Owl shirts go on sale as campaign mounts for corporate attention

While the Democratic convention built up steam in the US, HP 3000 customers looked for a place to vent their frustration with the HP corporate silence on MPE/iX. Eyes were turning to the Wall Street Journal in one plan gaining ground on the HP 3000 Internet newsgroup. After learning that a full page ad in the Journal cost more than $150,000, customers and channel partners pledged contributions of $1,000 each and less to buy an ad that would ask CEO Carly Fiorina to include the 3000 in statements about strategic operating environments.

Less costly options for expressing 3000 support have also surfaced. Sales started Monday evening over the Web for a bright yellow t-shirt and a cream-colored polo shirt with an owl logo embroidered with the slogan "HP e3000 -- Who knew?" Orders placed by noon PDT August 22 will be shipped for delivery by Sept. 7 in time for those going to the HP World conference, according to Computer and Software Enterprise's Rick Gilligan, who contracted with the Halibut shirt company to get the garments ready. Browse to http://hpworld.halibut.com to order shirts, priced at $20-22 for a tee and $42-45 for a polo, with shipping a little extra. (Orders outside North America can be shipped by alternate means; contact Gilligan directly at rick@case.net.)

Amisys users track HIPAA regulations

Amisys users are watching the horizon for the impact of the new HIPAA regulations. The US Department of Health and Human Services has made available on its Web site the text of the HIPAA Admin Simp Final Rule on transactions and code sets. Formal publication will be sometime in August in the Federal Register. Congress then has 60 days to review the final rule. If Congress takes no action, the implementation clock will start clicking on the 61st day after publication.

The Final Rule comes in two documents. The Preamble can be found via a link from the HHS Admin Simp Web site (http://aspe.hhs.gov/admnsimp/) and the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) text is reached by a link at the end of the Preamble document. The Admin Simp Web site also has several other pertinent documents posted, including new FAQs on the final rule and a summary of changes between the NPRM and the final rule.

One Amisys user also reported on what she called "a fabulous class related to HIPAA regs -- it was led by the president of WPC, the official publishers of the implementation guides, Gary Beatty. He is also the chair of the X12 insurance sub-committee, those lovely folks who are bringing you 837, etc.

The class has several more sessions nationwide. For non-techies it helped make things clearer (and scarier) as you actually do hands on mapping of claims to an 837. Gary, being so intimately involved in the legislative process, was able to give insight that I'm sure others can't give.

I would recommend this class (it is, however quite expensive) to anyone tasked with heading up HIPAA compliance or who will be heavily involved in making it happen at your organization. It certainly helped me know exactly what [Amisys] Release 11 needs to do for us. It will help you start asking the business questions that will be critical since about 70% of HIPAA implementation will be user, not tech, related.

Go to http://wpc-edi.com and/or http://edipartners.com for information on the class called Introduction to Health Care EDI Standards.

Free Java program makes spoolfiles ready for txt2pdf

In an Brief in our July issue we found a shareware program that can take HP 3000 spoolfiles and turn the documents into PDF documents. There was a roadblock to using the text2pdf program, however: the spoolfiles had to be in text file format to work with the $55 text2pdf. (HP's Mark Bixby also noted that txt2pdf "isn't capable of reproducing the spoolfile CCTLs in the PDF output, because the CCTL information just isn't available to Posix API programs such as Perl." But HP's Lars Appel offered a free solution to make 3000 spoolfiles that don't rely on CCTLs ready for their PDF closeups:

"I have a small Java program that listens to a given port, for example 9100, and "pretends to be a network printer" i.e. gets all the data sent and writes it to a flat file. This might be a start, as OUTSPTJ.PUB.SYS should have converted CCTL to plain PCL when sending to a JetDirect printer.
However, this little Java program is just a quick & dirty experiment. Use at your own risk; it worked on my 3000, but your milage may vary."

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ cut here _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

// FakeLP pretends network printer to capture spooler PCL output

import java.net.*;
import java.io.*;

class FakeLP {

public static void main( String args[] ) throws Exception {

int port = 9100;
int next = 1;

if (args.length > 0) port = Integer.parseInt(args[0]);
if (args.length > 1) next = Integer.parseInt(args[1]);

ServerSocket serv = new ServerSocket( port );

while (true) {

System.out.println("FakeLP listener ready");

Socket sock = serv.accept();
byte[] buf = new byte[4096];
String name = "F" + (next++);

System.out.println("Capturing spoolfile to " + name);

InputStream si = sock.getInputStream();
OutputStream fo = new FileOutputStream(name);

for (;;)
{
int got = si.read(buf);

if (got != -1)
fo.write(buf, 0, got);
else
break;
}

fo.close();
si.close();
}
}
}

Download a GUI version of NMMGR

Our July issue also featured the HP e3000's steps into the world of Java solutions, as highlighted at this year's JavaOne expo in the Bay Area. One vendor's offer of a Java-based GUI for NMMGR was confirmed by Lars Appel. When we wrote that LegacyJ's Chuck Townsend said that this version of ViewJ does not require that HP 3000 applications be recompiled or modified to use the
remote client software," Appel noted:

"This indeed seems to be true, given the fact that the LegacyJ folks are offering a GUI version of NMMGR on their Web site. I am pretty sure that they did not have a chance to modify or recompile
the NMMGR code."

You can get the GUI version of NMMGR at http://www.legacyj.com/VJ3000/nmmgr.html which points to a 6Mb file.

Newest Java is needed unless you've paid for NS/3000

Reader Douglas Becker has discovered that unless an HP 3000 site has paid for the Network Services/3000 software for MPE/iX (a product that costs more than $6,000 for a 9x9 license), Java versions prior to 1.2.2 won't work on the 3000. The 1.2.2 version wasn't included in the 6.0 MPE/iX release that carried the first support Java software for the 3000. HP has made Java/iX 1.2.2 available through its Jazz Web server since late spring.

Other items don't operate properly, according to Becker, if full NS/3000 isn't present on your 3000: Using SYSLIST in multi-threading; Native Mode terminal IO; and "the functions called by pthread_create, which will not display printf messages without the full NS/3000 product installed," Becker reported. The SYSLIST from the printf in the multi-threaded routine permits such things as error messages to be displayed; otherwise no messages will appear at all without NS/3000 configured.

Becker explained that Native Mode terminal I/O drivers permit faster processing speeds and lower CM to NM switching rates for NS/VT processing; ie, it is faster (though not that noticeable) to use NM terminal i/o than using CM terminal IO. He added, in great detail:

"The differences between the basic and "full" VT SERVER products include (and may be limited to) the "subtype" used to create the virtual terminal LDEV when you connect. The "basic" VT uses subtype 0, and the "full" version uses subtype 1. The device subtype determines which "Type Manager" (driver) gets bound to the device. A value of 1 results in binding to tm_terminal, the modern, native mode, Posix featured virtual terminal driver which I believe is also used with DTC terminals and Telnet sessions. A value of zero unfortunately results in binding to the old (pre-Posix) type manager, which does not support any of the enhancements done in recent years to make Posix programs work better (among other things).

This means that the Native Mode terminal IO drivers cannot be used if NS/3000 is not purchased as a subsystem.

The implication of this is that versions of Java prior to 1.2.2 will not work properly with InputStreamReader, because the termination of the read from NS/VT is predicated on an iocontrol function which will not work properly with CM terminal i/o drivers. The SimpleClient.java sample program *provided by HP* goes into an infinite loop after the entry of data and carriage return on this statement:

String hostName = getString("Host Name: ");

Note that this will work with Java 1.2.2. However, in using the [HP-supplied] JDBC, the following statement must be inserted before the Class.forName or the program will abnormally terminate:

DriverManager.setLogStream(System.out);

HP has committed to modify code for MPE/iX to bring compliance to Posix for multi-threading. It is surprising that The 3000 NewsWire was unaware of these problems, considering the broad implications to HP e3000 customers attempting to use MPE iX for e-commerce and the Internet.

I was the first to discover this problem for the obvious reasons: 1) HP didn't discover it because they have the full blown NS on all of their test machines, and 2) Not that many people are pushing the envelope of some of the newer features of MPE iX.

We had an outstanding issue with the HP ITRC for seven months for Java and over four months for the multi-threading issues. HP sold us NS/3000 (36920B) at a 100 percent discount to resolve and close these problems. Before HP will grant anyone else a discount, you can be sure that they will do all they can to rectify the problems before they become commonly known."

It can be further noted that Java is not yet multi-threaded. It is a complex porting. Currently, Java uses "green threads"-- essentially single threaded. The implications of this is that Java Thread Programming is severely limited. Those using lock mechanisms for Java Thread Programming are prone to locking up if extreme care is not used. This makes Java much less attractive for "prime time" mission critical applications at present on the HP e3000."

Becker said HP is working on these problems, and they should be resolved some time in the next year.

Watch out for disk space requirement on 6.0's PP 2

Donna Garverick of Long's Drug notes that the newest PowerPatch for the 6.0 release of MPE/iX has a hefty recommendation for available disk space: 5 million free sectors, or well over a gigabyte of free space. Joe Dolliver of Lancaster Consulting offered advice on how to open up space on the LDEV1 device where MPE/iX must live:

"You may be able to squeeze more space from LDEV1. In volutil you have LDEV1 set to 75 percent permanent space. If you set the percentage to approx 90 percent you will have the additional space. Remember, when you have completed your update, change the percentage back to 75 percent. The other way to do this is to look at all other third party software on your system volume, such as Cognos, and move it to a private volume. Another hint that bit me in the past: Check all files in the SYS account and put them on LDEV1. Use MPEX to altfile @.@.sys;dev=1;keepamdates. This will save on the warnings from the update and also ensure that the SYSSTART file creator is manager.sys."

Barry Lake of Allegro Consultants added that "Another neat trick is to define a device class in SYSGEN called "NOT1", or something similar, which encompasses all the disc drives in the
MPEXL_SYSTEM_VOLUME_SET *except* LDEV 1. Then, if you have MPEX, you can do something like

%altfile @.@.myacct;dev=not1

If you don't have MPEX, it takes a little more work, but you can still accomplish the same thing:

:file t;dev=tape
:store @.@.myacct;*t;purge
:restore *t;@.@.myacct;olddate;dev=not1

Powerhouse can behave better on your 3000

One immediate need for 6.0 PowerPatch 2 is to make PowerHouse Web work correctly on the 3000, according to Cognos. "If you are using PowerHouse 8.29 for PowerHouse Web 2.29, then you'll need
MPE/iX 6.0 with PowerPatch 2," reports Bob Deskin of Cognos. "There's a list of patches in the
PowerHouse Web Install and Release Notes that are based on MPE/iX 6.0 with PowerPatch 1 and an additional set of patches. Those patches were included in PowerPatch 2."

Samba can be employed to help managers of HP 3000s using Powerhouse Web, according to the engineer who ported Samba to the HP 3000. In our last edition of the Extra, Dennis Barnes reported that while using Powerhouse Web on his 3000, "Being brand new to the Posix side of things, I don't know if this is possible, but the question is: Can I somehow avoid these constant security problems with my Posix files? As for FTPing a file, it is not uncommon to have to change the permissions once the file arrives. I'm not a Posix expert, but it may depend whether the file is pulled to the HP 3000 or pushed from the PC."

HP engineer Lars Appel had this thought for Barnes, and others deploying Powerhouse Web:

When using Samba/iX instead of FTP to copy files to the 3000, it is possible to configure a "create mask" in smb.conf, to define the Posix security that new files should be created with. For example, if the web server is outside the account and thus needs permissions similar to rw-r--r-- to be able to access the files, create mask could be set to a value of 644 (octal representation of rw-r--r--)."

Programs like fourth generation languages can also be notorious for running away with system resources, if not properly managed. subscriber John Hornberger reports that "I have found a way to tame the Powerhouse beast. Using HP's Workload Manager product I set up a special "workgroup" that contains ALL of the Powerhouse products (QUIZ, Quick & QTP). By setting a CPU limit of 50 percent on them for daytime processing, the computer is never totally starved and it can continue serving all of the other processes that run on it. At night the percentage is bumped up to 75 percent."

I've been running my computer that way for a couple of years and I haven't had a user complaint yet. By the way, I do a similar thing for the ODBC driver software since it too loves to take much more CPU than I can afford it to use during daytime processing.

Advanced Telnet surfaces in beta patches

After many months of informal testing at selected sites, HP has put out an official beta release of its new Advanced Telnet software for the e3000. The newest software provides much faster and more reliable connections, according to AICS Research's Wirt Atmar, whose QCTerm software relies on Telnet to link 3000s with the rest of the world. HP's James Hofmeister reports:

"The functionality mentioned by Wirt Atmar and Jeff Bandle concerning Telnet local echo option 45 and XON/XOFF flow control are now present in Beta Test patches Telnet patches PTDFDT3a [for MPE 6.0] and PTDFDT4a [for MPE/iX 6.5]. You are able to request these BETA TEST patches from the HP-RC by asking for PTDFDT3a 6.0 or PTDFDT4a 6.5 -- but please reference SR 4701-422436, since the RC may not give out Beta patches without an SR."

SIGWeb lines up a great HP World agenda

Registration for the HP World show goes up by $100 if you don't register by Aug. 19, but there's a lot to bring back for the money in advanced technology eye-openers. Attendees for HP World will have a chance to get a two-hour update on the latest in technology for Web enabling on the system, when SIG-Web hosts its Wednesday, Sept. 13 lunchtime (12-2) meeting. SIG co-chair Mike Gueterman provided the details on cutting edge technologies for the e3000:

"Besides the normal SIG business, we'll have short presentations from the following:

OnOn Hong from HP's CSY Internet and Interoperability team will present an update from HP including Apache, the WebWise suite, Samba/iX, etc.

Mike Sweeney from Minisoft will give us an update on their Web Dimension product.

Nicolas Fortin from Speedware will be presenting The Wireless Internet. (WAP, what is it and why is it important to your future.)

Bob Deskin, PowerHouse Web Product Manager, Cognos Inc. will give an overview of the Powerhouse Web product as it is now available.

David Young, Chief Evangelist on Enhydra at Lutris Corp. will fill us in on what Enhydra really is and why we would want to use it.

'After the presentations we will hold a general Question and Answer session in whatever time remains. Most of the presenters also have booths on the Expo floor or will be presenting a more in depth version of their talk at another time during the conference. We wanted to cram as much information as we could into our short time together, so these presentations are meant to give you enough knowledge of the subject to decide whether it is something you wish to investigate further on your own."