IBM Archive

IBM Acquires Rational

Eugenia Loli 2002-12-06 IBM 24 Comments

"In a surprise move, IBM agreed to acquire Rational Software Corp. Friday in a deal worth $2.1 billion. IBM officials said the acquisition of the major development toolmaker would be the biggest for IBM since the computer giant acquired Lotus Development Corp." Read the report at eWeek. Our Take: This could be a serious blow to traditional Unices, like HP-UX and Solaris, depending on how IBM will handle these platforms.

IBM’s Linux Enterprise Strategy Probably Unsustainable

Submitted by Tom Bierce 2002-12-05 IBM 32 Comments

The Aberdeen Group has issued a report on Big Blue and its Linux products and strategy today for the enterprise today. The report -- An Assessment of IBM's Enterprise Linux Strategy -- says that the firm has so far spent billions in an attempt to lead the industry on Linux related technology. But it questions whether IBM will be able to sustain this strategy over a long period of time. Read the news report.

IBM Releases WebSphere 5.0

Eugenia Loli 2002-11-25 IBM 12 Comments

"IBM WebSphere 5.0 features SOAP parsing, UDDI repository, Java and a number of open source technologies that IBM claims speeds performance of Web services and lowers integration costs. The application server also simplifies management through features IBM claimed are part of its nascent autonomic computing strategy for self-healing of systems. These features include ability to detect and correct faults and automated server clustering." Read the report at TheRegister.

IBM Readies Itanium 2 xSeries, Dubs Linux the Unix for Intel

Eugenia Loli 2002-11-01 IBM 13 Comments

"IBM Corp is lining up the launch of its first xSeries server based on Intel's 64-bit Itanium-2 processor for the first quarter of 2003, and has confirmed that it has dropped plans to bring its AIX Unix operating system to the Itanium processor platform." Read the article at TheRegister.

IBM Server Chip Seen Slimmed Down for Apple Macs

Submitted by rajan r 2002-10-14 IBM 72 Comments

IBM announced on Monday a microchip for personal computers that will crunch data in chunks twice as big as the current standard and is expected (but not confirmed yet) by industry watchers to be used by Apple. Apple was not available to comment, and IBM declined to comment on which computer makers would use the chip, but its plans would mark a change for the industry, which has emphasized the importance of the speed of a chip rather than its ability to handle heavy workloads. Read the report. Update: Read another report at ZDNews.

IBM Releases WebSphere Studio 5.0

Eugenia Loli 2002-09-24 IBM 2 Comments

Version 5.0 OF IBM's WebSphere Studio software for developing Web applications is scheduled for release Tuesday, featuring new tools for working with legacy applications written in Cobol and PL1 and support for the latest batch of open-source standards and software.

alphaWorks releases PortingManager tool for Linux

Submitted by Sam 2002-09-17 IBM 1 Comment

PortingManager is a free tool that provides assistance when porting C and C++ Solaris applications to zSeries Linux. PortingManager scans a source code tree, looks for Solaris APIs, flags them, and provides documentation that is useful when porting the API from a Solaris-specific function call to an equivalent Linux function call.

IBM Expected to Enter the Desktop with a 64-bit PowerPC CPU

Submitted by Fernando Lopez 2002-08-08 IBM 63 Comments

IBM is disclosing the technical details of a new 64-bit PowerPC microprocessor designed for desktops and entry-level servers. Based on the award winning Power4 design, this processor is an 8-way superscalar design that fully supports Symmetric MultiProcessing. The processor is further enhanced by a vector processing unit implementing over 160 specialized vector instructions and implements a system interface capable of up to 6.4GB/s. Read more here and here. The first article speculates that Apple might find a future in these new IBM CPUs. Update: News.com has an article too.

IBM WebSphere SDK for Web Services on Linux

Submitted by Frank 2002-07-10 IBM No Comments

The initial release of the IBM WebSphere SDK for Web Services on Linux is now available. Developers can easily create Java-based applications for Web service providers and consumers. This offering contains everything developers need in a single convenient package, including a IBM SDK for Java technology, a runtime environment, a private UDDI registry, tools, samples, and documentation. It's based on open specifications for Web services such as SOAP, WSDL, and UDDI and runs on both Linux and Windows operating systems. The IBM WebSphere SDK for Web Services includes software developed by the Apache Software Foundation and is being offered at this time for free.

Slashdot Interviews IBM’s Linux Kernel Programmers

Eugenia Loli 2002-06-18 IBM No Comments

Dave Hansen, the IBM programmer working at the Linux kernel, answers back to some interesting questions about Linux, development and its desktop status, at an interview over at Slashdot.

Linux Contract Treads on Microsoft Turf

Submitted by dave_sn 2002-06-04 IBM 14 Comments

"The German government has signed a deal with IBM and Linux company SuSE that makes it easier for government offices to use the open-source operating system, a move that addresses concerns about relying too heavily on Microsoft products." Read the report at News.com.

IBM Middleware for Linux CD Set Give-Away

Submitted by Frank 2002-04-23 IBM 10 Comments

The latest IBM middleware for Linux (DB2 Universal Database, WebSphere Application Server, WebSphere Studio Application Developer, and Lotus Domino) is being provided, at no cost, on a 2 CD set, along with Web Services technologies, Linux technical articles, Linux Redbooks, and the very popular Java battle-bots game Robocode. IBM is also providing a worldwide no-cost 2-day Linux workshop, which includes hands-on labs for installing and configuring Linux.

Web Service Security: Proposed Architecture and Roadmap

Submitted by Jeff 2002-04-12 IBM 1 Comment

One of the biggest complaints these days about Web services is the security issues within a Web service environment. IBM and Microsoft just released specifications describing Web Services Security (WS-Security). There is an developerWorks overview document and a whitepaper describing this model that supports, integrates and unifies several models, mechanisms, and technologies.

IBM Q&A on Grid Computing

Submitted by Jeff 2002-04-02 IBM No Comments

In this interview with a top VP at IBM Grid Computing, an old idea coming back, is defined as the next emerging technology. Specifically, cheap bandwidth and interoperable standards have created an environment where Grid Computing is not only possible but also "the natural evolution of the Internet".

FAQ for SAP on Linux zSeries and All the Rest of the ISVs

Submitted by Frank 2002-03-20 IBM No Comments

IBM and SAP announced general availability of mySAP.com on Linux for IBM eServer zSeries. This is just another example of the many ISVs that have migrated their applications to the Linux for IBM zSeries family. Here is the complete list of ISVs who have ported to the zSeries servers and the FAQ for mySAP on Linux for IBM eServer zSeries.

58-node Linux Cluster 1300 Benchmark Results on Red Hat

Submitted by Frank 2002-03-06 IBM 2 Comments

This paper presents the results of the test conducted on a 58-node Cluster 1300 system, simultaneously running eight instances of e-Business Trade 2 benchmark tests on Red Hat Linux. This solution mounted in only three racks supported 800,000 users, serving an unprecedented 12,547 requests/sec with an average response time of 0.27 sec/request.

IBM developerWorks Open Source Compiler Farm

Submitted by Jeff 2002-02-28 IBM 5 Comments

Members of developerWorks open source projects can now compile their code on the first compiler farm in the open source community that runs on an IBM eServer zSeries server. The zSeries is the world's first dedicated Linux mainframe server.

Apache Web Development with IBM DB2 for Linux

Submitted by Jeff 2002-01-23 IBM 2 Comments

IBM's strategy for Linux is starting to pay off as "Linux Breathes New Life Into The Mainframe". The focus is not only sales but also in education as IBM released two tutorials this month on "LPI certification 101 exam prep" and "Apache Web Development with IBM DB2 for Linux".

San Francisco Bills IBM for Linux Love Notes

Eugenia Loli 2001-11-28 IBM 4 Comments

PC World reports that IBM has reached a settlement with the city of San Francisco for $120,000 in damages to pay for the cleanup of its Linux graffiti campaign in the city. Our Take: Maybe these "Peace, Love and Linux" ads are a bit weird, but I just love this huge "IBM DB2 Outperforms Oracle" ad just right in front of Oracle's office buildings, viewable from the highway, near my house. This sort of marketing competition between IBM and Oracle is at least... funny.

IBM’s (Now) Not-So-Secret Linux Strategy

Eugenia Loli 2001-11-07 IBM No Comments

Given its size, when IBM talks about Linux, people listen. Two years after IBM laid out its Linux strategy, the company seems to have met its goals and then some. Joe Barr talks to IBM's Linux czar to find what's ahead for the computer giant and open source.