IBM changed the pricing and packaging for Informix on Juli the 20th. You'll find further details on the websites listed below:

• IIUG: New Informix Packaging and Pricing
• Andrew Ford: The New Phone Books's Here! Informix Repackaging and Repricing - Part Duex

Good to see that some fresh blood reduces the average age of the Informix community :-)

• Nick Geib- Enhancing the Informix database to meet the changing needs of businesses today

IBM has published a brand new Redbook about migrating from Microsoft SQL Server to IBM Informix.

• Migrating from Microsoft SQL Server to IBM Informix

From the table of contents:

• Chapter 1. Introduction
• Chapter 2. Architecture overview
• Chapter 3. Migration methodology
• Chapter 4. SQL considerations

IBM has put together an excellent list of valuable resources for IBM Informix business partners and all other Informix interested parties.

You'll find the Wiki entry here:

• Quick Reference Tool for Informix Business Partners

While checking the Informix URL List for dead links, I discovered a valuable URL from Informix Tech Support that provides helpful information as well as tips and tricks around Informix:

• Informix Problem Resolution (Tech Notes)

If you are new to Informix, check this URL as it contains a lot of small and handy tips around Informix that are updated frequently.

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Neue Ausgabe des IBM/Informix Newsletters

Im Newsletter-Archiv befindet sich die neueste Ausgabe (07/2010) des INFORMIX-Newsletters.

Inhaltsverzeichnis der Ausgabe Juli 2010:

• Aktuelles
• TechTipp: SERIAL / SERIAL8 / BIGSERIAL
• TechTipp: SEQUENCE
• TechTipp: ONCONFIG - SEQ_CACHE_SIZE
• TechTipp: DRINTERVAL bei RSS
• Hinweis: Ultimate- Growth- Innovator-C- Developer Edition

(French Content)

• Editorial
• Nouvelle politique de packaging et de prix pour les produits Informix.
• Retour sur l’IIUG Informix Conference 2010
• Résultats du Concours d’optimisation UGIF
• Lettre de Robert D. Thomas, Vice President, Information Management, IBM Software Group
• Informix 11.50.xC6 certifié pour SAP
• Technique: Reconstruction de sysmaster lors d’une migration en 11.50.xC6
• Technique : Dynamic Listen Threads

We have heard it so many times from IBM: "No we won't ever ever advertise individual products...."

However it seems to me that for certain products IBM finds subtle ways to bypass their own policy:

• http://db2news.wordpress.com/2010/06/22/db2-advertising-campaign/

Excerpt of the Advertisement Text:

"What exactly does a benchmark mean? For the last five years, IBM DB2® has spent more time

For all of you working with Informix in combination with IBM Websphere, the following IBM RedPaper might be interesting and helpful. It covers the definition of data sources and contains a good description for performing those tasks in Websphere with IBM Informix as database backend:

When an application or WebSphere® component requires access to a database, 
that database must be defined to WebSphere as a data source. Two basic 
definitions are required. First, a JDBC™ provider definition defines an 

If you think about creating database powered Geospatial solutions, the following presentation from Mark Ashworth (IBM Informix Extensibility Architect) might be interesting for you:

• Geospatial for Defense and Border Security

• Date: Tuesday, July the 13th
• Time: 1.5 hour, 10:30 AM Pacific, 0:30 PM Central, 1:30 PM Eastern, 6:30 PM London, 7:30 PM Berlin/Paris
• Title: Best Practices for Running Informix in VMWare vSphere Virtual Environments
• Speaker: Sreeni Paidi (IBM)

You can register for the webcast here

                        
IBM Informix is voted #1 in customer satisfaction and it is IBM's 

I wasn't, until very recently, aware of this extremely useful set of RSS feeds. I hope that somebody finds them useful!

(Eric, you might also want to put it up on this site somewhere?)

Date:
June 23, 2010, 12:00 PM EST, 9:00 AM PST

Speakers:
Larry Hargrove, Global Sales and Solutions Executive for Service Provider Software, IBM
Sally Hartnell, Worldwide Marketing Manager for Informix and solidDB, IBM

Registration:
Meeting Communications Industry Imperatives with the Right Data Management Framework

Content:

Because of intense competition and demands from consumers, Communications Service 

Advanced Data Tools hosts a series of webcasts covering Informix Performance Tuning. The webcasts will be held by IIUG Board of Directors member and IIUG Award Winner Art Kagel.

Here you can register for those webcasts:

• Advanced Data Tools: Informix Performance Tuning Webcasts

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In Ergänzung zur Workshop-Nachlese hier noch Links zu den Präsentationen sowie weitere Fotos von Stammtisch und Workshop:

• Vorträge der Referenten

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Neue Ausgabe des IBM/Informix Newsletters

Im Newsletter-Archiv befindet sich die neueste Ausgabe (06/2010) des INFORMIX-Newsletters.

Inhaltsverzeichnis der Ausgabe Juni 2010:

• Aktuelles
• TechTipp: Bitmap Pages / oncheck -pp
• TechTipp: ONCONFIG - MAX_FILL_DATA_PAGES
• TechTipp: System Requirements und Recomended Fixes
• TechTipp: SMI - Sysmaster Interface – sysbufpool - Cache-Statistik je Bufferpool

Mark Scranton - an Informix veteran and evangelist - is back with a new website:

• http://www.marksinformix.com

It is good to see Mark back on the Informix frontline. The Informix Zone wishes Mark a successful start !

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Die virtuelle IBM-Konferenz bietet einen Überblick zum IBM Data Management Portfolio. Dabei liegt ein besonderer Fokus auf den beiden IBM Datenbanken DB2 und Informix. Unter anderem berichtet die Firma Network IP - ein führender Anbieter from Telekommunikations-Diensten in den USA - über ihre durchweg positiven Erfahrungen mit der IBM Informix Datenbank, die das Herzstück ihrer IT bildet.

• Date: Wednesday, June the 16th
• Time: 1.5 hour, 8:30 AM Pacific, 10:30 AM Central, 11:30 AM Eastern, 4:30 PM London, 5:30 PM Berlin/Paris
• Title: Best Practices for using Auto-update stats
• Speaker: John Miller (IBM, STSM and Informix support Architect)

You can register for the webcast here

                        
Don't miss this opportunity to get better understanding so can effectively 

As a follow up on my german posting about the new Informix pricing and packaging announcement, you'll find some links below with more detailed information about these exciting IBM Informix offerings:

• Rajesh Nair: We are Informix again - Names , prices and packaging