March 1998

• Buyers Guide: Year 2000 Conversion Services - Companies offering AS/400-based Year 2000 application conversion services
• Street Talk -
• In This Issue -
• Letters -
• Managing IT Decision Makers - Wayne Madden asserts that strong IT leadership and a focus on the business are the keys to successful IT decision-making.
• For Once I Agree, Mr. Gates - We shouldn't be concerned about Microsoft bundling Explorer with Windows, says Bob Tipton. In fact, we should be congratulating Microsoft for its vision - the desktop interface of the future is the browser, not Windows.
• Newswatch -
• AS/400 Attacks New Markets with Invaders, Java, and Domino - IBM's February 2 announcement of V4R2 held several surprises beyond the expected Domino, Java, and NT on the IPCS. In this article, NEWS/400's announcement team briefs you on the highlights, including the new model 170 Invader boxes, whose pricing and performance positions them to challenge their PC server rivals.
• Year 2000-Ready Applications: Crucial But No Panacea - Off-the-shelf software will play a critical role in the transition to the Year 2000. But, as Pam Jones explains, challenges remain even for customers who can take advantage of these Year 2000 solutions.
• Protect Your E-Commerce Environment - The consequences of not being Year 2000 compliant can be severe for an EC environment. Nahid Jilovec discusses some of the issues and presents steps you can take to be ready.
• Year 2000 Checkpoint: Detonation Imminent - According to Robert Tipton, as the countdown to the Year 2000 continues, some companies are still in denial, programmers are growing scarce, and litigation is rearing its ugly head.
• Year 2000 Survival Guide - Your AS/400 and its operating system are Year 2000 ready, but solving Y2K problems in your applications is up to you. IBM's Julie Ransom explains how to go about it.
• Maximizing Date Performance - Date data types are the best long-term solution to date-related issues in your applications, but they slow performance a little compared to zoned or packed numeric fields. Bryan Meyers shows you exactly what the performance hit is and provides seven tips to bring you back up to speed.
• Do-It-Yourself Year 2000 Impact Analysis - Julian Monypenny offers two free utilities to help you assess your Year 2000 problem. The first creates a database of the dates in an application, and the second analyzes your source code to document the use of each externally described date field.
• Build a Standard Multiple-Entry Panel - Mike Cravitz presents a standard horizontal subfile design in the form of a data-entry program for an accounts receivable batch process. Using only the subfile display, a user can add, update, and delete detail records. This model provides the basics for most simple data-entry applications.
• Creating Java Objects - To use a Java class, you must make an object out of it. This third article in the "Java for RPG Programmers" series by IBMers George Farr and Phil Coulthard shows how to "instantiate" a class into an object and how to use Java methods.
• Century UpDate Automates Y2K Conversion Tasks - Rob Peterson of Advanced Systems Concepts explains how Century Update, a Year 2000 conversion tool, uses a staged expansion method and automates many conversion tasks.
• Let End Users Do Your Year 2000 Testing - QES, Inc.'s Ian Rankine shows how the QES/Architect testing tool can help end users handle Year 2000 diagnostic and compliance testing for AS/400 applications.
• Using VB 4.0's DAO to Access AS/400 Data - Dennis McConnehey explains how to use Data Access Objects (DAO) to build AS/400 Open Database Connectivity data access into a Visual Basic client program.
• AS/400 and NetWare: Better Together Since V3R7 - IBMer Richard Sinn explains how the V3R7 Enhanced Integration for NetWare licensed program improves AS/400-NetWare coexistence by centralizing administrative tasks and making it easier for AS/400s and NetWare servers to share resources such as printers.
• Configuring Client Access's SNA 802.2 LAN Connection - Michael Otey explains how to configure Client Access for Windows 95/NT V3R1M3 to connect to an AS/400 over an 802.2 Ethernet LAN.
• RPM Remote Print Manager - Michael Otey reviews Brooks Internet Software's RPM Remote Print Manager 2.1.3, available in both 16- and 32-bit versions, which alleviates remote printing problems over TCP/IP LAN connections.
• Tech Corner -
• What’s included in IBM’s e-Jump upgrade package? -
• Client Access Family FAQs -
• New Products -
• Why won’t the other upgrade methods be supported? -
• I don’t understand why a IBM needs a “project” to provide this V2R3-V4R2 upgrade path. What’s so dif -
• Will e­Jump provide any updates for previous­release support? -
• What if I need to get started on an e-Jump conversion before June 1? -
• If I use the current V2R3 EUA for order planning, won’t my order be inaccurate? -
• I’ve been recompiling programs to restore object observability, but those objects still appear on my -
• Why do compressed objects appear as “unsupported” on EUA displays? Don’t the RISC releases support o -
• I’ve heard there’s a special procedure for PTF installations during an upgrade under e-Jump. Why is -
• Reinstalling Client Access for Win95/NT with Service Pack -
• Send Text Files from AS/400 to cc:Mail -
• Client Access with TCP/IP -
• Monitoring Folder Sizes -
• Highlighting Comment Lines -
• Client Access DOS Extended and NetWare for SAA -
• VB Data Control Updates AS/400 Data -