startup time of the development environment.  I would start the environment and walk away for 20 minutes while it started up.  The new environment is based on Eclipse 3.2 so the startup time has been dramatically improved. If you’re an iSeries RPG or Java developer you simply have to make the move to this new version as soon as possible.  I just may have to give up SEU in the near future.  Well…….maybe

OK, I don’t usually hang out at sites such as youtube, but……. I was down at my inlaws a few weeks back and was reading the local Madison, WI newspaper and it talked about a local film producer doing a series of shorts on Chad Vader.  If you grew up in the Star Wars generation as I did, you will probably find these funny.  If not, feel free to not watch Chad Vader.

If you’re interested in learning more about .Net and the iSeries, think about attending the RJS - High Monkey sponsored .Net class in Mpls on March 14-16 or in Phoenix Arizona on March 21-23.  Click here to view more info on the 3-day intensive hands on class.

If you’re interested in hearing more about how .Net can be used to modernize iSeries applications, check out the following Podcast at iSeries Network.  Virgill Carroll talks with Wayne Madden about why .Net is relevent to all iSeries shops.