New Website

Okay, I've gone and done it.  I've created a new website specifically
for the topics we're discussing.  The primary goal will be to foster
discussion about various application architecture issues, including but
not limited to Java.  In order to make sure nobody misunderstands the
idea, I've even come up with a name for the community this site will
serve: the iSeries Application Architecture Initiative.  This way, we
know the central theme: iSeries application architecture.

The site will be primarily a discussion board, with two sections: public
and members only.  The public area will be devoted to publishing the
findings of the members in areas ranging from architecture to
performance.  I hope to also get a Wiki in place.  In the members
section, there will be a number of discussion forums, each with several
boards devoted to the primary topic.  At this time, topics include
Architecture, Technology and Performance. The Performance forum will
allow posting save and ZIP files for code comparisons, with the goal
being to actually run these test on as many machines as possible.
Eventually, I hope to have a specific vehicle in place for posting test
results.

The ultimate goal of this site, though, is to identify iSeries
application strategies that will fit for SMBs.  I want to take some
representative SMB environments (real or hypothetical) and then try to
identify the road map(s) that will lead them to their desired business
goals.  Right now the strategies section falls under architectures, but
my hope is that it will quickly expand as we start to define different
types of customers and what strategies may best suit them.

You're all invited to take a quick peek at the site with no content,
just to get an idea of the look and feel.  Please let me know what you
think.

http://demo.plutabrothers.com/IAAI

Please, be gentle.  This is very much in alpha testing.  Don't be
surprised if the site is often unavailable.

At the same time, I'd like to get a limited beta going with a few
participants to review the mechanics of the posting process.  Anyone
wanting to help in the initial shakeout of the posting process, please
send me an email along with your desired first and last name.  Your user
name will be you first initial and last name, and I'll assign you a
password in a return email.

I've gotten some good feedback from some of the people at IBM who are on
our side.  Now, if we can show them there's a community out here that
can make them some money, they may be interested in listening to us.
But first, we have to figure out how to best leverage the iSeries as a
business rules processor before the powers that be at IBM relegate it to
a high-priced SQL server.

Joe