Deep Thoughts with Richard Schoen

IBM’s announcement of the System i blades is probably one of the most compelling statements by IBM that the System i landscape is changing and I believe it’s for the better. 

First and foremost this is an improvement on the scenario we have used for the past ten years on the iSeries with the integrated xServer cards.  They have always been one step behind current technology and have been seen as a second class way of deploying Windows on the iSeries.  However I’ve used the integrated server cards for years and found them to be very stable.

From a practical perspective the new Blade cards will allow shops such as RJS to truly consolidate their iSeries, Windows, Linux or AIX environments all together in a shared chassis with shared disk and less cables.  RJS is planning to implement one of the Blade Centers internally to consolidate our own server sprawl. I’ll post updates as we move forward.

Some say this is the end of the System i.  I say it’s just the beginning of a new way of life where our System i servers live harmonious with all of the other servers in our shops. Only time will tell for sure. Goodbye to cable and server sprawl.

I can’t say I agree with the new name change to “i”, but read about the cool new Blade Server technology here at the IBM i web site.

I recently wrote an article for IBM Systems magazine that is the start of a series on using .Net with the AS/400, iSeries , System i or whatever you may call it today. This first article is an introduction to using .Net with the System i platform and will hopefully stimulate your interest in using the .Net technology with your System i to write compelling Windows and Web based applications. Click here to read the article. Your career depends on staying up with current technologies and .Net is a powerful technology for writing System i applications.

On August 2nd I did an online interview to talk about the “Paperless Office” with Bruce Teichman from All Covered a nationwide information technology (IT) services company focused solely on unique needs of small business. Bruce Teichman hosts a weekly radio show, “Technology Means Business”. The show streams live on the Internet at www.radiosandysprings.com each Thursday at 10 am.  Give it a listen to learn more about how document management technology can help companies achieve the concept of the “paperless office”.

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.

Last year in one of my posts I discussed the possibility of getting Carpal Thumb from a Blackberry device. I read yesterday that this phenomenon has been formally named “Blackberry Thumb”. If you don’t believe me, read more. http://www.webmd.com/content/Article/99/105403.htm?pagenumber=1

Once again it’s been a while since I’ve updated the blog site. It’s been a busy year so far, but that’s no excuse to neglect sharing my life observations.

Just the other day I read an article on blogging and it said blog or die. Basically it said if you have something to say, then say it, otherwise don’t bother having a blog site.

My pledge to you the few that have actually read my blog site is to start updating the blog site at least weekly with a tip or bit of information that I have found to be useful from the web.

If you have any topics you would like me to speak to or comment about online, shoot me an email at: richard@rjssoftware.com

Apparently even this new medium of communication is not free of its share of issues. I have been seeing comments lately being posted on the site that are not relevent to anything other than advertising. It looks like the Spammers have invaded Blogspot. To be sure, if this site is to remain open to free, anonymous posting then there will be some spamming on the site. I just thought until recently that spam was limited to email and adware popups that were getting installed on our computers because of the Internet Explorer special features It looks like open blogs are now a target as well. I would consider closing the site to anonymous posting, but I don’t think that’s the right answer. I just wanted to comment on the sad and irritating methods some people will go to when they want traffic to their web sites. On the up side of that comment, we’ve been getting a lot of visitors t the site. Let me know your thoughts.

OK, we’ve been doing cross platform Java development for just over a year now. I can still recall the moment I finally gave in to the dark side. Although in my case Darth Vader isn’t my father.

Along the way we’ve discovered a new tool called Grasshopper from a company called MainSoft. Yes I know it sounds wierd, but this tool is an add-in for Microsoft Visual Studio that utilizes the open source .Net Common Language Runtime project called MONO.

So what ? What does this tool really do for me as a Microsoft or Sun Java software developer ? Basically this tool lets our developers ride the fence in between the Microsoft, IBM and Sun worlds and allows us to maximize on our skills as Microsoft, IBM and Sun developers.

Let me explain. Our company background is AS/400 and iSeries so naturally we have applications that still run on the iSeries to support. We also have several VB programs along with developers who know VB well. Thirdly we have developers who are developing cross platform code in Java for the portability.

Using a tool like Grasshopper allows us to utilize our existing VB and C# skills to generate web applications using the Microsoft .Net languages and philosophies, yet the compiled executables can run on iSeries, Windows, Unix or Linux by simply installing and using the Apache Tomcat Web Application server.

This approach is limited to web applications and web services, but a lot of what we’re doing today involves web applications and web services. Imagine an aspx web application running natively on the iSeries under Tomcat. Believe me it works and it’s cool stuff.

Tell me your experiences after trying the Grasshopper product. Have fun and go develop cross platform.

I know it’s been a while since I’ve updated my blog site. Life has been a bit crazy during the last few months.

Since it’s a very timely topic and I’ve been seeing and reading a lot on the New Orleans flood lately I thought I would add my thoughts to this site to spur some discussion on the topic.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t help feeling that our government is somewhat inept after the glaring lack of leadership that was shown after the flood happened last week in New Orleans. I don’t know if this is true but I have read estimates of up to 10,000+ more people will die or be found dead by the time the New Orleans ordeal is over. Who would have thought that our nation would be facing its largest natural disaster ever prior to last week.

I recall thinking after the flood happened that the government agencies would be air dropping food or moving in to help the people of New Orleans, but as we all know, this will go down as a tragedy worse than 9-11 because of the simple inability to deliver food, water and medicine to the American people in New Orleans. Simply unacceptable and I think GW should be held personally responsible for not insuring that these people were being taken care of. He was front and center on 9-11 after his initial shock wore off (Anybody see Michael Moores Fahrenheit 911 ?)

Having attended two COMMON conventions in New Orleans (once at the Superdome and once at the convention center) I feel I have some connection with the city. I was actually looking forward to visiting New Orleans again in Spring 2006 for another COMMON experience, however my guess is that this will not happen. Stranger things have happened but I don’t foresee the City of New Orleans being put back together and in strong working order for some time to come. I will cherish my memories of eating on a leaning balcony over Bourbon Street, playing blackjack at Harrahs, eating deep fried alligator and riding the street cars throughout the city. I’m hoping New Orleans can recover from this ordeal. Only time will tell.

Tell me your thoughts.

I was having a discussion this morning regarding which laptop was better: Dell, Toshiba or IBM. Because I have been using an IBM Thinkpad for the past 6 years, I’m sure you can guess my answer. Part of the reason I like Thinkpads is that they are built like tanks. I also like the fact that IBM has seen fit to keep the little red joystick in the middle of the keyboard for all these years. Toshiba did away with this feature several years ago and promptly lost my future business. The little red joystick thingie has become quite useful when sitting in a coffee shop, airport or when jammed in between passengers on a crowded airplane. Each time I have upgraded my Thinkpad to a new model, the insides have changed. The outsides have changed a little too, but the good old Thinkpad keyboard allows me to become proficient almost immediately when faced with a new laptop. Thinkpads are usually more expensive than some of the retail brands, but worth every penny in my opinion. Now that Lenovo has taken over the reigns, I am hoping the Thinkpad product line will remain the close friend that it’s always been. So far the trend looks promising. If you’re in the market for a tablet PC or a nice small laptop, take a look at the Lenovo web site and check out the Thinkpad X41 model. It’s a little small for my taste, but it shows they are moving in the right direction…..so far. Long live the Thinkpad.