#Help with Cobol

[yesornopolls]

Grace Hopper (1906-1992)

In 1934, Hopper earned her Ph.D. in mathematics, becoming one of the very few women to hold such a degree. She went on to help "develop a compiler that was a precursor to the widely used COBOL language" for computers, and she became a rear admiral in the U.S. Navy

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

The New Yorker :: @NewYorker [An advance look at Barry Blitt’s “Left to Their Own Devices,” the cover for next week’s issue.]

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

March 28, 2025

Heather Cox Richardson

Mar 29, 2025

“Another wipeout walloped Wall Street Friday,” Stan Choe of the Associated Press wrote today. The S&P 500 had one of its worst days in two years, dropping 2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 715 points, losing 1.7% of its value. The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.7%. On Tuesday, news dropped that the administration’s blanket firings and wildly shifting tariff policies have dropped consumer confidence to a low it has not hit since January 2021. Today’s stock market tumble started after the Commerce Department released data showing that consumer prices are rising faster than economists expected.

AIG chief international economist James Knightley said: “We are moving in the wrong direction and the concern is that tariffs threaten higher prices, which means the inflation prints are going to remain hot.” Business leaders like lower interest rates, which reduce borrowing costs and make it cheaper to finance business initiatives, but with rising inflation, the Federal Reserve will be less likely to cut interest rates.

Makena Kelly of Wired reported today that billionaire Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) is planning to move the computer system of the Social Security Administration (SSA) off the old programming language it uses, COBOL, to a new system. In 2017, the SSA estimated that such a migration would take about five years. DOGE is planning for the migration to take just a few months, using artificial intelligence to complete the change.

Experts have expressed concern. Dan Hon, who runs a technology strategy company that helps the government modernize its services, told Kelly: “If you weren’t worried about a whole bunch of people not getting benefits or getting the wrong benefits, or getting the wrong entitlements, or having to wait ages, then sure go ahead.” More than 65 million Americans currently receive Social Security benefits. Today Representative Don Beyer (D-VA) recorded himself calling the SSA and being told by a recording that the wait times were more than two hours and that he should call back. And then the system hung up on him.

Musk told the Fox News Channel today that he plans to step down from DOGE in May, apparently at the end of the 130-day cap for the “special government employee” designation that enables him to avoid financial disclosures. In February, White House staffers suggested Musk would stay despite the limit.

Today the State Department told Congress it is shutting down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) altogether by July 1. Whatever agency functions the administration approves will move into the State Department. Founded by President John F. Kennedy and enjoying bipartisan support, USAID administers programs for global health, disaster relief, long-term economic development, education, environmental protection, and democracy. It is widely perceived to be a key element of U.S. “soft power.”

USAID was created by Congress, and its funds are appropriated by Congress. Congress and the courts have established that the executive branch—the branch of government overseen by the president—cannot kill an agency Congress has created and cannot withhold appropriations Congress has made. The authors of Project 2025 want to challenge that principle and consolidate government power in the hands of the president. It appears they have chosen USAID as the test case.

As Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shatters science and health agencies, the nation’s top vaccine regulator, Dr. Peter Marks, submitted his resignation today after being given the choice to resign or be fired. Dan Diamond of the Washington Post noted that Marks has been at the Food and Drug Administration since 2012 and has been at the head of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research since 2016.

In his resignation letter, Diamond says, Marks expressed his deep concern over the ongoing measles outbreak in the Southwest—now more than 450 cases—and warned that the outbreak “reminds us of what happens when confidence in well-established science underlying public health and well-being is undermined.” Marks said that although he was willing to work with Kennedy on his plan to review vaccine safety, “it has become clear that truth and transparency are not desired by the Secretary, but rather he wishes subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies.”

On Tuesday, news broke that Kennedy has tapped anti-vaccine activist David Geier to lead a study looking to link autism to vaccines, although that alleged link has been heavily studied and thoroughly debunked. Infectious disease journalist Helen Branswell notes that Geier does not have a medical degree and was disciplined in Maryland for practicing medicine without a license.

British investigative journalist Brian Deer, who has written about the hoax that vaccines cause autism, told Branswell: “If you want an independent source,… [you] wouldn’t go to somebody with no qualifications and a long track record of impropriety and incompetence.” But, he said, “[i]f you wanted to get in anybody off the street who would come up with the result that Kennedy would like to see, this would be your man.”

Tara Copp of the Associated Press reported today that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has done some targeted staffing, too. His younger brother Phil Hegseth is traveling to the Indo-Pacific with the secretary in his role at the Pentagon as a liaison and senior advisor to the Department of Homeland Security. Hegseth also employed his brother when he ran the nonprofit Concerned Veterans for America, where the younger Hegseth’s salary was $108,000 for his media work. Copp notes that a 1967 law “prohibits government officials from hiring, promoting or recommending relatives to any civilian position over which they exercise control.”

Hegseth and his colleagues are still in the hot seat for uploading the military’s attack plans against the Houthis in Yemen to Signal, an unsecure commercially available messaging app. Yesterday, Nancy A. Youssef, Alexander Ward, and Michael R. Gordon of the Wall Street Journal reported that National Security Advisor Mike Waltz identified a Houthi missile expert whose identity Israel had provided from a human source in Yemen, angering Israeli officials.

Americans, especially those with ties to the military, aren’t happy either. Military, the leading news website for service members, veterans, and their families, titled a story about the scandal “‘Different spanks for different ranks’: Hegseth’s Signal scandal would put regular troops in the brig.” Helene Cooper and Eric Schmitt of the New York Times reported that the story had “angered and bewildered” fighter pilots, who say “they can no longer be certain that the Pentagon is focused on their safety when they strap into cockpits.”

At a raucous town hall held today by Republican representative Victoria Spartz (R-IN), the crowd booed Spartz loudly when she said she would not call for the resignations of Waltz, Hegseth, and the rest of the people on the group chat.

All the mayhem created by the administration has created enough backlash that the White House appears concerned about upcoming special elections on April 1. One is for the seat in Florida’s District 6 that Waltz vacated when he became national security advisor. In 2024, Trump won that district by 30 points, and Republicans considered their candidate, state senator Randy Fine, whom Trump has strongly endorsed, to be such a shoo-in that he barely campaigned. His website features pictures of him with Trump but has only bullet points to explain his stand on issues.

Democrat Josh Weil, a middle-school math teacher who has outraised Fine by almost 10 to one, is polling within the margin of error for a victory in a contest where even a 10- to 15-point loss would show a dramatic collapse in Republican support. Weil has tied Fine to Musk’s unpopular DOGE and to the president, as well as to cuts to Social Security and Medicaid.

Trump is now personally campaigning for Fine and for the Republican candidate to fill the seat vacated by former representative Matt Gaetz in Florida District 1. There, Democratic candidate Gay Valimont is running against Republican Jimmy Patronis in a district that elected Trump with about 68% of the vote. Like Fine, Patronis is strongly backed by Trump and wants more cuts to the federal government; Gay is a former state leader for Moms Demand Action and focuses on healthcare and veterans’ services. She has criticized DOGE’s cuts to VA hospitals. Like Weil, she has significantly outraised her opponent.

Republicans are concerned enough about holding the seats that billionaire Elon Musk, who poured more than $291 million into the 2024 election to help Republicans, has begun to contribute to Republicans in Florida. On Tuesday he spent more than $10,000 apiece for texting services for the Florida candidates.

Musk has contributed far more than that—more than $20 million—to the April 1 election for a ten-year seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Trump loyalist Brad Schimel is running against circuit court judge Susan Crawford in a contest that has national significance. Wisconsin is evenly split between the parties, but when Republicans control the legislature and the supreme court, they suppress voting and heavily gerrymander the state in their favor. When liberals hold the majority on the court, they ease election rules and uphold fair maps. Currently, the state gerrymander gives Republicans 75% of the state’s seats in the U.S. House of Representatives although voting in 2024 was virtually dead even. The makeup of the court could well determine the congressional districts of Wisconsin through 2041, through the redistricting that will take place after the 2030 census.

Musk has told voters that if Crawford wins, “then the Democrats will attempt to redraw the districts and cause Wisconsin to lose two Republican seats.” Not only has Musk said he is going to Wisconsin to speak before the election, but also he is handing out checks to voters who sign a petition against “activist judges,” a suggestion that it would not be fair to unskew the Republican gerrymander. Last night, Musk advertised a contest that would award two voters a million dollars each, with the condition that the winners had to have already voted.

This morning, Wisconsin Democrats issued a press release noting that Musk had “committed a blatant felony,” directly violating the Wisconsin law that prohibits offering anyone anything worth more than $1 to get them to “vote or refrain from voting.” Wisconsin Democratic Party chair Ben Wikler said that if Schimel “does not immediately call on Musk to end this criminal activity, we can only assume he is complicit.”

Musk deleted the tweet and then, eliminating the language that said people had to have voted, posted that he would give the checks to spokespeople for his petition. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul sued to stop Musk “from any further promotion of the million-dollar gifts” and “from making any payments to Wisconsin electors to vote.” “The Wisconsin Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that elections in Wisconsin are safe, secure, free, and fair,” Kaul said in a statement. “We are aware of the offer recently posted by Elon Musk to award a million dollars to two people at an event in Wisconsin this weekend. Based on our understanding of applicable Wisconsin law, we intend to take legal action today to seek a court order to stop this from happening.”

MeidasTouch reposted Musk’s offer to “personally hand over two checks for a million dollars each in appreciation for you taking the time to vote” and noted: “No matter what side of the aisle you are on, you should be appalled that a billionaire thinks he has the right to buy elections like this.” Former chair of the Ohio Democratic Party David Pepper posted: “Have some pride, America. We are so much better than this guy thinks we are.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[gwydionmisha]

Do you trust them not to steal the data, given how at least one of the hackers he hired has a history of working with cyber criminals and another was fired from a company because he leaked information?

Do you think people claiming to be so incompetent at their job that they lied and are still lying that COBOL error messages are somehow proof of massive fraud on a large scale to update a program written in COBOL?

Do you trust them not to completely fuck up the new website either through incompetence or on purpose as a way to steal people's benefits, maybe declare people dead or delete them for "fraud" if they don't like their last names or where they live?

Do you think using AI in code that is vital to the survival of so many Americans is a good Idea?

From the article:

"The DOGE team has already been reportedly running highly sensitive government data through AI, as the Washington Post reported last month, so why not use it to cheat-code your way to a more modern programming language? The reason, of course is the risk of cascading failures during any rush-job that might mean missed payments or beneficiary information getting wiped from the system entirely."

This is utterly terrifying, especially given the fact that they've already completely funked up Social Security phone service. How do I know? Just over a month ago, I called to do the quick phone tree to get a proof of income from them, something I have to do multiple times a year because various programs want them and they need to be very recent. The phone tree had been noticeably improved since last time I'd used it in the fall. When I called today 3/31/25, they had completely removed all the quick phone tree options.

They took a service that was completely automated in the last ten years, and thus super cheap and already in place, for people with a bunch of routine, common, queries and yanked all that out, requiring people to get in line for a live person. Last time I needed live agent service it took about five hours to get back to me.

They are lying that this is about efficiency and saving money. Leaving the automated system in place is dramatically cheaper than paying people to answer, especially at a time they are firing people.

This is meant to break the system and force the people who need their benefits the most out of the system.

Musk has given the goal of stealing Social Security benefits away from people who earned the benefit and actually need it:

"“In fact, what we’re doing will help their benefits,” Musk said. “Legitimate people, as a result of the work of DOGE, will receive more Social Security, not less. I want to emphasize that. As a result of the work of DOGE, legitimate recipients of Social Security will receive more money, not less money.”"

The only way that happens is to take it away from the majority of recipients. You know the people Lutnick claims are fraudsters if they complain at the theft of their rent and electricity bill money recently.

Have something you want to tell your Congress Critters?

If you can't safely contact them in person, here are some other options:

Five Calls to your critters: https://5calls.org/

Here is one that will send your reps a fax: https://resist.bot/

Scream loudest at republican Critters. Those are their voters Musk is trying to kill, but whatever critters you have, stay noisy. We have until 4/14 to stop them.

[stevebattle]

"Grace" Micro Nova Hopper (2025) by Intuitive Machines and NASA. The Micro Nova Hopper is a propulsive drone designed to 'hop' across the lunar surface, so who better to name it after than Grace Hopper, the pioneering computer scientist who helped to develop the COBOL programming language. The IM-2 Athena spacecraft carrying Grace landed in the south polar region of the Moon on March 6, 2025, but may have come to rest on its side just like the ill-fated IM-1. If it can be deployed from the Athena lander, Grace is planned to perform a series of five hops, each one getting progressively higher, and traveling up to 2km from the landing site. The first hop would ascend to a height of 20 metres, the second to 50 metres, and the third would reach a maximum height of 100 metres. The plan is to hop into a permanently shadowed crater and then hop back out.

[misfitwashere]

March 28, 2025

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

MAR 29 READ IN APP

“Another wipeout walloped Wall Street Friday,” Stan Choe of the Associated Press wrote today. The S&P 500 had one of its worst days in two years, dropping 2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 715 points, losing 1.7% of its value. The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.7%. On Tuesday, news dropped that the administration’s blanket firings and wildly shifting tariff policies have dropped consumer confidence to a low it has not hit since January 2021. Today’s stock market tumble started after the Commerce Department released data showing that consumer prices are rising faster than economists expected.

AIG chief international economist James Knightley said: “We are moving in the wrong direction and the concern is that tariffs threaten higher prices, which means the inflation prints are going to remain hot.” Business leaders like lower interest rates, which reduce borrowing costs and make it cheaper to finance business initiatives, but with rising inflation, the Federal Reserve will be less likely to cut interest rates.

Makena Kelly of Wired reported today that billionaire Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) is planning to move the computer system of the Social Security Administration (SSA) off the old programming language it uses, COBOL, to a new system. In 2017, the SSA estimated that such a migration would take about five years. DOGE is planning for the migration to take just a few months, using artificial intelligence to complete the change.

Experts have expressed concern. Dan Hon, who runs a technology strategy company that helps the government modernize its services, told Kelly: “If you weren’t worried about a whole bunch of people not getting benefits or getting the wrong benefits, or getting the wrong entitlements, or having to wait ages, then sure go ahead.” More than 65 million Americans currently receive Social Security benefits. Today Representative Don Beyer (D-VA) recorded himself calling the SSA and being told by a recording that the wait times were more than two hours and that he should call back. And then the system hung up on him.

Musk told the Fox News Channel today that he plans to step down from DOGE in May, apparently at the end of the 130-day cap for the “special government employee” designation that enables him to avoid financial disclosures. In February, White House staffers suggested Musk would stay despite the limit.

Today the State Department told Congress it is shutting down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) altogether by July 1. Whatever agency functions the administration approves will move into the State Department. Founded by President John F. Kennedy and enjoying bipartisan support, USAID administers programs for global health, disaster relief, long-term economic development, education, environmental protection, and democracy. It is widely perceived to be a key element of U.S. “soft power.”

USAID was created by Congress, and its funds are appropriated by Congress. Congress and the courts have established that the executive branch—the branch of government overseen by the president—cannot kill an agency Congress has created and cannot withhold appropriations Congress has made. The authors of Project 2025 want to challenge that principle and consolidate government power in the hands of the president. It appears they have chosen USAID as the test case.

As Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shatters science and health agencies, the nation’s top vaccine regulator, Dr. Peter Marks, submitted his resignation today after being given the choice to resign or be fired. Dan Diamond of the Washington Post noted that Marks has been at the Food and Drug Administration since 2012 and has been at the head of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research since 2016.

In his resignation letter, Diamond says, Marks expressed his deep concern over the ongoing measles outbreak in the Southwest—now more than 450 cases—and warned that the outbreak “reminds us of what happens when confidence in well-established science underlying public health and well-being is undermined.” Marks said that although he was willing to work with Kennedy on his plan to review vaccine safety, “it has become clear that truth and transparency are not desired by the Secretary, but rather he wishes subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies.”

On Tuesday, news broke that Kennedy has tapped anti-vaccine activist David Geier to lead a study looking to link autism to vaccines, although that alleged link has been heavily studied and thoroughly debunked. Infectious disease journalist Helen Branswell notes that Geier does not have a medical degree and was disciplined in Maryland for practicing medicine without a license.

British investigative journalist Brian Deer, who has written about the hoax that vaccines cause autism, told Branswell: “If you want an independent source,… [you] wouldn’t go to somebody with no qualifications and a long track record of impropriety and incompetence.” But, he said, “[i]f you wanted to get in anybody off the street who would come up with the result that Kennedy would like to see, this would be your man.”

Tara Copp of the Associated Press reported today that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has done some targeted staffing, too. His younger brother Phil Hegseth is traveling to the Indo-Pacific with the secretary in his role at the Pentagon as a liaison and senior advisor to the Department of Homeland Security. Hegseth also employed his brother when he ran the nonprofit Concerned Veterans for America, where the younger Hegseth’s salary was $108,000 for his media work. Copp notes that a 1967 law “prohibits government officials from hiring, promoting or recommending relatives to any civilian position over which they exercise control.”

Hegseth and his colleagues are still in the hot seat for uploading the military’s attack plans against the Houthis in Yemen to Signal, an unsecure commercially available messaging app. Yesterday, Nancy A. Youssef, Alexander Ward, and Michael R. Gordon of the Wall Street Journal reported that National Security Advisor Mike Waltz identified a Houthi missile expert whose identity Israel had provided from a human source in Yemen, angering Israeli officials.

Americans, especially those with ties to the military, aren’t happy either. Military, the leading news website for service members, veterans, and their families, titled a story about the scandal “‘Different spanks for different ranks’: Hegseth’s Signal scandal would put regular troops in the brig.” Helene Cooper and Eric Schmitt of the New York Times reported that the story had “angered and bewildered” fighter pilots, who say “they can no longer be certain that the Pentagon is focused on their safety when they strap into cockpits.”

At a raucous town hall held today by Republican representative Victoria Spartz (R-IN), the crowd booed Spartz loudly when she said she would not call for the resignations of Waltz, Hegseth, and the rest of the people on the group chat.

All the mayhem created by the administration has created enough backlash that the White House appears concerned about upcoming special elections on April 1. One is for the seat in Florida’s District 6 that Waltz vacated when he became national security advisor. In 2024, Trump won that district by 30 points, and Republicans considered their candidate, state senator Randy Fine, whom Trump has strongly endorsed, to be such a shoo-in that he barely campaigned. His website features pictures of him with Trump but has only bullet points to explain his stand on issues.

Democrat Josh Weil, a middle-school math teacher who has outraised Fine by almost 10 to one, is polling within the margin of error for a victory in a contest where even a 10- to 15-point loss would show a dramatic collapse in Republican support. Weil has tied Fine to Musk’s unpopular DOGE and to the president, as well as to cuts to Social Security and Medicaid.

Trump is now personally campaigning for Fine and for the Republican candidate to fill the seat vacated by former representative Matt Gaetz in Florida District 1. There, Democratic candidate Gay Valimont is running against Republican Jimmy Patronis in a district that elected Trump with about 68% of the vote. Like Fine, Patronis is strongly backed by Trump and wants more cuts to the federal government; Gay is a former state leader for Moms Demand Action and focuses on healthcare and veterans’ services. She has criticized DOGE’s cuts to VA hospitals. Like Weil, she has significantly outraised her opponent.

Republicans are concerned enough about holding the seats that billionaire Elon Musk, who poured more than $291 million into the 2024 election to help Republicans, has begun to contribute to Republicans in Florida. On Tuesday he spent more than $10,000 apiece for texting services for the Florida candidates.

Musk has contributed far more than that—more than $20 million—to the April 1 election for a ten-year seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Trump loyalist Brad Schimel is running against circuit court judge Susan Crawford in a contest that has national significance. Wisconsin is evenly split between the parties, but when Republicans control the legislature and the supreme court, they suppress voting and heavily gerrymander the state in their favor. When liberals hold the majority on the court, they ease election rules and uphold fair maps. Currently, the state gerrymander gives Republicans 75% of the state’s seats in the U.S. House of Representatives although voting in 2024 was virtually dead even. The makeup of the court could well determine the congressional districts of Wisconsin through 2041, through the redistricting that will take place after the 2030 census.

Musk has told voters that if Crawford wins, “then the Democrats will attempt to redraw the districts and cause Wisconsin to lose two Republican seats.” Not only has Musk said he is going to Wisconsin to speak before the election, but also he is handing out checks to voters who sign a petition against “activist judges,” a suggestion that it would not be fair to unskew the Republican gerrymander. Last night, Musk advertised a contest that would award two voters a million dollars each, with the condition that the winners had to have already voted.

This morning, Wisconsin Democrats issued a press release noting that Musk had “committed a blatant felony,” directly violating the Wisconsin law that prohibits offering anyone anything worth more than $1 to get them to “vote or refrain from voting.” Wisconsin Democratic Party chair Ben Wikler said that if Schimel “does not immediately call on Musk to end this criminal activity, we can only assume he is complicit.”

Musk deleted the tweet and then, eliminating the language that said people had to have voted, posted that he would give the checks to spokespeople for his petition. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul sued to stop Musk “from any further promotion of the million-dollar gifts” and “from making any payments to Wisconsin electors to vote.” “The Wisconsin Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that elections in Wisconsin are safe, secure, free, and fair,” Kaul said in a statement. “We are aware of the offer recently posted by Elon Musk to award a million dollars to two people at an event in Wisconsin this weekend. Based on our understanding of applicable Wisconsin law, we intend to take legal action today to seek a court order to stop this from happening.”

MeidasTouch reposted Musk’s offer to “personally hand over two checks for a million dollars each in appreciation for you taking the time to vote” and noted: “No matter what side of the aisle you are on, you should be appalled that a billionaire thinks he has the right to buy elections like this.” Former chair of the Ohio Democratic Party David Pepper posted: “Have some pride, America. We are so much better than this guy thinks we are.”

—

[margokesses]

Severance s2 ep1 thoughts:

Why the hell they got that baby playing secretary? Do her parents know??

I kinda understand why helly wouldn't tell them about her outie from a writing perspective but from a viewer perspective... girl tell them you could help them all out in some way

Also I feel like for a boss character I find milchick to be more... compelling so far compared to cobol?

Like cobol just gave off sadistic boss energy while milchick has that "looks nice but it's actually terrifying" vibe. Like you know that man is planning and scheming in that office

[sunnylovescats]

Since men are so ready to take away women’s right to vote and say we’re sooo uneducated and need to know our places, please, have these inventions and scientific discoveries that were credited to men instead 🥰

Hedy Lamarr: Wireless communication. Hollywood actor Hedy Lamarr should actually be the person credited with the invention of wireless communication. During the second World War, Hedy worked closely with George Antheil to develop the idea of "frequency hopping," which would have prevented the bugging of military radios. Unfortunately, the U.S. Navy ignored her patent —and later used her findings to develop new technologies. Years later, her patent was re-discovered by a researcher, which led to Lamarr receiving the Electronic Frontier Foundation Award shortly before her death in 2000.

Alice Ball: Cure for leprosy. Alice Ball was a young chemist at Kalihi Hospital in Hawaii who focused on Hansen's disease, a.k.a. leprosy. Her research sought to find a cure for the disease by figuring out how to inject chaulmoogra oil directly into the bloodstream. Topical treatments worked, but had side effects patients weren't interested in. Sadly, Ball became sick and returned home, where she died in 1916. Arthur Dean took over her study, and Ball became a memory—until a medical journey now referred to the "Ball Method." Her method was used for over two decades all over the world to cure the disease.

Elizabeth Magie Philips: Monopoly. The invention of everyone's favorite board game has been credited to Charles Darrow, who sold it to Parker Brothers in 1935. But it was Elizabeth Magie Phillips who came up with the original inspiration, The Landlord's Game, in 1903. Ironically, she designed the game to protest against monopolists like Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller.

Marion Donovan: Disposable diapers. In the '40s, new mothers had very few options for diapers. There was cloth...and that was pretty much it. The daughter of an inventor, Marion's first patent was actually for a diaper cover. She later added buttons, eliminating the need for safety pins. Her original disposable diaper was made with shower curtains, with her final one made from nylon parachute cloth. This new method helped keep children and clothes cleaner and dryer, not to mention helping with rashes. But, of course, diaper companies at first ignored her patent.

Vera Rubin: Dark matter. Rubin is the astrophysicist who confirmed the existence of dark matter in the atmosphere. She worked with astronomer Kent Ford in the '60s and '70s, when they discovered the reasoning behind stars' movement outside of the galaxy. She's dubbed a "national treasure" but remains without a Nobel Peace Prize.

Margaret Knight: Square-bottomed paper bags. In 1868, Knight invented a machine that folded and formed flat, square-bottomed brown paper bags. She built a wooden model of the device, but couldn't apply for a patent until she made an iron model. While the model was being developed in the shop, a man named Charles Annan stole the idea and patented it. Though he received credit for it, Knight filed a lawsuit and finally won the rights to it in 1871.

Dr. Grace Hopper: Computer Programming Language. Hopper created the first computer language compiler tools to program the Harvard Mark I computer—IBM's computer that was often used for World War II efforts. Though it's noted in history that John von Neumann initiated the computer's first program, Hopper is the one who invented the codes to program it. One of the programming languages she pioneered, COBOL, is widely used today.

Ada Harris: Hair straightener. Marcel Grateau is often credited for the invention of the hair straightener, but it was Harris who first claimed the patent for it in 1893. (Grateau made his claim to fame with the curling iron around 1852, and we certainly know there's a difference.)

Esther Lederburg: Microbial Genetics. Lederberg played a large part in determining how genes are regulated, along with the process of making RNA from DNA. She often collaborated with her husband Joshua Lederberg on their work on microbial genetics, but it was Esther who discovered lambda phage—a virus that infects E. coli bacteria. Despite their collaboration, her husband claimed the 1958 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for discoveries on how bacteria mate.

Jocelyn Bell Burnell: Pulsars. Jocelyn Bell Burnell discovered irregular radio pulses while working as a research assistant at Cambridge. After showing the discovery of the pulses to her advisor, the team worked together to uncover what they truly were: Neuron stars, AKA pulsars. Burnell received zero credit for her discovery—instead, her advisor Antony Hewish and Martin Ryle received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1974.

Chien-Shiung Wu: Nuclear Physics. Often compared to Marie Curie, Chien-Shiung Wu worked on the Manhattan Project, where she developed the process for separating uranium metal. In 1956, she conducted the Wu experiment that focused on electromagnetic interactions. After it yielded surprising results, Tsung-Dao Lee and Chen-Ning Yang, the physicists who originated a similar theory in the field, received credit for her work, winning the Nobel Prize for the experiment in 1957.

Ada Lovelace: Computer algorithm. In the mid-1800s, Ada Lovelace wrote the instructions for the first computer program. But mathematician and inventor Charles Babbage is often credited with the work because he invented the actual engine.

Rosalind Franklin: DNA Double Helix. Franklin's X-ray photographs of DNA revealed the molecule's true structure as a double helix, which was a theory denounced by scientists James Watson and Francis Crick at the time. However, since Watson and Crick originally discovered the (single) helix, they ended up receiving a Nobel Prize for their research.

The ENIAC Programmers: First electronic computer. The ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) was the first computer ever built. In 1946, six women programmed this electronic computer as part of a secret World War II project. Inventor John Mauchly is often the only one who gets credit for its creation, but the programmers are the ones who fully developed the machine.

Lise Meitner: Nuclear Fission. Discovered the true power of uranium, noting that atomic nuclei split during some reactions. The discovery was credited to her lab partner Otto Han, who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1944

Katherine Johnson: Moon landing. She l discovered the exact path for the Freedom 7 spacecraft to successfully enter space for the first time in 1961 and later for the Apollo 11 mission to land on the moon in 1969. She often went unrecognized by her male colleagues and faced racial discrimination.

Mary Anderson: Windowshield wipers. Anderson first came up with the idea of windshield wipers while riding in a streetcar in the snow. She tried selling her device to companies after receiving the patent for it in 1903, but all of them rejected her invention. It wasn't until the '50s and '60s when faster automobiles were invented that companies took to the idea. By then, Anderson's patent had expired, and later, inventor Robert Kearns was credited with the idea.

Nettie Stevens: Sex chromosomes. Stevens discovered the connection between chromosomes and sex determination. Despite Stevens' breakthrough, her colleague and mentor E.B. Wilson published his papers before her and is often noted for the discovery.

Caresse Crosby: The modern bra. Caresse Crosby, who developed the modern bra. She was the first to acquire the patent for the modern bra, AKA a "Backless Brassiere," yet is often left in the shadows because she sold her patent to the Warner Brothers Corset Company.

[medig]

A Tale of Woe, Ep. 50 : Happy Birthday!

(all episodes)

"Claire, sweetie, you can't hide under that sheet all day! Come on out and get it over with.."

----

[one hour earlier]

"Claire, what's wrong, did you make your wish yet?"

"Yeah, Liz, I wish I could go home. But I can't help thinking about how I'm another year older and seemingly no closer to getting out of this place."

"Well it certainly won't come true if you don't hurry up and blow them out!"

"Really, Liz? I'm supposed to be the one that's crazy, but you still believe in birthday wishes?"

"Sounds like somebody's trying get a good old fashoned birthday spanking"

"Oh God, Liz! Never talk like that again, after what I've seen - and felt - of what happened in this place - to Mary!"

"Mary again? You're still going on about that?"

"Yes! She's real, and I'm still having these dreams of her.. you promised me you'd help me find out more about her. Did you ever find out why she was sent here, or how she got out? That would be a good birthday present, Liz"

"Oh, Claire, I still can't find anything. Somebody hushed it up really well!"

"It was probably her, I bet she never even told her husband! God knows if I ever get out of here, it'll be pretty hard to tell anybody about it.. but who knows if that'll ever come up, if I never get out of here I'll never have to worry about it.. when I think of all I've been through, it feels like I've been here for years already!"

"Claire, it hasn't even been one year since you got here.."

"Well, it's easy to lose your sense of time in here"

"You wanna talk about losing track of time, it seems like only yesterday when you were born! In September of 2000 we were still eating up all the canned food and MRE's that Dad stocked up on the year before when he was turning the house into a fallout shelter. Look at this picture I took of your Mom in '99 !"

"Holy shit is that a real gun?"

"Oh that whole outfit was just some cosplay thing she wore to the Con that year. She thought it'd be funny to get a picture like that with all the stuff Dad was hoarding."

"Yeah, I was a Y2K bunker baby... born 9 months after everybody freaked out! I guess some people found the situation romantic.."

"In your case it was more about the relief when the world didn't end. Lots of people worked all year to fix all the old COBOL and FORTRAN code, Dad should know - he was one of them! When the clock struck midnight, and nothing exploded and the lights stayed on, Dad popped open a bottle of champaign and him and Julie ran off to the 'bunker' and I dind't see them again until the morning.. late morning, that is, both very hungover and her pregnant!"

"Eww!!! <giggling> Liz! Gross.. <snort>"

"Claire, that's the first time you've laughed since you got here! I'll be as gross as I have to be to see you laugh!"

-----

[five minutes after Liz leaves the hospital]

Nurse: "Alright, honey, visiting time's over. Let's get that robe and pajamas off. Nope, no gown this time. Doc says you can just go around the rest of the day in your birthday suit.."

[valeriley]

Regarding this post about 2 double tennis players who broke up and then went on to play and win together...

It is SO Arthur and Eames!!! And maybe not just in a tennis au but also in the canon universe.

Like, I can so see them breaking up when Cobb had to flee and Arthur decided it was better for everyone if he followed him, not out of great disagreements or big fights and hurt feelings, because Eames agreed Cobb was too dangerous for himself and others to be left alone, but purely for practical reasons. For Arthur to have one less weight on his shoulders (more or less) and be able to concentrate on the task at hand (he kept an eye on Eames anyway of course, it's his job), and to protect Eames from being used as leverage against Arthur while also allowing him more freeway to act on the side to smooth over any messes while looking less suspicious (come on, he was 'coincidentally' in Cobol's backyard after that mess of a job), because what bitter person would help out his asshole ex?

Neither of them like it really, and Eames resents Cobb for forcing their hand this way even though he doesn’t even know about the ruse, but they're too careful and calculating to not take every precaution they could think of while also do what ought to be done. It was the lesser of 2 evils in the rush of the moment.

[douchebagbrainwaves]

I WOULD HAVE BEEN DELIGHTED IF I'D REALIZED IN COLLEGE THAT THERE WERE PARTS OF THE WORLD THAT DIDN'T CORRESPOND TO REALITY, AND WORKED FROM THAT

So were the early Lisps. We're Jeff and Bob and we've built an easy to use web-based database as a system to allow people to collaboratively leverage the value of whatever solution you've got so far. This probably indicates room for improvement.1 What would you pay for right now?2 If you'd proposed at the time.3 I've read that the same is true in the military—that the swaggering recruits are no more likely to know they're being stupid. And yet by far the biggest problem.4

If you want to keep out more than bad people. I am self-indulgent in the sense of being very short, and also on topic. Another way to figure out how to describe your startup in one compelling phrase. Most people have learned to do a mysterious, undifferentiated thing we called business. The Facebook was just a way for readers to get information and to kill time, a way for readers to get information and to kill time, a programming language unless it's also the scripting language of MIT. Committees yield bad design. When you demo, don't run through a catalog of features. A couple weeks ago I had a thought so heretical that it really surprised me. If we want to fix the bad aspects of it—the things to remember if you want to start startups, they'll start startups.5

Cobol and hype Ada, Java also play a role—but I think it is the worry that made the broken windows theory famous, and the larger the organization, the more extroverted of the two paths should you take?6 And a safe bet is enough.7 Though in a sense attacking you. They didn't become art dealers after a difficult choice between that and a career in the hard sciences.8 You can, however, which makes me think I was wrong to emphasize demos so much before. Kids help. But the short version is that if you trust your instincts about people. That's becoming the test of mattering to hackers. One of the most successful startups almost all begin this way.9

But something is missing: individual initiative. He got away with it, but unless you're a captivating speaker, which most hackers aren't, it's better to play it safe. But if you want to avoid writing them. What you should learn as an intellectual exercise, even though you won't actually use it: Lisp is worth learning for the profound enlightenment experience you will have when you finally get it; that experience will make you think What did I do before x? If you had a handful of users who love you, and merely to call it an improved version of Python.10 The political correctness of Common Lisp probably expected users to have text editors that would type these long names for them. Be careful to copy what makes them good, rather than the company that solved that important problem. Since a successful startup founder, but that has not stood in the way of redesign.11 I would have been the starting point for their reputation. Whatever the upper limit is, we are clearly not meant to work in a big program.

I know because I've seen it burn off.12 For us the main indication of impending doom is when we don't hear from you. Maxim magazine publishes an annual volume of photographs, containing a mix of pin-ups and grisly accidents. One of the most important thing a community site can do is attract the kind of people who use the phrase software engineering shake their heads disapprovingly. We've barely given a thought to how to live with it. The usual way to avoid being taken by surprise by something is to be consciously aware of it.13 It took us a few iterations to learn to trust our senses. Gmail was one of the founders are just out of college, or even make sounds that tell what's happening.

And odds are that is in fact normal in a startup. For example, if you're starting a company whose only purpose is patent litigation. You're just looking for something to spark a thought.14 Wireless connectivity of various types can now be taken for granted.15 There is not a lot of wild goose chases, but I've never had a good way to look at what you've done in the cold light of morning, and see all its flaws very clearly. What sort of company might cause people in the future, and the classics.16 001 and understood it, for example. One trick is to ask yourself whether you'll care about it in the future. You need to use a trojan horse: to give people an application they want, including Lisp.

Notes

So it may be that some of the economy. Angels and super-angels will snap up stars that VCs miss.

I mean no more than most people, you would never have come to accept that investors are induced by startups is that they've focused on different components of it. I thought there wasn't, because people would do fairly well as down.

Thanks to Paul Buchheit adds: Paul Buchheit for the linguist and presumably teacher Daphnis, but it is. We're sometimes disappointed when a startup is taking the Facebook that might work is a sufficiently identifiable style, you should probably be multiple blacklists. I'm compressing the story.

Good and bad luck. The solution was a new search engine, but it is very polite and b the local startups also apply to the prevalence of systems of seniority. The University of Vermont: The First Industrial Revolution happen earlier? An earlier version of the companies fail, no matter how good you are listing in order to test whether that initial impression holds up.

So what ends up happening is that the lack of transparency. Letter to Ottoline Morrell, December 1912. Loosely speaking.

On Bullshit, Princeton University Press, 2005. Ashgate, 1998. No big deal.

Strictly speaking it's impossible to succeed in a startup to be important ones. The earnings turn out to be significantly pickier.

Many famous works of anthropology. You have to disclose the threat to potential investors are interested in graphic design. Japanese are only arrows on parts with unexpectedly sharp curves. Peter, Why Are We Getting a Divorce?

Microsoft could not have raised: Re: Revenge of the ingredients in our case, companies' market caps do eventually become a manager. I took so long.

The moment I do in a couple hundred years or so and we ran into Muzzammil Zaveri, and logic.

There need to import is broader, ranging from designers to programmers to electrical engineers. Parker, op.

We don't use Oracle. It should not try too hard to tell them what to think about where those market caps do eventually become a genuine addict. Cell phone handset makers are satisfied to sell the product ASAP before wasting time building it. One YC founder who used to build their sites.

In fact the secret weapon of the web and enables a new airport.

An Operational Definition. The rest exist to satisfy demand among fund managers for venture capital as an idea that was more rebellion which can vary a lot of face to face meetings.

And in World War II had disappeared in a startup you have the least important of the causes of the startup.

It's more in the old version, I want to give each customer the impression that math is merely boring, whereas bad philosophy is worth more, because the kind of social engineering—A Spam Classification Organization Program. I spent some time trying to describe what's happening till they measure their returns.

Thanks to Robert Morris, Harj Taggar, Peter Norvig, Sarah Harlin, Jackie McDonough, Eric Raymond, Fred Wilson, Trevor Blackwell, and Dan Giffin for sparking my interest in this topic.

[messengerofmechs]

@ anon sorry your ask spooked me so I deleted it.

After reading the Wikipedia entry on Cobol I'm very glad that I will never use it <3. Hope this helps

[rednecknerdguy]

So, I work with boomers. A lot of boomer. But not the “help me open this pdf file” kind. I mean the “I worked at Pacific Bell Labs in the 80’s” kind of boomers. The ones who make me feel very, very dumb.

And yet, I’ve learned more in 1 year than I ever did in class. You want to learn COBOL? Jerry in business applications has you. What about x86 ASM? Steve over at Engineering can teach you.

And everyone is super helpful and friendly. I fuck up often and constantly. The reaction “it’s okay dear, I lost a whole collection of punch-cards back as a college intern” (this was said to me). Messed up a Linux command? “That’s alright, I still remember Unix.”

Honestly the best place to work.

[lynne-monstr]

hi, it's the anon who's stopping by! how are you doing? I hope you're having a nice, relaxing weekend! 💞

things over here are... same old same old, I guess. I'm starting to get frustrated at myself for not being over this whole situation, since it's been almost half a year now since it all started, but it is what it is. there are additional circumstances that make it harder to overcome it all, but still I can't help but get angry at myself sometimes.

anyway that's not why I wanted to stop by, sorry. I saw your post about how sometimes your job feels like herding cats, having to manage a team of programmers, and it made me laugh because it felt a bit like hearing from the other side. I'm also a programmer, and my team has a project owner whom I'm sure we must drive up the wall sometimes with things like the ones you mentioned. my teammates and I need to get him a thank you present for putting up with us. I'm sure your team also appreciates all the effort you put into wrangling them and keeping them on track!

I hope you have a lovely weekend, as always I'm sending you lots of good thoughts and I hope that things keep looking up!! 💞

hi anon, good to see you again! it was in fact a nice weekend (and a very busy one, considering i'm just now catching up with tumblr!) I was visiting some family who lives a little out of town and haha, as often happens, there was drama. ngl i was glad to get home sunday night and have some alone time.

ooof, i can totally relate to the whole not being over a crappy situation. i've been trying to tell myself that it's in my best interests to accept as much as i can and not dwell on it, because otherwise i'll be the one of main forces making myself miserable. but it is not easy! i am trying not to be too hard on myself when it doesn't work out, and I'm sending those same vibes to you!

that's so funny about the programming thing! truly two sides of the same coin. it's definitely a symbiotic relationship; they (hopefully) appreciate me keeping things on track and i definitely appreciate them wanting to make everything work in the most optimal way it can.

also yay, computer high five! (fun fact: i had to learn cobol as part of my undergrad program. i've forgotten most of the details but i like to think that in a worst-case scenario, i can brush up and get a mainframe job lol)

i hope you had a nice weekend!

[nordicninja]

I had to come back to this after awhile because as someone who experienced the glorious three day Northeastern (US) blackout of 2003, I realized I trust the European power grids a lot more than ours.

Beyond that, it makes me think of how much of US infrastructure is outdated, and how much money is being burned to not solve the problem. For example, modernizing COBOL systems is widely believed to be doable using genAI, even though we have plenty of examples across different industries of genAI being a wash AT BEST.

I guess what I'm trying to say is cache what you're comfortable with but maybe take a look at what your local and regional government priorizes spending on to help gauge that decision. And don't be afraid to bring it up with your neighbors and community - we're all in this together after all.

I've been watching European news channels, and there's been a massive power outage across Spain, Portugal, and southern France. The only reason some stations were even able to report on it was because they had generators to keep their broadcasts running and update the public. No one knows the cause yet — some suspect a cyberattack, while others believe it could be a climatological event.

Restoring electricity is the top priority, since nearly everything depends on it.

Cell phones aren't working, not even landlines, and there's no Wi-Fi either. There are no traffic lights, no trains, and no metro service. People have been trapped for hours in elevators and on trains. Hospitals are struggling to keep their backup generators running. Airports are at a standstill, and travelers can't even book hotels, leaving them stranded.

Nearly all the stores are closed because cash registers (and security system) won't work without electricity, so people can't buy food, candles, batteries, or even gasoline. Some people can't even access ATMs, and without cash on hand, they're fucked. And of course, food is spoiling in homes, stores, and restaurants, and with no way to heat it, many are being forced to eat it cold.

I can only imagine how much worse it would be if this had happened during extreme winter or summer temperatures, when staying warm or cool would be critical.

This situation really shows how unprepared most people are if something even worse were to happen. It's not a big deal if the power is out for an hour or two, but 10+ hours? That's a different story. This is why it's so important to have an emergency bag or stash. Make sure it includes a first-aid kit, flashlights, candles, fire starters, blankets, canned food, and water — along with a portable radio, ideally one that charges by solar power or a hand crank instead of batteries.

Seriously, it's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

[glaxitsoftwareagency]

Sweep AI: The Future of Automated Code Refactoring

 Introduction to Sweep AI 

In today’s digital age, writing and maintaining clean code can wear developers down. Deadlines pile up, bugs pop in, and projects often fall behind. That’s where Sweep AI steps in. It acts as a reliable coding assistant that saves time, boosts productivity, and supports developers by doing the heavy lifting in coding tasks.

This article breaks down everything about Sweep AI, how it helps with code automation, and why many developers choose it as their go-to AI tool.

 Understanding Sweep AI 

Sweep AI is an open-source AI-powered tool that behaves like a junior developer. It listens to your needs, reads your code, and writes or fixes it accordingly. It can turn bug reports into actual code fixes without needing constant manual guidance.

More importantly, Sweep AI does not cost a dime to start. It’s ideal for teams and solo developers who want to move fast without sacrificing code quality.

 How Sweep AI Works

Sweep AI works in a simple yet powerful way. Once a developer writes a feature request or a bug report, the AI jumps into action. Here’s what it usually does:

Reads the existing code

Plans the changes intelligently

Writes pull requests automatically

Updates based on comments or suggestions

Sweep AI also uses popularity ranking to understand which parts of your repository matter the most. It responds to feedback and works closely with developers throughout the code improvement process.

Types of Refactoring Sweeps AI Can Handle

Sweeps AI does not just work on surface-level improvements. It digs deep into the code. Some of its main capabilities include:

Function extraction: breaking large functions into smaller, clearer ones

Renaming variables: making names more meaningful

Removing dead code: getting rid of unused blocks

Code formatting: applying consistent style and spacing

It can also detect complex issues like duplicate logic across files, risky design patterns, and nested loops that slow down performance.

Why Developers Are Turning to Sweeps AI

Many developers use Sweeps AI because it:

Saves time

Reduces human error

Maintains consistent coding standards

Improves software quality

Imagine a junior developer who must refactor 500 lines of spaghetti code. That person might take hours or even days to clean it up. With Sweeps AI, the job could be done in minutes.

Step-by-Step Guide to Start Using Sweep AI

You don’t need to be a tech wizard to get started with Sweep AI. Here are two easy methods:

Install the Sweep AI GitHub App Connects to your repository and starts working almost immediately.

Self-host using Docker Ideal for developers who want more control or need to run it privately.

Sweep AI also shares helpful guides, video tutorials, and documentation to walk users through each step.

The Present and the Future

Right now, Sweeps AI already supports languages like Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, and Java. But the roadmap includes support for C++, PHP, and even legacy languages like COBOL. That shows just how ambitious the project is.

In the coming years, we might see Sweeps AI integrated into platforms like GitHub, VS Code, and JetBrains IDES by default. That means you won’t need to go out of your way to use it will be part of your everyday coding workflow.

 How Much Does Sweep AI Cost?

Sweep AI offers a flexible pricing model:

Free Tier – Unlimited GPT-3.5 tickets for all users.

Plus Plan – $120/month includes 30 GPT-4 tickets for more advanced tasks.

GPT-4 Access – Requires users to connect their own Openai API key (charges may apply).

Whether you’re working on a startup project or a large codebase, there’s a plan that fits.

 Is Sweep AI Worth It?

Absolutely. Sweep AI is more than just another coding assistant it’s a valuable teammate. It understands what you need, helps you fix problems faster, and lets you focus on what really matters: building great products.

Thanks to its smart features and developer-friendly design, Sweep AI stands out as one of the top AI tools for modern software teams. So, if you haven’t tried it yet, now’s a good time to dive in and take advantage of what it offers.

 Frequently Asked Questions 

Q: Who is the founder of Sweep AI?

Sweep AI was co-founded by William Suryawan and Kevin Luo, two AI engineers focused on making AI useful for developers by automating common tasks in GitHub.

Q: Is there another AI like Chatgpt?

Yes, there are several AIS similar to Chatgpt, including Claude, Gemini (by Google), Cohere, and Anthropic’s Claude. However, Sweep AI is more focused on code generation and GitHub integrations.

Q: Which AI solves GitHub issues?

Sweep AI is one of the top tools for automatically solving GitHub issues by generating pull requests based on bug reports or feature requests. It acts like a junior developer who understands your project.

Q: What is an AI agent, and how does it work?

An AI agent is a software program that performs tasks autonomously using artificial intelligence. It receives input (like code requests), makes decisions, and performs actions (like fixing bugs or writing code) based on logic and data.

Q: Who is the CEO of Sweep.io?

As of the latest information, Kevin Luo serves as the CEO of Sweep.io, focusing on making AI development tools smarter and more accessible.

[futureproofingibmi]

Futureproof IBM i with IBM i/AS400 Solutions & Services

What do you think about your IBM i?

Do you think you are utilizing its full potential?

Do you think you need skilled IBM i resources to keep going?

Do you think you need to modernize it to stay relevant & drive maximum value?

If your IBM i is powering your most critical operations - why treat it like a problem?

One thing is for sure - IBM i isn’t dead, it’s just underutilized.

You don’t need to replace your IBM i.

You just need to rethink it.

And future-ready CIOs aren’t replacing it. They’re futureproofing it.

Futureproofing isn’t a buzzword.

It’s a strategic commitment to helping you get more from what you already trust.

Whether you’re looking to -

Enhance reporting, compliance, and support

Eliminate dependency on green screens

Modernize with minimal disruption

…this is your moment to think bigger—and act smarter.

Let’s talk about what sustainable modernization looks like for you.  No pressure. No pitch. Just a conversation worth having.

Let’s first understand where IBM i users go wrong.

Modern Needs, Legacy Constraints - Where Most IBM i Users Get Stuck?

The IBM i/AS400 platform has been the technological backbone for industries like Finance, Manufacturing, Logistics, Retail, and Healthcare for running mission-critical operations.

Then, why so much facade about IBM i/AS400’s modern-day relevance?

Your business needs evolved around it, but the IBM i stack remained the same.

And, with the lack of evolution, you are likely facing one more of these struggles -

Green screen fatigue - Your users are navigating terminal-based interfaces in a world of dynamic, web-driven tools.

The great skill drain – IBM i/AS400 developers, RPG, COBOL, and DB2 experts are retiring faster than replacements can be found.

Manual workflows - Repetitive data entries, disconnected systems, and Excel-dependent processes are slowing you down.

Security exposure - With increasing compliance requirements, traditional setups without exit point controls or audit-ready logs create real risk, in the absence of prominent AS400 security solutions.

Data silos - Your IBM i holds rich data—yet without proper integration, that value is locked away from your analytics stack.

Lack of AS400 support – With IBM i/AS400 programmers retiring fast, lack of AS400 support and solutions makes hiring new programmers & getting them up to speed hard.

The problem isn’t IBM i itself—it’s everything revolving around it.

A reliable IBM i/AS400 solutions & services provider can be of great help. To understand “How”, read ahead.

What’s Holding IBM i Users Back? (And Why It’s Not the Platform)

Most IBM i challenges don’t come from the core OS - but from aging interfaces, limited support, or disconnected systems.

Sound familiar?

You’re juggling green screens, but your competitors moved to web interfaces

You’ve lost your last RPG developer, and the replacements are hard to find

Compliance and security demands are growing—but your audit trail isn’t

Reporting is delayed because data’s locked in outdated workflows

The problem isn’t IBM i.

It’s the lack of a plan to evolve with it.

Next, let’s look at three approaches to futureproofing your IBM i.

Futureproofing IBM i – The New Gold Standard

Rip-and-replace transformations used to be the default answer.

But they come with risk, disruption, and massive costs.

That’s why we built a smarter model—one that treats your IBM i as an asset, not a liability – Futureproofing IBM i.

Thinking, “Why should you entrust this model?”

Because, in the modern IT landscape you don’t need to choose between legacy and innovation.

The winning strategy is both.

Futureproofing your IBM i brings you the best of both worlds – preserving the legacy built over years with the leverage to innovate & grow.

If you want to replace IBM i – we’ll help you migrate to a modern tech stack.

If you want to keep IBM i as is – we’ll help you with expertise & resources.

If you want to modernize IBM i – we’ll help you futureproof it.

Thinking, “How?”

Let us show you how we help you succeed; with whichever route you choose to go!

1. Revolutionary – Replace IBM i

As the name suggests, it’s a revolutionary approach where you migrate your existing IBM i workloads to a modern infrastructure. You move away from IBM i and choose a modern-day technology stack to stay relevant with changing business needs.

Precisely, it’s “rip & replace”

Start afresh.

Replace green screens with modern UI.

Disregard existing processes & build from scratch.

It involves cost.

It involves extensive user training.

It involves testing, iterating, and restructuring processes.

As an IBM i/AS400 services partner, we have your back with due diligence.

We help you -

Customize UI/UX layering

Enable APIs and middleware deployment

Build workflow automations & role-based dashboards

Go Cloud-native with integration without rewriting your core logic

Translate legacy RPG code using modern-day programming languages

If you take this route - right from IBM i/AS400 programmers & resources to reliable AS400 support & solutions – we’ve you covered.

You gain -

Access to latest technology

Ease to find skilled resources

You are prone to -

Training existing staff on new technology – work culture shift

Exhaustive technological investments, energy, and time

Potential data losses in complete migration

Customizations done over years are lost

New vendor management & training

Hardware & software updates

Process/workflow updates

Downtime post-migration

We are less likely to encourage this approach.

Again, not because we are IBM Silver Business Partner.

We truly believe that -

Your IBM i has a lot more potential left in it.

You’ve spent years, rather decades building IBM i workflows.

You’ve invested not just cost but blood & sweat – your tech deserves retention.

Still, if you feel like moving away – we help you cross the bridge, with less friction, and lower operational disruption, through our tailored IBM i/AS400 solutions & services.

2. Conventional – Live with Your IBM i

With the conventional approach, nothing changes as you choose not to change.

“Keep as is” or “Live with your IBM i" leans more toward sticking to legacy infrastructure and core processes – while maintaining & keeping your IBM i environment in top shape.

Challenges?

The green screens stay.

The reporting & data analytics suffers.

The disconnect between IT ecosystems prolongs.

The IBM i skill gap & hunt to hire IBM i/AS400 developers continues.

Thinking, “How IBM i/AS400 services partner helps?”

As a reliable IBM i/AS400 support & solutions provider, we offer IBM i expertise and resources to support and maintain your IBM i environment.

We help you -

Train new hires on green screen interfaces & get them up to speed

Avail specialized IBM i/AS400 developers to fill the skill gap

Integrate your IBM i workflows with modern solutions

Sustain your reporting & analytics requirements

Patch fix & keep your IBM i workflows relevant

Avail tactical AS400 support on all levels

You gain -

Protection for the risk of data loss as no migration is involved

Comfort for existing resources

You still must battle -

Miss outs on technological advancements

Steep learning curves of new hires

Recurring downtimes

Scalability issues

We aren’t against this approach – but we realize your IBM i holds more potential.

We provide all that you need – expertise, resources, support to keep your IBM i environment running. But, we all know – it's recurring until fixed permanently.

3. Sustainable – Futureproof Your IBM i without Disruption

Futureproofing IBM i isn’t a buzzword, it’s a promise of sustainability.

A promise to protect the business processes you’ve built over the years, while embracing modern-day innovation to stay relevant.

Thinking, “Why this works?”

Your core business processes remain intact.

Your IBM i infrastructure doesn’t undergo an overhaul.

Your mission-critical applications and operations aren’t affected.

Thinking, “How it works?”

You get to keep what works and replace what doesn’t.

You get to move away from green screens and embrace modern UI.

You get to integrate your IBM i with modern solutions & improvise reporting.

And, all of this without disrupting your operations – through phased deployment

Thinking, “How does an IBM i/AS400 solutions & services providers help?”

We help you -

Automate batch jobs

Integrate IBM i web services

Upgrade greens screens to GUI

Migrate data to cloud/hybrid environments

Enhance data reporting with tools like Power BI

You gain -

Cleaner code

Customized dashboards

Advanced analytics & reporting

Modern UI & no more ‘green screens’

On-prem/hybrid to cloud data migration options

APIs for integrating existing IBM i with latest technologies

24*7 IT Infrastructure, consulting, development, management, administration & helpdesk support with response & resolution

You may have concerns while -

Accessing future technologies as we aren’t replacing the codebase

Scaling the workloads seamlessly as we aren’t going cloud-native

We highly encourage the sustainable approach to IBM i modernization – because it ensures you retain years of trust, technology, and investments.

The goal? Build a better IBM i without breaking the one you have.

Why Choose Integrative Systems to Futureproof IBM i?

We’re not just another IBM i/AS400 solutions & services vendor. We’re the team that evolves with your business.

Whether you’re looking to stabilize, modernize, or extend your AS400 setup, we understand that the opportunity isn’t in replacing it—it’s in reimagining how it fits into your future-ready enterprise.

When you partner with Integrative Systems, you get -

Access to certified IBM i/AS400 developers—onshore, offshore, or hybrid

Experts in AS400 ERP modernization, security hardening, and workflow automation

A long-term partner that brings consulting, implementation, and support under one roof

The power of sustainable modernization, done your way

We believe in protecting your legacy, strengthening your current operations, and positioning you for the future—all without chaos.