A blend of opinions & news on tech topics like cloud, mobile, big data, app development and app performance from geniuses inside the technology industry.
One of the most significant milestones when learning to speak a foreign language is mastering the ability to understand native speakers. Every language comes with its own unique challenges. Some, like Spanish, are spoken quickly while others, like Mandarin Chinese, are spoken at a more leisurely pace, but contain subtle differences in tone. However, a recent study done at the Université de Lyon poses an interesting hypothesis: it suggests … [Read more...]
In part one, I discussed the importance of understanding the benefits ramping load can have on web load test results. In this post, I’ll discuss best practices for determining how long to ramp at the beginning of a web load test. The general the rule of thumb for load test ramping is the slower the ramp the better. Of course, given time and cost restraints, the goal of most testers is to run the most effective test possible in the least … [Read more...]
Recently, we discovered a Java program in a loop on our z10-BC R03. The program had used over 100,000 CPU zAAP seconds (more than a CPU day), which yields almost ¼ million normalized CPU seconds. Yet, there wasn’t an indication of any performance or response time problems reported from any user. This is an extreme example of how mainframe Java zAAP workloads can be quite "isolated" from normal workloads. Actually, in this case, there … [Read more...]
Tablets such as Apple’s iPad or Amazon’s Kindle Fire are increasingly making headlines with astounding growth and website traffic share numbers. According to a recent report, iPads have even begun to account for a higher percentage of Internet traffic than iPhones. Consumers and enterprises have embraced tablets in large numbers for everything from web browsing and social networking to mission-critical business applications that increase … [Read more...]
If retailers want to maximize ecommerce revenue from tablet owners, they have to first deliver fast, quality, optimized web experiences to their customers on tablets. This not only holds true in retail, but also for financial services. According to Gartner, worldwide tablet sales will reach 326.3 million by the end of 2015. Tablet owners’ higher than average income, $120,000 annually according to Forrester, and advanced … [Read more...]
Although pronounced dead by many so-called IT pundits over the years, the IBM mainframe continues to rule the IT world as it has for the past 48 years. This is especially true in the world’s largest enterprises. For example, the 50 largest banks in the world depend on the mainframe to run their most mission-critical applications: as do 24 of the 27 largest retailers. In fact, according to a recent exhaustive survey from researcher Vanson … [Read more...]
Here is a very good perspective view of the height of the cooling towers and the back of the PC board, loaded with a dense cross hatch of twin lead wires, with a spider web type of look. The patented technology used in these chip cooling towers allowed Amdahl to deliver hardware systems to be completely air-cooled. This gave Amdahl a significant competitive advantage over the then IBM water-cooled systems. Compare this … [Read more...]
New support for z/OS dataset Browsing and Editing in the File-AID Data Editor feature of the Compuware Workbench release 3.1.6 was announced last month. Now, using COBOL or PL/I layouts, you can intelligently view and change data in a z/OS sequential or VSAM file. The COOL part is that you can do all this from a friendly, modern, Eclipse, graphical user interface without having to use a "green screen" terminal session. The data displays … [Read more...]
We know that the mainframe is often referred to as “Big Iron” for its powerful and ultra-fast ability to crunch data and process transactions. Did you know, however, that the term Big Iron, or more specifically “Big Iron Horse,” also refers to railroad locomotives? The mainframe and railroad share much more in common than a nickname. Both the railroad and mainframe each began a new industry. While the railroad opened land-based … [Read more...]
Have you experienced substantial change lately? Has it had a significant impact on your work or personal life? If so, you probably have a “new normal.” 2011 was a year of change for me. My personal new normal was setting the table for 3 instead of 4 as we got used to having our oldest son at college, and bringing reading glasses with me to meetings. Of course, the 21st century and all the changes in technology have presented us with … [Read more...]
