IBM i news: new ACS version updates; historical overview of computing evolution; AI ethics shifting to executives; technical debt in IBM i modernization; DB2 13 AI and hybrid cloud features prospects; open‑source Git tips.
Welcome to another edition of Talsco Weekly
- News: IBM Ships new ACS Version.
- History: How the Computer Has Been Eating The World for 75 years.
- AI: AI Ethics shift from Technology Departments to Executives.
- Modernization: Is your IBM i shop technical debt?
- Database: Will Db2 13 that promises AI and hybrid cloud features make it to IBM i?
- Open Source: 10 Git tips.
News
IBM Ships new ACS Version "IBM this week delivered an update to Access Client Solutions (ACS), the popular Java-based utility that many IBM i professionals use to interact with the platform." ACS is the universal Java-based utility that replaced old Client Access products. Here are some of the new updates:
- ACS now includes support for system groups in system configurations.
- The open source package is now moved to the main GUI.
- RSS gains several new enhancements.
- The IBM i Navigator has a useful update.
History
How the Computer Has Been Eating The World for 75 years This is an interesting read with an overview of the past 75 years of computing, 1945 to 2020. The article breaks down the history "into about fifteen distinct themes, each focusing on a specific group of users and applications around which “the computer” is redefined with the addition of new capabilities." It traces "the transformation of computing from scientific calculations to administrative assistance to personal appliances to a communications medium, a constant reinvention that continues today." It also highlights how computers have made a number of other technologies vanish while setting the stage for the digital transformation that will change the way we live.
AI
AI Ethics shift from Technology Departments to Executives With AI becoming more than a trend, CEOs are now forced to focus on AI ethics, including who within the organization is responsible for leading and upholding them. Traditionally, IT has held the responsibility over technology and governance, however, with AI, this has changed. "As many companies today use AI algorithms across their business, they potentially face increasing internal and external demands to design these algorithms to be fair, secured and trustworthy; yet, there has been little progress across the industry in embedding AI ethics into their practices." This study highlights the need for organizations to consider the following:
- Cross-functional approaches
- AI lifecycle governance
- The need for outside help
While many organizations may not have a need to consider AI ethics now, it is only a matter of time before they will.
Modernization
Is your IBM i shop technical debt? So what is “technical debt”? It’s a term to describe software development “that reflects the implied cost of additional rework caused by choosing an easy solution now instead of using a better approach that would take longer.” Technical debt might be development related. Due to project pressures, code is often not as clean as it could be and applications are developed in a way that will require rework in the future. Technical debt could also be ERP System or hardware related, where updates or new releases are neglected, thus making the conditions ripe for potential issues down the road.
Database
Will Db2 13 that promises AI and hybrid cloud features make it to IBM i? While this article is about z/OS, it is interesting to think about how it might apply to the IBM i. AI and Db2 "Putting AI into Db2 to would help uncover insights based on hidden relationships and inferred meaning of Db2 data. It promises AI-related built-in functions in SQL Data Insights and AI to help improve operational efficiency, reduce costs, and increase DBA productivity." As far as Db2 13 potential release to platforms other than z/OS, IBM has declined to comment.
Open Source
10 Git tips If you use Git daily, then every tip, trick or shortcut you can find will save you time. Here are 10 tips you can't live without:
- add
- amend
- bisect
- blame
- checkout
- diff
- status
- squash
- update-index
- worktree
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