Mid-deranged.com’s “article” is called “Egyptians More Advanced than Earlier Believed.” Turns out they were running a data center with an AS/400. But I’ve got some problems with this piece. Clearly it wouldn’t be an AS/400 they would be running, but rather a System/38 or System/36, right?

If your company is considering a switch from the iSeries to pSeries and you are skeptical, you may find a story that John M. Willis recently shared on his IT Management and Cloud Blog interesting (and even helpful to use in any discussions with CEO’s who want to “change” things). In, The Laughing Boardroom - IBM eServer iSeries, Willis shares the story of a utility company that had been running an AS/400 for 20 years and then converted to the pSeries.

The initial design took them from one production AS/400 (they called it a mainframe) to about 10 P5 physical boxes with about 50 lpars of which about 20 lpars eventually became the replacement solution. On the software side they went from a single box that basically handled everything to a very complex infrastructure.

He provides some very specific (and alarming) statistics about the numbers of additional personnel and equipment this change required. The post also includes an IBM video that appears to be “unavailable” (but it still plays the audio fine if you don’t mind the dark screen).

This is one example, but do you know of more? What kind of pressure have you received to switch to a different system? What statistics do you use to combat these requests? What’s the number one reason you hear from management to consider a move to a different system? Share your stories in the comments here or, if you have a long story, send me an email and we’ll consider publishing it as a stand-alone post.

• IBM designates PTF security group for i OS: For years, IBM has stuck System i operating system program temporary fixes (PTFs) into other groups. Now it has its own, which could help i users find the PTFs they need instead of searching endlessly among them all.
• Big Blue takes on Microsoft with Lotus: The headline in itself isn’t news, but the fact that IBM is pushing Lotus hard by including how many downloads users made and how it fared compared to Microsoft, is a good sign, according to David Vasta.
• Two System i management tips: Designating authorities for journaled objects and Using the system request menu.
• IBM announces replacement for i5/OS (not for real) : Mid-deranged.com’s fake, satirical story on IBM changing the System i operating system to VU/OS, with the VU standing for Virtual Universe.

The second episode of MoshiMoshi, an interactive Web game sponsored by System i vendor Bytware, is coming to a close this week (July 30, to be exact). We here had written pretty extensively about the first episode, which follows the trials and tribulations of various characters in a fictional corporation as they come across various dilemmas involving IT security.

It’s a good diversion from a typical, mundane day, and there’s a chance you could win prizes such as free consulting or software licenses.

Though it’s only tangentially related to the IBM i, this joke about IBM and Microsoft software engineers would probably have a lot of iHeads nodding and laughing. Let’s just say it involves three IBM software engineers, three Microsoft software engineers, and only one train ticket between all of them.
It’s also good to see Mid-Deranged.com back after a short hiatus.

Like a cross between The Onion and Search400, Mid-Deranged is a satirical humor site about the IBM midrange. So it’s imperative that you not take it seriously when the site proclaims that IBM has announced it is buying Nintendo and merging Power Systems with the Wii to create the IBMii.

It’s also important that you realize it’s a joke when the site announces IBM’s new environmentally friendly program for the i, called Recycle/400.

“For a minimal fee IBM will take your old AS/400 and convert it to a useful product,” the post says. And then it lists 29 ways an AS/400 can be reused. Some of my favorites: rabbit cage, tanning booth, and highway crash barrier.

Yes, you will want to check this site out. It will bring a few chuckles into your System i world. And it doesn’t hesitate to take pot shots at IBM and System i competitors. The most recent post declares that Sun is suing the island of Java for trademark infringement, while an earlier one “reports” that a guest keynote speaker at the Common conference was Bill Gates, who gave a speech entitled “Software Quality through Perception, not Reality.” Ouch.