John Earl, security guru, passed away on January 3, 2013.
John is at peace now. He left behind a loving wife, Kathy, and two great kids on January 3, 2013. John was one of the first people I met when I started working for PowerTech many, many years ago. I'm sure he looked at me and thought, "Oh, how little he knows about AS/400 security." Yes, I said AS/400, because when I first got to know John, that's what it was called.
John never looked down on me for what I didn't know. He smiled and began to teach me. I'm sure I asked the stupidest questions, yet he never got angry. He just explained it over again, looking for a spark of understanding. Eventually, I gained confidence and was able to apply my newfound learning—or so I thought. I boldly signed up for a speech at a user group! John accompanied me. I failed. But I had tried. I thanked God that John was there because as I was going down in flames, he calmly stood up, took over, and "landed" the presentation safely, giving the audience some sage wisdom. Then he encouraged me again. While that was a humbling experience, I ended up encouraged by him, and he helped me learn and grow. I always said that John Earl would make a great pilot; he calmly addressed crisis situations and could have explained to the passengers in such a way that they would relax and have confidence that all would be well.
Whether it was managing AS/400 security, telling jokes, coaching wrestling, speaking at COMMON conferences, or just reading, he did everything with flare and passion. I have never laughed so hard as when I did during the times John and I traveled together. John was the master at finding the cheapest airfare to and from user groups and customer calls. I had occasion to fly with him a few times, and to this very day, I'm not sure how he found the airlines we flew on. I'm not sure many of them exist anymore! I'd rib him about the airlines we'd patronize, and he'd laugh and give it right back to me. It was on these trips that I got to know John. I learned he was a voracious reader. I recall one book that he purchased three times, simply because he'd forget it on whatever plane he'd fly in on, so he'd go buy another copy and continue on. And he loved wrestling. As I recall, he wrestled in high school and kind of got away from it, but later, as his son grew up, he got involved again. As was always true with John, he didn't just go watch his son; he got involved. He coached his son in wrestling and used that as an incredible bonding time with him. He also loved the COMMON conferences. He was always there volunteering, speaking, serving. Again, he didn't just attend; he got involved. He loved to laugh. I wish I could share some of his jokes, but like many people, I'm just old enough now and enough time has passed that the details have faded. Besides, I could never tell a joke like John; I never quite had the same "punch" that he could deliver.
I could go on about what I remember about John, but I'll end this by saying that a bright star in our IBM i community was extinguished on January 3, 2013. While that light may be gone, his memory and impact on our community will not fade over time.
John Earl will be missed. Rest in peace, John. Rest in peace.
More than ever, there is a demand for IT to deliver innovation. Your IBM i has been an essential part of your business operations for years. However, your organization may struggle to maintain the current system and implement new projects. The thousands of customers we've worked with and surveyed state that expectations regarding the digital footprint and vision of the company are not aligned with the current IT environment.
TRY the one package that solves all your document design and printing challenges on all your platforms. Produce bar code labels, electronic forms, ad hoc reports, and RFID tags – without programming! MarkMagic is the only document design and print solution that combines report writing, WYSIWYG label and forms design, and conditional printing in one integrated product. Make sure your data survives when catastrophe hits. Request your trial now! Request Now.
Forms of ransomware has been around for over 30 years, and with more and more organizations suffering attacks each year, it continues to endure. What has made ransomware such a durable threat and what is the best way to combat it? In order to prevent ransomware, organizations must first understand how it works.
Disaster protection is vital to every business. Yet, it often consists of patched together procedures that are prone to error. From automatic backups to data encryption to media management, Robot automates the routine (yet often complex) tasks of iSeries backup and recovery, saving you time and money and making the process safer and more reliable. Automate your backups with the Robot Backup and Recovery Solution. Key features include:
Business users want new applications now. Market and regulatory pressures require faster application updates and delivery into production. Your IBM i developers may be approaching retirement, and you see no sure way to fill their positions with experienced developers. In addition, you may be caught between maintaining your existing applications and the uncertainty of moving to something new.
IT managers hoping to find new IBM i talent are discovering that the pool of experienced RPG programmers and operators or administrators with intimate knowledge of the operating system and the applications that run on it is small. This begs the question: How will you manage the platform that supports such a big part of your business? This guide offers strategies and software suggestions to help you plan IT staffing and resources and smooth the transition after your AS/400 talent retires. Read on to learn:
LATEST COMMENTS
MC Press Online