Bruce & Friends

Look over your shoulder, Distributed...the Mainframe’s here

Brammie — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 10:14:00 GMT

Everyone's talking about Jenson Button right now. The Formula 1 motor racing flyer jumps into an entirely new car and wins race after race. All of this from a man who according to almost everyone was washed up a few years ago. A driver who had been overtaken by the young Turks like Lewis Hamilton and who should consider packing it in. Hang on a second....what does that remind you of?...

Are you "Connected"??

Brammie — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 15:30:00 GMT

Mainframers, I don't know about you, but I often notice a sort of "OMG, WHAT is he doing?" when I tell people I "do" Mainframe... It's almost like braincells suddenly melt when I tell people what I do.. "A Mainframe?!? You mean those big computers most companies used to have 20 years ago?". And sometimes, when I am really motivated, I explain to them...

Just What The Heck Is An MSU??

Bruce — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 23:15:00 GMT

G'day Mainframers, I would like to welcome both zBert and Bramie to me blog. Down Under, all are very welcome… as long as you have a slab on its way over - first class of course! So I am eagerly awaiting the two packages of VB in the mail. On a serious note I say a very warm (and thirsty) G’Day to both zBert and Brammie and wish them all the best. Hoping that you share your worldly...

“Hallo!” from Brammie

Brammie — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 10:46:00 GMT

And for those less familiar with the Dutch language than the average Dutchman/women, “Hallo” is the low-land equivalent of “Hello”… But most of you probably guessed that.. After reading zBerts first Blog, I could not help myself looking at my famous 5 finger system while I was typing this text. At the same time, I wondered what the problem was that he described. For all my life I have been...

"Hello"

zBert — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 23:08:00 GMT

Hello. I'm zBert, which you may choose to pronounce however you want. I'm a mainframer with some experience and attitude, and I'm going to be blogging about both. I typed the word "hello". I didn't print it, and I didn't write it (though, once upon a time, I might have been able to say that I was typewriting it). In fact, while I haven't forgotten how to write...

Undercover White Paper: There IS a Better Way Graham - Cloning DB2 Subsystems

Bruce — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 07:15:00 GMT

G’day Mainframers, Don't you just love xmas? Well I will if my better half finds me a more interesting present than 15 pairs of Holeproof socks, 10 pairs of Reg Grundies and a copy of the second-hand book 'The Stray Shopping Carts of North America: A Guide to Field Identification.' Who ever thought 'shopping trolley spotting' could be so much fun...especially when...

Cloning DB2 Subsytems: there's gotta be a better way!

Bruce — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 03:10:00 GMT

Graham from Sydney just sent through a great question: Hey Bruce, My team of DB2 DBA's keep wasting 15+ hours cloning DB2 subsystems, in order to refresh test environmentts. I'm kind of fed up with this, there has gotta be a better way than unload/reload?? Good news, Graham from Sydney...I have one or two tricks for this one..I'll get to work, so stay tuned. Cheers...

Quote of the Month

Bruce — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 05:17:00 GMT

Howdy Mainframers,Thought I might give you all a little bit of a laugh today. Customer based in the ACT had this to say whilst discussing the differences between skills of Mainframers vs Windows technicians – over a cup of tea. George in a friendly exchange said … “My management luv the Mainframe so much, that they think a stupid Mainframer is still smarter than a stupid Windows...

Undercover Whitepaper - DB2 V8 Changing Column Defaults

Bruce — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 06:15:00 GMT

Hi Mainframer's, Now that the kids have finally handed in their Beijing Olympics collage, I've had a bit of time to myself again..this one is a really sneaky piece on DB2 and a bit of a treat. And if you think this is the sauce, wait 'til you hear what I've got to say on migrating straight from 1.4 to 1.8 or 1.9 on z/OS. You'd be as mad as a monkey on...

New z10 launched - I want one!!

Bruce — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 23:16:00 GMT

IBM have just released their new z10 - first real upgrade to their mainframe for 3 years - here's an article . 50% faster than the z9, and up to 70% more grunt - as the late Big Kev would say "I'm Excited "!! Is anyone out there getting...(read more)

Have Pacific Businesses been neglectful of the Mainframe in Preference to "Toy Computers"?!

Bruce — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 04:59:00 GMT

Alex asked for a discussion topic on this theme. His opening gambit is "I believe a topic that would raise interesting discussion is the change we have all seen over the past year or two of the non-stop reduction of "costs", seemingly regardless...(read more)

Developing applications in REXX and CLISTs

Bruce — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 02:38:00 GMT

Gary from SA has also asked for this topic to be opened. I suspect this may get some interesting responses - ranging from "Don't" through to the benefits of REXX over Clist or vice-versa. Personally, I love REXX - it's quick, flexible and powerful - since moving to REXX from Clist I've never looked back. But use it for a production application? ...

Web Services and the Mainframe

Bruce — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 02:24:00 GMT

A friend of mine in South Australia has asked if I could open up this topic. Gary is an IDMS guru (bless his heart) and I suspect is going to be a regular contributor to Bruce. Gary is interested in knowing how much interest there is around our community in Web Services (or SOA) on the Big Iron, who is doing it, success stories, difficulties, which CA products (or...

Bruce on Bruce

Bruce — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 00:51:00 GMT

G'day and Welcome to my blog! I'm glad you've found your way here and I hope this will be the first of many visits for you. This blog is provided specifically for mainframers in Australia & NZ to discuss issues that concern you, and to share ideas and help each other. With something new like this, it will take a little time to build up the...