President's Message from Don Rima

Greetings ! Good people, good presenter, good place, good pasta...what more could I have asked for at this past meeting? Again, many thanks to Steve Drew for weathering his cold (and his birthday!) and bringing in the latest and greatest on where the AS/400 is going. If you wish to mull through the announcement letters, they can be found at http://www.ibmlink.ibm.com.

The search engine in place there should be able to get you where you need to go. Also, there's the regional AS/400 web page at

http://www.as400.rochester.ibm.com/usa/southeast/mgmt.htm.

Stay tuned for a meeting this summer on the migration process to V4R2. Those of us that have been around a while, remember back in S/38 days when there used to be special meetings by IBM on the upgrade procedure, what to have, all the known 'gotchas' and how to circumvent them and in general, how to 'get there from here' tips and techniques, etc. Well, we're bringing those days back. It is our goal that after a new release has been out for a while and the local gurus and pain lovers have had the chance to install it and go through the learning curves, that we get the chance to learn from their successes and problems. Further, this will help a lot of us keep our own boxes current.

We are in the process of setting up a Tips and Techniques section on our web page that will provide timely and helpful ideas. Paul Lambert has agreed to head up this effort--Thanks Paul! So, if you have some items you'd like to submit, please do. If you're looking for somehthing, please send any of the board an email ...no guarantees in the short term as to how fast this will come together, but we'll see what we can do.

On March 4th the board will have our first planning meeting for JAM '98. Watch the web page for speakers and topics. I can't tell you who we will have for speakers or what they will be speaking about but I can tell you that we will take everything you have said in the session evaluation sheets into consideration when planning this year's JAM. I can also tell you to mark your calendar now for Friday December 4 for the best JAM yet!

On March 17th our presentation will be on integrating Lotus Notes Domino into your applications and the latest on Notes and Domino. Our speaker, Terry Dimka, has been with IBM in the DC metro area since '84 and he will be going into Domino as it relates to the AS/400 and the new native functionality just announced. With the area between PCs and Midrange interfacing becoming grayer all the time, many are finding that Domino and Notes are very useful and versatile tools in their applications development.

See you at the Tyson's Westpark on the 17th!

MARCH MEETING

Terry Dimka, a 19 year veteran IBM Specialist, will describe the Lotus Notes Domino product as it applies to the AS/400 Native environment which is available with V4R2. He'll cover the Domino product on a high level with a more detailed description of the integration with the OS/400 native environment. Then Terry will cover AS/400 Native Domino advantages and strengths as well as implementation on the AS/400.

Terry has spent the majority of his career in the S/3x and AS/400 arena. In 1984 he moved to the Washington, DC area as a S/3x Systems Engineer in IBM's Federal Sector. Starting in 1990 Terry spent five years in Baltimore as a Systems Engineer covering General Business commercial accounts. In 1994 he returned to Bethesda in the capacity of AS/400 Marketing Specialist. Terry has continued in that role to the present with an additional focus in 1998 on the AS/400-Lotus Domino Groupware area.

Tuesday, March 17, 1998 - 18:00

Tyson's Westpark
8401 Westpark Drive
Tyson's Corner, Virginia

(Parking is FREE !)

Board Meeting Immediately After !

18:00 Buffet - - 19:00 Speaker - - 20:30 Adjournment

Erin go Braugh ! This month the leprechauns have gone all out! In honor of the day we will all kiss the Blarney Stone while eating Corned Beef, Cabbage, Potatoes - Garden Salad & Beverage RSVP (by Friday 03/13) to Peter 703/834-3706 or 1stplace@crosslink.net $25.00/non-member

Treasurer's Message

Invoices for 1998 have been mailed to all who have not yet renewed.

Maximize the benefits of membership by sending your check for $100 (includes monthly meetings) to:

Washington Area Midrange
12023 Blackberry Terrace
North Potomac, Maryland 20878

NEXT MONTH

Thin Client: IBM's Netstation !

featuring Carson Soule
April 14, 1998

Is the IBM Netstation for real? Is it for you? Where should you use it? Can it replace PCs or just terminals? What kind of servers do I need? Come to the WAM meeting on IBM Netstation and see for yourself!

IBM's Netstation is finally coming of age. With the new model 1000, there is now enough processing power to use the Netstation the way it was promised. Significant deployments at a number of sites now provide feedback on what does and does not work effectively. In this session, you will see a Netstation attached to an AS/400 - live and in person. We will review the setup, configuration and operation of the Netstation. Reports on the use of the Netstation to run Windows applications, including Lotus Notes will be covered.

RSVP (by Monday 04/13) to Peter 703/834-3706 or 1stplace@crosslink.net

$25.00/non-member

1998 WAM Board of Directors

Some 'Not-So-Famous' Words of Wisdom:

Ponderings...

I can please only one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow isn't looking good either.
I don't have an attitude problem. You have a perception problem.
Everyone has a right to be stupid. Some just abuse the privilege.
Minds are like Parachutes. They work best when open.
Last night I lay in bed looking up at the stars in the sky and I thought to myself, "Where the hell is the ceiling?!"
Just because you're smart does not mean that the other guy is stupid.
Indecision is the key to flexibility.
Time is Nature's way of making sure that everything doesn't happen at once.
Never put off until tomorrow what you can avoid doing altogether.
I love deadlines. I especially like the whooshing sound they make as they go flying by.
Inflexibility is the hallmark of the Tiny Mind.
If swimming is so good for your figure, how do you explain whales?
It's gonna be like threading a needle with a haystack.
The trouble with being in the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat.
The more you run over a dead cat, the flatter it gets.
I loathe people who keep dogs. They are cowards who haven't got the guts to bite people themselves.
I put the "fun" in dysfunctional.
Does "anal retentive" have a hyphen?
My Reality Check bounced.
I get plenty of exercise -- jumping to conclusions, pushing my luck, and dodging deadlines.
On the keyboard of life, always keep one finger on the escape key.
I have not yet begun to procrastinate.
I don't suffer from stress. I'm a carrier.
I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous.
It is much easier to apologize than to ask permission.
There are two rules for ultimate success in life. 1. Never tell everything you know...
Just because you're paranoid, it doesn't mean they're NOT out to get you................
When I get to where I'm going, will somebody please tell me where I am?
Tell me what you need, and I'll tell you how to get along without it.
Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
Do not meddle in the affairs of cats, for they are subtle and will wee on your computer.
Someday we'll look back on all this and plough into a parked car.

- Humor Courtesy of Peter Maher

WAM Membership: To join send your Name, Company, Address, Phone, Fax, E-mail with $100.00 annual dues to our Treasurer:

K B Soni, 12023 Blackberry Terrace, North Potomac, MD 20878.

Home Page Address: You can now reach us on the Internet ! Our home page is located at

http://www.wash-midrange.org. Please feel free to send any suggestions to Peter.

UPCOMING EVENTS - through April, 1998

Newsletter Editor: Tom Jones
Web Editor: Peter Maher