Happy Birthday IBM i

Happy Birthday IBM i! This video was taken during the 2013 COMMON Annual Meeting & Conference in Austin. Unfortunately they didn’t include my wishing IBM i a Happy Birthday (where I promised not to sing). I have to say, IBM i (formerly System i, iSeries, & AS/400) has been extraordinarily good to me and my…

Justin Porter — COMMON BoD Candidate 2012

Editors note: The following is a post by guest author Justin Porter who is a candidate for the COMMON Board of Directors. COMMON has survived quite well through the financial crisis—in no small part due to the dedication of its members, volunteers and staff who wish to see COMMON continue providing top quality education into…

CAAC Bends IBM’s Ear

This post is written by guest blogger Michelle August The CAAC (COMMON Americas Advisory Council) called snowy, icy Rochester home for three days in early December. They started off the meeting with a warm welcome from Dave Nelson and a Power Systems Update from Ian Jarman. This great start to the meeting set the tone…

Al Barsa Challenge 2011 – Follow up

I’m pleased to announce that we met all the goals set for the 2011 Al Barsa Challenge! We received $2330 in contributions and had $4050 in matching donations for a total of $6380. Thanks to … Amanda Shaw, Leo Whitakar, Laura Ubelhor, Jon Anglis, David Willenborg, John Voris, Sharon Bodine, Guy Vig, Jenniefer Halverson, Marty…

Al Barsa Challenge 2011

Last year, I challenged the IBM i community to raise funds for the Al Barsa Memorial Scholarship. Thanks to your contributions and some generous matching grantors, we raised $2,860. I think we can exceed that excellent figure. This time, we have even more matching grantors on board, each one contributing a dollar for dollar match….

CEF Scholarships

Today’s post comes from guest author Randy Dufault … Randy is a former president of COMMON and is currently leading the COMMON certification team and member of the COMMON Education Foundation Board. I went to college in a completely different era (read: I’m an old guy). I attended a state school as a resident and…

COMMON 2011 Day 1 From a First-Timer

I have been in the Midrange.com community since around 2001. In those 10 years, I have been helped by many in that community countless times. Today, I got to see several of those people and I am sure by the end of the week, I will meet many more. Today was a whirlwind of events…

Jeff Carey – COMMON BoD Candidate 2011

Ed note: The following is a post by guest author Jeff Carey who is a candidate for the COMMON Board of Directors. I’ve been a proud member of COMMON for almost 20 years now and a volunteer for about 6. Attending my first meeting in 1993 in New Orleans, I was struck with seeing a…

Al Barsa Scholarship Nominations

I‘m posting this on behalf of the COMMON Education Foundation board (of which I am a member). In 2008, after the untimely passing of Al Barsa, The COMMON Education Foundation established The Al Barsa Memorial Scholarship in honor and remembrance of Al. This allows the many people affected by Al’s life to honor him and…

Al Barsa Scholarship Challenge 2010 Wrapup

I’m please to announce that the Al Barsa Scholarship Challenge 2010 was a great success. $1,260 was raised with an additional $1600 in matching grants for a total of $2,860! Thanks to the following members of the IBM i community who donated: David Vasta Brad Stone Norm Dennis Michael Smith Carl Novit Wayne Evans Bryce…