System iNetwork

January 2009

January 26, 2009 1:11 PM

How much of your spare time do you spend on work-related activities?

I asked this question in System iNetwork's LinkedIn group and got some interesting and thoughtful responses. Here are some snippets from some of them. You can read them all, as well as post your own response, by joining our LinkedIn group. Access is completely free, but you do have to have a LinkedIn profile (which is also free).

"I do some limited professional activites in my spare time of which the majority would be trying to learn a new skill. I do this because this industry is constantly changing and if we do not embrace an attitude of continually trying to learn then our skillset will become outdated and we will become outdated."

"i spend most of my spare time sleeping ... or i would be very sleep deprived just like Scott Klement...no offense but i believe sleep is more important than burning the candle at both ends!"

"I started a cooking group in Orange County and now we seem to be talking about work and the economy and where to get the next consulting assignment."

"Spare time, what a concept! I think it could be put in terms of what one does outside of the work environment. I often (mornings, evenings, weekends) check clients' systems to make sure things are ok. I catch up on emails, newsletters, articles - so some time is spent on profession-related items. There is always more to learn and do."

"Well, since I am a Sysadmin I find myself doing Sysadmin stuff anytime something breaks which inconveniently doesn't seem to have any regard for my personal schedule (when is IBM going to add that function that you can tell the system the times that problems are not allowed)."

"I'm self-employed so most of my time (other than when sleeping) is spent in activities related to the 'job' - there's very little 'spare time' to spare!"

"For contractors to survive, any 'spare time' must be devoted to marketing and sales of their services."

Chime in with your own thoughts about this question, or post a new discussion question yourself. Here are some of the other discussion topics that have been posted in the group:

How do you prefer to read your business-related magazines: in print or online? What do you like about each medium?

Are i-blogs dead?

Is PHP the language of the future for the i?

To what lengths would you go to try to keep your job?

What webfacing solutions do you recommend for the i system?

--Linda Harty, executive editor & security/networking/connectivity editor

Posted by lharty on January 26, 2009 at 1:11 PM | Comments (0)

January 23, 2009 8:31 AM

IBM Absent from Top 100 List, Perhaps Sam Should Take Note of Google's Spa-Like Atmosphere

Apparently, cows are not the only happy mammals that come from California. Workers at IT companies Google, Cisco Systems, and Qualcomm--all headquartered in California cities--gave their employees enough of a thumbs up to rank them in the top 10 of Fortune magazine's 100 Best Companies to Work For 2008 list. Google took No. 1, Cisco No. 6, and Qualcomm No. 8.

Incidentally, this is the second year that Google took the No. 1 spot. (Hmmm. Maybe free cafeteria food, onsite haircuts and oil changes, massages, and fitness facilities do make a difference! Sounds more like a spa stay to me. Where can I sign up?)

And who is conspicuously absent from the list? IBM! Of course, not every company has an equal opportunity to make the list. First, someone at the company has to give the okay for its employees to take a 57-question survey distributed by the Great Place to Work Institute. Fortune says that of the 1,500 firms it contacted to offer the survey, 407 participated.

So perhaps IBM didn't even give its employees a chance to speak their minds. Which wouldn't surprise me. For a public company, IBM sure is secretive about, well, everything except tooting its own horn!

Even with stellar 2008 financial results, though, the prospects of major layoffs can't make employees too happy.

But I still think it would behoove Mr. Palmisano to check out what Google is doing!

Anyway, rounding out the top 10 best companies to work for in 2008 (and the number of U.S. employees at each):

1. Google--8,134
2. Quicken Loans--4,920
3. Wegmans Food Markets--35,302
4. Edward Jones--31,451
5. Genentech--10,842
6. Cisco Systems--32,160
7. Starbucks--134,013
8. Qualcomm--10,095
9. Goldman Sachs--13,764
10. Methodist Hospital System--10,481

I've always wanted to own my own coffee and ice cream shop/bookstore. Perhaps I need to start with a stint at Starbucks to learn the ropes!

But I do love working from home right now--thanks Penton! What about you? What perks or benefits does your IBM i, i5/OS, System i, AS/400-loving company offer that make you give it a thumbs up?

--Rita-Lyn Sanders, senior industry editor

Posted by rsanders on January 23, 2009 at 8:31 AM | Comments (1)

January 21, 2009 6:47 PM

Big Blue Makes Bigger Deal About Annual Patent Score

IBM sure has been tooting its horn of late. Sure, the little VW Bug-like beeps that it emitted last week about its patent progress weren't near as loud as the cruise-ship sized blast that it bellowed this week announcing its stellar financial results; but that doesn't mean the patents weren't any less important--uh--to someone.

Big Blue said it scored 4,186 U.S. patents in 2008, the first time a company has ever earned more than 4,000 patents in a single year.

The score also ushered in a Sweet Sixteen for IBM--the company has been at the top of the list for most patents won for the past 16 years.

And if those statistics didn't ring in the ears of its competitors, IBM also pointed out that it took nearly three times as many patents as Hewlett-Packard in 2008 and that its total exceeded the combined patent issuances of Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Oracle, Apple, EMC, Accenture, and Google. Ouch!

Why? Why would IBM care to have so many patents? I know they're pretty hard to get, and each application costs a bundle of money. When I covered Oregon State University as a cub reporter I did a story on the university's patent office and the paperwork required to get one of the little protective documents. With all the questions surrounding intellectual property and who invented what, I guess it can't hurt.

And if you make a lot of money off the patented invention, then I suppose the application fees are a drop in the bucket. Hmmm. Maybe you all have some ideas.

Here are the scores of the top 10 companies earning patents in 2008 (according to IFI Patent Intelligence):

1. IBM--4,186
2. Samsung--3,515
3. Canon--2,114
4. Microsoft--2,030
5. Intel--1,776
6. Matsushita (now Panasonic Corp.)--1,745
7. Toshiba--1,609
8. Fujitsu--1,494
9. Sony--1,485
10. Hewlett-Packard--1,424

And in case you missed the other noise coming out of IBM, there's always some honking at Lotusphere, which is just wrapping up this week in Orlando. And then there was the announcement that IBM would create 1,300 jobs in a technology service center it plans to open in Dubuque, Iowa.

--Rita-Lyn Sanders, senior industry editor

Posted by rsanders on January 21, 2009 at 6:47 PM | Comments (1)

Record-Breaking Credit Card Data Breach at Heartland Payment Systems

Payments processor Heartland Payment Systems has disclosed that it was the victim of a security breach within its processing system in 2008. The New Jersey–based provider of credit and debit card processing services said that it was alerted by Visa and MasterCard of suspicious activity surrounding processed card transactions and last week found evidence of malicious software that compromised card data that crossed Heartland's network. Some reports are estimating that more than 100 million accounts could have been affected.

Heartland is providing a website that offers information about the data breach, and it is advising cardholders to examine their statements and report suspicious activity to their card issuers. Your favorite search engine will turn up many news stories about this breach so that you can obtain more information about how you or your company could be affected.

--Linda Harty, executive editor & security/networking/connectivity editor

Posted by lharty on January 21, 2009 at 11:14 AM | Comments (0)

January 12, 2009 4:41 PM

Blogs - They're STILL ALIVE!

Contrary to what I was beginning to believe, there are several i-blogs still alive and well. Here are a few that were suggested by our LinkedIn group:

http://coursey.com/ - general musings on computer stuff, some i-related
http://www.kilnerblog.com/ - technical blog that focuses all around the i http://midmed.blogspot.com/ - ruminations on the midrange market
http://mowyourlawn.com/blog/ - mostly techie blog with lots of useful info
http://ibmsystemsmag.blogs.com/idevelop/ - a mix of technie and non-technie info about all things i
http://blogs.systeminetwork.com/isnblogs/maxedout/ - non-technie blog for the latest in i-news

If you have any more to add, feel free to comment below and I'll add them to the list!

--Erin Bradford, systems management & availability editor

Posted by ebradford on January 12, 2009 at 4:41 PM | Comments (2)

January 10, 2009 3:27 PM

CES: Modern-Day Fantasy Island for Technology Fans

The 2009 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is definitely a gadget-and-technology lover's paradise, and I know that most IT pros have a love of gadgets hardwired into their brains. You don't have to attend the show, which runs January 8-11, to get a great peek at some of the newest and most exciting technological innovations. One of the coolest things I've read about is the Dish Network "Slingloaded" digital video recorder, which lets Dish Network satellite TV subscribers view their recorded programs from a laptop or a smartphone. My husband, an avid TV watcher and Dish Network subscriber, is particularly happy about that one. Another intriguing innovation unveiled at CES is Sony's 3-D glasses for TV. I'm more of a book reader than a TV watcher, but still, when these things come of age, I might just have to buy a pair. A certain famous actor wore a prototype of the glasses at CES. They're snazzy, don't you think?

— Linda Harty, executive editor

Posted by lharty on January 10, 2009 at 3:27 PM | Comments (0)

January 6, 2009 4:41 PM

Layoff Rumors Swirling Among IBM Employees

The rumor mill is churning, and the potential for layoffs at IBM is fueling it. The Job Cuts Comments page on the website of Alliance@IBM, the IBM Employees' Union, is loaded with comments since December about possible job cuts, focusing on U.S. operations.

The speculation has the website wagging with rumors and some possible nuggets of truth, plus a big dose of fear. Many of the comments suggest January 23 as the notification day for layoffs, but others question that logic because IBM plans to release its annual financial statements a few days before that. Some of the comments speak of thousands of layoffs--as many as 16,000--in a "sweeping resource action" (RA) that will hit all divisions.

Regardless, I contacted IBM to see if the company could provide any information, and a spokesperson says IBM doesn't comment on speculation. Go figure.

--Rita-Lyn Sanders, industry issues & RPG editor

Posted by rsanders on January 6, 2009 at 4:41 PM | Comments (3)