Newsletter - April 1998
Serving the community of IBM Midrange users.
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President's Message from Don Rima"Thin Client, Sir?"When it comes to writing my monthly letter, there's rather nothing like an evening with the Monty Python lads to break my writer's block. Now, having said that, I can just picture Peter and Tom (coconuts in hand) troloping to Tower's video section to make sure I have a goodly selection of tapes on hand from Her Majesty's lads to insure that the May newsletter will get out on time. [ed note: a troloping we will go!] To be sure, it would drive my wife rather mad, but it might just do the trick! A warm welcome to four new members of our august group! Michael Korrigan and Gene Dodd of ASI, Peter Wallace of FMS, and Rachael Lepp of DPS. At our next meeting, let's all give these new members a big smile and a hearty handshake. Which brings me to the topic of the April meeting: An evening with Thin Client and Carson Soule. When Lou Behrens from the Rochester Lab came out with the idea back several years ago, it was hailed as a very functional, secure and cost effective way to put PC functionality on each desk. In addition, the only thing on the desk itself was a monitor, mouse and keyboard. The need for lots of PC maintenance, people loading viruses from the net, data loss via a diskette, and so forth virtually disappeared. It was rather interesting to see the labs at Common in San Antonio last fall mostly equipped with the Thin Client terminals. I've used them...they work...and I was rather impressed! Think of it this way, you have the full functionality of a LAN environment, which means usability of PC software, running on each desk, standardized, centrally maintainable, over a fast ethernet line and no way for desktop hard drives to crash, memory to die, or users to load strange stuff onto the net or their desktop! Impressed? I was! In addition, Carson will be bringing with him his own analysis of V4R2 and where the midrange world is being hurled through time and space... So, mark your calendar now and plan on an informative and entertaining evening with good folks, food, thin client and Carson. And now for something different. Some of the folks from Toronto lab have asked us for information on how we do project planning. Specifically, they're interested in how we allocate time for projects. Let's presume that you have NRPG programs, screens, printer files, physical files, etc. How do you determine how long it's going to take to complete the tasks? Project time planning has always been a nemesis of our industry and with Y2K being added to the pile it is becoming even more so. Therefore, trying to get a handle on project time lines has become an item of industry concern and it's an item that's not going away any time soon. Please email/phone/fax me with your thoughts, I'll summarize them here in a future note and forward them on to Toronto. A special thanks to Terry Dimka for his Lotus Domino presentation at the March meeting. Those attending walked away with both a handful and headful of information. Make note of an E-Commerce roadshow that's being held in April. Details and signup information are in this issue. If you're thinking of putting your applications on the net or just curious, this is one you won't want to miss. The JAM is looking better each week that the board works on it. Al Barsa will be here with his world famous "Everything you wanted to know about system values" and three other systems sessions. We're also planning on a full track on ILE, half day sessions on JAVA, the latest in RPG, and half a day devoted to a live demonstration of step by step Web Page creation including HTML and firewall creation. I look forward to seeing you at the April meeting, and now it's time to put on the kettle...
Thin Client: IBM's Netstation !with Carson SouleApril 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 comming 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. Tuesday - April 14, 1998 - 18:00
Holiday Inn
(Parking is FREE !) Board Meeting Immediately After ! 18:00 Buffet - - 19:00 Speaker - - 20:30 Adjournment PIZZA PARTY ! Enjoy a selection of home made pizza: pepperoni, sausage, cheese, and vegie. Served with tossed garden salad and choice of dressing. Choice of beverage. RSVP (by Friday 04/10) to Peter 703/834-3706 or 1stplace@crosslink.net $25.00/non-member
Treasurer's MessageReminderInvoices 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:
12023 Blackberry Terrace North Potomac, Maryland 20878
AS/400e Solutions Roadshow 800/426-7777 Request code 6C8AG001Enter the world of e-business with the AS/400e Solutions Showcase on April 7th! Designed to keep you on top of what is happening in the world of Domino, Internet Serving, Net.Commerce and Java.Agenda (Subject to Change)
10:00 - 10:20 Break 10:30 - 12:00 Net.Commerce, Domino for AS/400 12:00 - 13:00 Lunch 13:00 - 14:00 NT on AS/400 14:00 - 15:00 Data Warehousing, JAVA 15:00 - 15:30 Q & A WAM Contacts:Our home page is at http://www.wash-midrange.org. Send suggestions to Peter.
President: Don Rima 703/742-3744 F) 703/742-0448 dr2@access.digex.com
U P C O M I N G E V E N T S
Sponsor New WAM Members - - Win $100 Gift CertificateFor each new member you sponsor to join WAM for the 1998 dues year, your name will be placed in the prize box making you eligible for a $100 gift certificate. The more new members you sponsor, the more chances you have to win ! The drawing for the $100 gift certificate will be held at this year's JAM conference on Friday, December 4.To qualify for the drawing, please ensure that you let John Rodrigues know the name and telephone number of each new WAM member that you have sponsored. John can be reached at 703/519-1569 or at majobo@aol.com. (This promotion is effective April 1, 1998.) This great idea was developed by John Rodrigues as a means of delivering more value to our members. Thanks John!
Speaking of Gift Certificates ... We gave away a $50 gift certificate (graciously supplied by News/400) as a door prize at our March meeting. And the lucky winner was ... John Rodrigues !!!! Congratulations, John.
IBM Provides Y2K Readiness DatabaseIBM has created a handy Web site that lets you query a database to find out the Y2K readiness status of all of IBM's products -- hardware and software. You can browse through categories or search for specific products. Once you find what you're looking for, you can request that IBM email you a more detailed report, which is sent almost instantly. The site works best with a Java-capable browser and is located at
IBM Recruits on the Beach !In March Big Blue took off it's stuffy shirt, pulled out the suntan lotion, and set up a recruitment camp on the beach in Florida. At the event, dubbed Spring Break Career Expo '98, IBM set up a 5,000 square foot tented center and built a 20 ton ThinkPad sand sculpture to convince college students that IBM is a great place to work; however, IBM hasn't said how many students it was able to attract in the midst of all that hot sand, blue surf, and bare skin.* Above items provided by News/400 -- for subscription information or a sample issue call 970/663-4700 or go to http://www.news400.com |
Latest Update - April 1998