COBOL Gets a Web-Friendly Facelift on IBM Mainframes | ZDNet

"Despite COBOL's age IBM estimates that more than 200 billion lines of COBOL code are still being used across industries such as banking, insurance and retail."

Although I no longer work on that platform I admit to being an IBM mainframe COBOL CICS/IMS/DB2 dinosaur. And I wonder who is going to maintain all those COBOL applications and their estimated 200 billion lines of code in the future.

"In spite of COBOL's continued use by the enterprise, a recent survey of academics found the majority of universities do not teach the programming language on their curriculum."

COBOL gets a web-friendly facelift on IBM mainframes | ZDNet

Carl Bennett Built Part of Fort Wayne History - News-Sentinel.com

Blake Sebring of The News-Sentinel has written a wonderful column about Carl Bennett with the news that Carl passed away on Wednesday, May 15, at the age of 97. I know well the story of Carl Bennett and his contributions to sports and other segments of our life in Fort Wayne, but I have to admit that I didn't know that Carl was still with us until now.

I bet few of those in the younger generations know that the NBA was founded in Fort Wayne in Carl's living room in 1948. Heck, I wonder if many of my own generation know that the NBA was founded in Fort Wayne.

How many know that the Fort Wayne Pistons played their home games in the North Side High School gym until the construction of the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum was completed in 1952? And how many know that, yes indeed, the Fort Wayne Pistons became those Detroit Pistons in 1957?

With condolences to his family and thanksgiving for his life and his contributions to ours, you can read Blake's column here.

Carl Bennett built part of Fort Wayne history - News-Sentinel.com

Google Unveils 5-Year Roadmap for Strong Authentication | ZDNet

I am a user of Gmail and many other Google applications who only recently elected to accept Google's 2-step verification in an attempt to provide more security to my Google account.

So I found this column about Google's five-year plan for account authentication very interesting reading. I hope you do as well.

"The plan will ultimately change Google's login system by breaking today's pattern that has end-users signing in over and over. In it's place, Google will install strong authentication on a device such as a smartphone when it is setup.

A complex authentication code will replace the password and allow the device to identify itself, its user, participate in complex authentication flows, and recognize usage patterns that signal attacks."

Google unveils 5-year roadmap for strong authentication | ZDNet

Keeping Up, Not Getting Ahead - NYTimes.com

The New York Times Economix blog gets on board the increasing concern about the sluggishness of our economic recovery.

"The share of American adults with jobs has barely changed since 2010, hovering between 58.2 percent and 58.7 percent. This employment-to-population ratio stood at 58.6 percent in April. That is about four percentage points lower than the employment rate before the recession, a difference of roughly 10 million jobs. In other words, the United States economy is not getting any closer to recreating the jobs lost during the recession."

"The federal government counts 11.7 million Americans as unemployed. The real number, it follows, is more like 17 million."

It is not a pretty picture. And it shows no sign of getting any better with the policies of the current administration, not the least of which is the upcoming burden of ObamaCare on all employers but especially on small businesses who should be the driving force in any economic recovery. But that just isn't happening. And there is no reason to expect that will change until there is a change in administration policy or a change to a new administration who understands the way economies work in the real world.

Keeping Up, Not Getting Ahead - NYTimes.com

The Tontine: Retirement Strategy, 17th-Century Style - Encore - MarketWatch

I had never heard the term "tontine" before so I had to look it up.

tontine (noun): an annuity scheme in which subscribers share a common fund with the benefit of survivorship, the survivors' shares being increased as the subscribers die, until the whole goes to the last survivor.

When I read the definition I thought it sounds like an interesting concept that deserves some consideration as a form of longevity insurance for the elderly. But there is a certain amount of discomfort with the process. If that can be overcome, there appear to be some benefits to the concept.

"A group of investors buy an income-yielding asset, like a big Treasury bond, a rental property or a portfolio of high dividend stocks. Each investor is entitled to an equal share of the income from the investment, but when an investor dies, his or her share of the income pool is distributed among the survivors."

The column is not long so check it out here and see what you think of the tontine. Would you participate?

The tontine: Retirement strategy, 17th-century style - Encore - MarketWatch

The Costco Business and Pricing Model

I have occasionally heard of Costco through the years but I never really focused on any news or reports of Costco because they have no retail location in the Fort Wayne area. My outlook changed in 2012 though when it was announced that Costco was evaluating a location for a store in Fort Wayne.

The location is the southwest quadrant of the I-69 and Lima Road interchange to be shared with the new location of Kelley Chevrolet. That is why all the earth has been moved around there for some months now as confirmed by this report in February by The News-Sentinel.

Land sale paves way for Costco, new Kelley dealership

Shortly after the Costco reports surfaced in 2012 I caught most of a TV documentary about Costco that explained their pricing and business model which I find very interesting. Costco is a warehouse retailer that would seem to put them in competition with many retailers, most notably Sam's Club. But their pricing model is a 15% markup on everything. That 15% markup basically is designed to cover their overhead.

But how does Costco make a profit in order to stay in business and to expand? According to the documentary, Costco's profit is reliant upon and determined by how many $55 annual memberships they sell.

I think that is a very interesting concept so it will be interesting to see how Costco affects the Fort Wayne marketplace.

Have you ever shopped at a Costco? Are you looking forward to the opening of Costco in Fort Wayne in time for the 2013 Christmas shopping season?

InoReader Looks Like My Google Reader Replacement

Along with countless others I have been trying to determine how I would replace Google Reader once Google announced that they are going to retire Reader. I have checked out a few alternatives but I wasn't really happy with any until I found InoReader in the Chrome Web Store. It has been available only a couple weeks.

It allows for login via Google or Facebook or through its own login process. And it does import Reader subscriptions.

You can also install a Subscribe button on your bookmarks bar to make it easy to add a new feed. It is tested mainly for compatibility with the Chrome browser.

It has the basics that I need. It is simple and easy to use and responsive. I have been using it for less than I week but I have no negatives to report to date so I plan to keep it.

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If you would like to give it a test run, you can get it here.

InoReader from chrome web store

Hidden Energy Costs Make the Wireless Cloud Bad for the Planet | ZDNet

Energy costs are hidden only to those who don't think through the entire energy equation.

And usually whenever we are worried about how much energy we consume, our focus in on how much somebody else is using.

Hidden energy costs make the wireless cloud bad for the planet | ZDNet

College Students Concerned by Lack of Jobs | The Journal Gazette

I don't want to sound harsh or uncaring since I can remember how I felt about politics when I was in college. I personify this quote often attributed to Winston Churchill.

"If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart, if you're not a conservative at forty you have no brain."

Fortunately for me it didn't take me until the age of forty to become a fiscal conservative. Basically what it took for me was to complete college and get a job in the real world to see how life and the economy really work. Unfortunately for our society too many of us never make that adjustment.

The question I have for college students worried about their job prospects when they graduate is this.

For whom did you vote last November? After all, actions due have consequences. That is another lesson that you learn in the real world.

"Graduates...will need an optimistic attitude, Shierholz said. That’s because even some of the gains the nation has made are muddy.

For instance, the reason the unemployment rate is on the decline is mostly because the labor market is missing 4 million people who have either given up seeking work or aren’t looking at all, she said.

So joblessness is lower 'for all the wrong reasons,' Shierholz said."

Read the column in the Journal-Gazette at this link.

College students concerned by lack of jobs | The Journal Gazette

Windows 8 Blamed for Biggest PC Shipment Plunge Ever | Fox News

I think are probably other factors involved in driving this drop in PC shipments such as more tablets and mobile devices. And don't forget Chromebooks.

I also think that newer PCs with Windows 7 will last longer than prior generations of PCs so many consumers hope to keep their current PC longer than might have been the case in the past. And obviously the continuing struggling economy is leaving many consumers unable to purchase another PC if they would like to do so.

But this drop in PC sales is pretty dramatic so it is reasonable to believe that Windows 8 is a significant factor.

"Global PC shipments fell by 13.9 percent in the first quarter of 2013, and according to analyst firm IDC , Windows 8 could very well be the reason."

Windows 8 blamed for biggest PC shipment plunge ever | Fox News