Author: Jeff Eveland

By Wendy Sanacore
We have weekly Monday morning meetings here at TxMQ. The whole group of us get together via face to face meeting and conference bridge and we discuss the previous week, progress on job openings, and what can be expected for the upcoming week.
For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Chuck Fried, you don’t know then that he is the metaphor king. He has certain…call them…catch phrases that many of us have heard many times over. So we always sit back and wait for him to drop a new one.
This past Monday, he did not disappoint. In the not so humble words of Chuck Fried, Monday’s nugget of gold was, “The internet has made us all functional morons.”
I jotted it down, because it made me think. Without dating myself too much, I remember being in my junior year of high school and being tasked with the “dreaded” research paper.
We tackled it the same way students year after year had tackled it before us. We went to the library and scoured encyclopedias and microfiche data of newspapers and magazines for historical data.
But then we were introduced to something else. This really cool thing called the Internet. And I honestly think this is the first time I had ever heard of the Internet. My search engine? Alta Vista dial up. We all had to sign up in the library to use the two or three computers available with Internet connections. I think we blocked off like 20 minutes to use the computer…10 of which were comprised of the Internet trying to connect.
The one thing I do remember is that it opened up a whole new world for me. They taught classes on how to use the Internet. Then I went home and was able to teach my mom and dad.
One of our part time employees is a freshman in college. According to her, her research was almost exclusively done via Internet in high school.
And the technology progressed so quickly. It’s amazing to think that it was just 12 years ago.
Now I work for an IT staffing company that our bread and butter is the advancement of technology. That aside, his Monday statement rings true. And it isn’t just the Internet.
Quick question…what’s your best friend’s phone number? And don’t grab your phone to check…
See my point?

I.  Message Broker Introduction

1. Role of message middleware for application and business integration
2. Some Business Examples
3. Broker functionalities
4. Broker’s place in ESB and SOA

II.  IBM WebSphere Message Broker Overview

1. Architecture
2. Components
3. Logical Message Model
4. Message Parsing
5. Tools introduction

III.  Customization and Administration

1. Hardware and software requirements
2. Security
3. Customization and Tailoring
4. Administration commands

IV.  Basic ESQL

1. Introduction to ESQL
2. Brief introduction to XML
3. Revision of MQ message structure
4. Revision of MQ message properties

V.  Message Flow Development

1. Using WebSphere Broker Toolkit
2. Creating a Message Flow
3. Deploying a Message Flow
4. Interactive Debug Tool
5. Tracing a Message Flow

VI.  Nodes Processing

1. MQInput Node
2. MQOutput Node
3. Filter Node
4. Compute Node

VII.  Message Format Service

1. Message Repository Manager (MRM)
2. Configuration Console
3. Message Sets
4. Message Translation Interface
5. MRM-XML
6. MRM-CWF (custom wired format)

VIII.  Advance Flows and Nodes

1. MQReply Node
2. Database Nodes
3. Warehouse Node
4. Aggregate Nodes
5. Validate
6. JavaCompute Node
7. JMS Nodes
8. File Nodes
9. SMTP Node

IX.  WMB Publish and Subscribe

1. Publish and Subscribe concepts
2. TOPIC-based Pub/Sub
3. Useful Nodes from SupportPacs
4. Plug-in Nodes

X.  Broker Performance and Transaction

1. Transaction in Message Flows
2. Design Considerations
3. Statistics
4. Performance

XI.  Web Services

1. Web Service in Message Flows
2. SOAP/HTTP Nodes and Handling
3. Security for Web Services

By Kyle Agius
For years, phones have had voice recognition software, which was capable of understanding simple tasks such as calling a friend or searching a term on the web.
Interesting technology, but it’s a feature that is often forgotten about.  Many times people will play with it for the first week, but it is never utilized to its full potential. That is all until Apple released the new iPhone 4s feature Siri; your own personal assistant.
Having heard great things about the new features and my curiosity about it (as well as being up for a new 2-year contract), I ordered my new iPhone 4s.  Although this program is still technically in beta, I am overall impressed with the wide array of tasks it can handle, and it’s much quicker than me navigating the iPhone to get them done.
I find myself using Siri at least 4-5 times a day, asking it for simple tasks from reminding me to get my textbook to asking it to wake me up at 7:00am.  At this point it has me hooked I think I will only use it more as it becomes more intelligent as time goes on.
It may be difficult to realize all the benefits of Siri unless you actually own the iPhone 4s and have ample time to converse with it while you are alone
For example, while I am driving, I am able to tell Siri to type, send, or read messages when they come in, never once taking my eyes off the road.
It even reads my typed message back to me to verify the wording before I confirm the send.  It is also great being able to do so many things hands free.
Living in Buffalo, the weather starts to get cold this time of year, and walking long distances outside between classes can be brutal if you have your hands exposed.  I have found Siri extremely helpful with picking the song I want to listen to just by asking it, as opposed to pulling out my iPhone and manually choosing it.
It’s small things like this that make the technology so useful.  Siri even has quite the sense of humor when it comes to certain questions you can ask it.  Check out some of the things I asked it out of curiosity below.
Now I’m not saying that this technology alone is the reason for you to invest in the iPhone 4s over any other phone. I just think it is a great feature to have and can truly help with your efficiency and remembering small tasks.  And it’s definitely become a feature that will only be improved and built upon as it becomes more developed.
 

By Wendy Sanacore
Lowes is spending a lot of money to upgrade the technology in their stores. The company has boosted capital spending by 20% to $1.6 billion this year.
What are they spending a portion of it on?
Lowes is equipping employees with 42,000 iPhone 4’s to more promptly answer shoppers’ questions and ring up purchases. The company is implementing these changes to keep up with The Home Depot which continually stays ahead of Lowes in sales.
While Lowes has declined to state how much they will be spending on technology in this fiscal year, it is said to be a record amount.
Technology is the backbone of a company. For those who believe that Lowes can’t keep up or catch up with The Home Depot, I would challenge them to reconsider.
A company willing to invest in  technology is a company with its sights set on the future. We are a technology driven world. A smile helps, but response time speaks volumes. The instant access that Lowes’ employees are  going to have to pertinent information will help them grow their business, build their brand image and lead to happier customers.
In addition to adding iPhones, Lowes is also rolling out a new online tool with a website upgrade. The tool will allow customers to store owners’ manuals, warranties and paint formulas.
Utilizing the newest technology will keep your business up to date and current. We see it every day. Our clients are typically companies who are upgrading to the newest and latest version of software and need our assistance.
By implementing the right upgrades and technology, you keep your business running on all cylinders.

By Miles Roty
We all remember where we were and what we experienced on the morning of September 11th, 2001. I was in Manhattan the day those events unfolded. This is my memory.
I arrived to my midtown Manhattan building a little later than usual that day. It was a clear morning; comfortable. I had been traveling over the weekend and into Monday, so there was plenty to catch up on. I walked into the office 5-10 minutes before 9a.m.
One of my junior recruiters already had the news pulled up on his desktop computer about the first WTC Tower. As a very young person, without knowing the extent of the incident, he mentioned it casually, almost jokingly – as just another crazy, relatively benign thing that happens on occasion in a city as big and wild as New York.
My mind quickly ran to the possibility that an inexperienced, independent pilot in a single engine plane made a horrible mistake. I asked aloud “How many casualties?” Eric paused, and realized that even if it had just been “one of those crazy things”, people were still hurt and likely killed – at least the pilot. “Oh, I don’t know”, he replied.
More people began to arrive in the office – the news was building. This was not a single-prop accident.
Then some calls came in, “Did you hear?”. Then my wife called. The second Tower had been hit. This was no accident at all.
She was frantic, panicked, screeching and crying, barely understandable. I was able to make out “there’s a terrorist attack across the city, you have to get out now”. I told her to relax, that I was fine, safe. I asked what happened, and she was able to calm down to the point where she could explain to me everything that she had seen on television.
She told me what had happened, that we were under attack, and again, that I must get out of Manhattan, get back to her and our 3 month old son. The attack did not reach midtown that day. Tucked between the Empire State Building and Pennsylvania Station, I neither saw nor heard the horror only a few stops down on the express subway line. I was spared in many ways.
I experienced a few minutes of panic, myself. My sister lived in Hoboken and worked in the World Financial Center. She took the PATH Train every morning into the World Trade Center station. She did not have a mobile phone. I called her home…voicemail. I called my mother “Hi mom, I’m OK. Where is Vicky?”, “She is OK, she’s here with us.” Family safe – check.
Now business decisions had to be made. My partner and I openly discussed how to shut down operations for the day, as the city was closing rapidly. We released the employees. My partner lived in Manhattan at the time, and was willing to put-up anyone who could not get back to their homes.
Another of my junior employees lived on Long Island, just as I did. Rachel and I ran to Penn Station. Word on the street was the LIRR and all transportation systems would not be running much longer. We got on the first available train out. It was crowded, though no worse than many rush hour trains. It was not eerie, not silent. The mood was pensive, a little shocked. People were talking, but nobody knew the extent of what was happening.
The Towers had not yet fallen.
I exited at Woodside Station, and Rachel stayed on – it was her line. I chatted with a man on the platform. He told me which floors in the tower had been affected. People were trapped. Cantor Fitzgerald was up there in the North Tower. I knew people at Cantor. One was a client, Ed Martinez. He was a good guy, a Data Communications Manager there. Ed was never too busy to take my call. He talked straight. I liked him.
I also had a neighbor who worked at Cantor, Peter Genco. Peter lived at the end of our block with his wife Diane and two little girls. A gentle, friendly man. A good neighbor. I liked him, too. Ed and Peter, they were trapped.
Miraculously, after some time, another train came by, and my mobile phone still worked. I called my wife, and told her to meet me at the station in Lynbrook – it was as close as I could get to our home, and close enough.
Once off the train I walked into the White Castle right along the station. The television was on in there. People wanted to know what I had seen or heard in the city. I did not have much to tell them. They had much to tell me.
The Towers had collapsed.
My wife arrived at the station. We embraced, we wept. All those people, their lives, their families. She had been outside, on our little block. We lived on a small dead-end with 8 houses. We all knew each other well. It’s a commuter town, most of us worked in the city.
One by one all the husbands showed up on the block. Bob was the last of us to come home. His law offices were downtown – he had a longer journey out than I did. His lower body was covered in soot – white/gray dust. His wife Beth ran down the street an jumped into his arms. Diane sat alone at the end of our block.
Peter never came home.
I spent that night knowing that my immediate loved ones were with me. The world felt less safe, to be sure – but my life was intact. People around me, many people, were not so lucky.
Everyone knows the story about what happened from there. How communities rallied, the economic fallout, the changes to our national psyche, etc. But for me, over the remaining seven-plus years that I lived in that house, all I needed to do was look out my front door to be reminded about what happened.
To be reminded to give thanks for the life I have been granted. To be reminded to honor those who were lost, those great souls who took part in a tragedy, that has forever changed the consciousness of of our world.
 
Webmaster Note:
After reading Miles’ account of that day, please take a moment and reflect on the brave individuals who endured the horrors of September 11, 2001. Remember the many lives lost along with the heroes that rose from the ashes that day.

By Wendy Sanacore
It’s been a while since I have written a post and I am sorry for that. But we have been under a bit of a transition here at work. We have recently converted two of our integral internal systems over to new providers and it has been a whirlwind of questions, troubleshooting and head scratching.
And it really isn’t that complicated of stuff that we’re doing. It is however pulling at the lifeline that we all use day in and day out.
The first system we switched over was our candidate tracking system. We made the shift because the previous system we were using didn’t meet our needs exactly. So after some research and planning, we chose our new system.
Overall, we are very pleased with the shift. However, with any large software move, we encountered technical difficulties. None of the details of the jobs in our old system transferred, some of the resumes we had in our old system didn’t transfer…
But, we had both systems running simultaneously and we were able to work off both of them with no down time. The shift has been completed and we are working to become more and more skilled at the new system.
The other system we transitioned to is a system aimed at our sales staff. Up until now, our sales team has housed their own leads and lists in whatever format and place they desired. Now, we have a central database to track leads and enter new information. This system will allow for supreme organization, scheduled reminders, and additional features that will ensure productivity.
The problem with the transition is the training. How do we train our sales and admin team to use this comprehensive tool the way that it is meant to be used.
How do you stay up to date on technology. I know that the technology we are learning to use is nothing compared to say the newest version of WebSphere or an upgrade of DB2.
As an IT professional, it’s imperative that you stay up to date on current technology. It’s either that or you run the option of falling behind in your field and losing paid work. So what do you do to stay current?
Do you attend trade shows? Online training? Take educational classes? I’d love to hear from you!

By Wendy Sanacore
If you’re company handles funds transferring, sending or viewing invoices or tracking the status of customer orders or transactions, then you most likely use Message Oriented Middleware.
Just one small transaction can trigger multiple business processes, even at the smallest level and can have implications across the board. Many of the industry’s top experts say that IBM’s WebSphere MQ middleware product is the most reliable and efficient to meet your business needs.
 

Why WebSphere MQ?

 
WebSphere MQ is the foundation of the IBM WebSphere brand, and has been long looked to as the standard setting middleware application. MQ acts as the communication backbone for several WebSphere products, including:

• WebSphere Application Server
• WebSphere Business Integration
• WebSphere Commerce
• WebSphere ESB
• WebSphere Front Office
• WebSphere Interchange Server
• WebSphere Message Broker
• WebSphere Process Server
• WebSphere Portal

Interesting fact: WebSphere manages transactions worth more than $1T per day. That’s a huge amount of money and requires the most premier security and protection that can be offered.
It’s no wonder so many banks and financial institutions utilize MQ for their messaging needs.
 

What Does MQ Do?

 
WebSphere MQ provides messaging services to applications and Web services that need to exchange data and events. It offers extreme reliability, integrity, consistency and security. MQ is known for its flexibility, ease and speed, scalability and its proven high performance.
Essentially, MQ is like an email system for Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) applications. It is the transmitter of all pertinent, timely data.
Think about it this way:
You go to the bank and you want to draw out $20.00. You swipe your debit card, and put your pin number in. Magically, the money appears in your hands. How did it get there? How does the bank know to deduct that money from your account?
That’s where MQ steps in. All messaging services are based on something called Queues that store and forward data, based on simple programming commands.
When you entered your pin number and money request, some transaction needed to transmit that request to your account. MQ ensures that your data is not lost or duplicated. That way your account sees just the right deduction of funds.
MQ is essentially a vehicle to transport messages back and forth and make sure they are delivered in a timely and proper fashion
These sent messages are delivered to queues. The queue is a place that holds all the messages. In the queue, there is parallel access by all applications since every message is read by a different application.
WebSphere helps translate the message into a readable version to fit any application trying to access it.
MQ runs messaging across multiple platforms, including Windows, Linux, OS/2, IBM mainframe and midrange, and Unix.
If MQ is properly configured, a message should never be lost. That’s why the proper implementation and deployment of MQ is integral and requires highly skilled technicians who have extensive experience with WebSphere and the IBM platform.
In addition, it never hurts to keep technicians who you trust on call as a security backup, especially when MQ is responsible for such large core functionality within a company. Any outage or miscommunication could be disastrous to company revenue and productivity.
 

About TxMQ

 
TxMQ is a leader in WebSphere staffing and solutions. If you need qualified WebSphere technicians or subject matter experts, we have some of the best in the field.
TxMQ can also help alleviate the pressure of WebSphere support with our managed services offerings. These services act as a 24/7 insurance policy for your WebSphere applications. Contact us today at 716-636-0070 or email wendy@txmq.com for proactive or reactive support questions and options.

By Wendy Sanacore
Preliminary reviews have begun to roll in about Google Plus and from what I’ve heard so far, they are generally positive.
So here’s the question: Is Google Plus the next Facebook? What is it about Google Plus that makes it so wonderful?
I’ve played around with Google Plus now and it has some interesting features that Facebook doesn’t have. For instance, I am quite enamored by the functionality of circles.
Most of us have several groups of connections both in real life and on social media. I know I do. I have my close friends, my workout friend and then my work contacts to name a few. Sometimes I want to post things that are meant just for my close friends and not my work friends.
For example, I am a fitness competitor. But to compete, I have to get on stage in a specially designed bikini and heels.
I don’t want my work connections to see me that way. It’s a great functionality to be able to able to post pictures or status updates just to my close friends or my workout friends.
Circles allow you to segment your life the way you live every day. It doesn’t force you to be friends and share everything with everyone.
Google Plus also offers the opportunity to hold video messaging conferences with up to 25 people through the Hang Out specification. Facebook just can’t compare to it.
It’s going to take a lot more using and understanding of the functionality of Google Plus to really say if it’s better than Facebook. But most people are saying that it is for the time being.
I posted a Facebook poll last week asking if anyone had tried it yet and the comments I received were that people had in fact tried it and they loved it. One of our followers stated that the privacy options were “off the hook”.
I also received many responses that there was no spam thus far. But Google Plus is still in its Beta stage. What happens when the final version is released? I think the no-spam time right now is going to be short lived- especially when advertisers see how profitable Google Plus is going to be.
So what do you think? Will Facebook live on or will it be like MySpace which diminished in popularity after Facebook was released.
Does the Facebook development team have to tools to compete with Google Plus? Which social media outlet will reign as king?
 

About TxMQ

 
Since its inception, TxMQ has specialized in Mainframe software and mainframe systems support offerings. As mainframe software and mainframe applications and subsystems like DB2, z/OS, CICS, MQ, and DB2 continued to grow in popularity, so too did TxMQ’s offerings.
These expanded to include technologies like Virtualization solutions including Linux Virtualization, network Virtualization (Cloud Computing), and desktop Virtualization, as well as mainframe modernization.
As the web became more prevalent and a part of the enterprise, we followed IBM’s offerings and added skilled resources and SME’s in areas like WebSphere, BPM and SOA, including both Lombardi, and Metastorm (now a part of open text), as well as DataPower.
Contact us today at 716-636-0070 ext 29, or email wendy@txmq.com.

By Kyle Agius
For a marketer in an ever-changing technological world, finding a way to reach your target audience can be a nightmare. There must be a better method to ensure that your message reaches the proper audience, right?
Well through the noise of television, radio, billboards, mail, blogs, online banners, and hundreds of other distractions, comes a solution.
Targeted texting.
I know, I know…not exactly a brand new idea but regardless, it’s a trend on the rise.  Especially for the younger generation, there is no better way to communicate than through a text message.
As a 21 year University at Buffalo marketing major, I text far more often than I stop to make phone calls. This makes me realize what a difference it could make for your company.
It’s the perfect method to gain an edge on all the other companies who are still using the same old methods.  So what are the advantages?
1.   Send information about your company straight to the source.
Events, directions, sales, specials?  Convincing your customers to utilize your product or service is the hardest part of business success.  A simple text reminder can make all the difference between choosing you or your competition.
2.  Texting is on the rise.  And it’s cheap!
According to Nielsen.com, “The average U.S. mobile teen now sends or receives an average of 2,899 text-messages per month compared to 191 calls. The average number of texts has gone up 566% in just two years.”
The above statistic was taken in 2009, imagine where it’s at today.
3.  It is nearly guaranteed to reach your market.
Have you ever received a text that you erased without opening first?  I doubt it.  That is practically a 100% chance that your message will not only be received, but also read by the recipient.  It’s a marketer’s dream come true.
 

About TxMQ

Since its inception, TxMQ has specialized in Mainframe software and mainframe systems support offerings. As mainframe software and mainframe applications and subsystems like DB2, z/OS, CICS, MQ, and DB2 continued to grow in popularity, so too did TxMQ’s offerings.
These expanded to include technologies like Virtualization solutions including Linux Virtualization, network Virtualization (Cloud Computing), and desktop Virtualization, as well as mainframe modernization.
As the web became more prevalent and a part of the enterprise, we followed IBM’s offerings and added skilled resources and SME’s in areas like WebSphere, BPM and SOA, including both Lombardi, and Metastorm (now a part of open text), as well as DataPower.
Contact us today at 716-636-0070 ext 29, or email wendy@txmq.com.