A good question. No, an excellent question.
Sometimes you venture out beyond your scope of knowledge, for clients.
And when you go asking for information you sound like a jr. tech geek.
But I will always be the first one to say "I don't know" when I don't. I learned enough to know when to reach for help, rather than make something up for clients.
Such is the case I find myself while asking the very knowledgeable Nathan of OpenNTF.org fame. My appdev knowledge died years ago, around the same time Windows enabled databases.
So I needed some help with a DB2 integration question for R7 and he gave me an answer which was concise and to the point and even financially astute(licensing costs).
It's a great thing to be able to contact people who can help you, true evangelists.
So while the answer is not definitive, my client is sending me more details on their request, it does help me to understand some basic issues which in my head down admin path I forgot.
My bad.
On a lighter note, I proved the IRS wrong in billing me for some corporate taxes which were paid, yet they did not properly code them. All in a day's work.
Friday, June 01, 2007
Thursday, May 31, 2007
SLUG follows its name
Well it's done. The first meeting came and went and the numbers were small.
BUT life is good, lined up 2 more sponsors for future meetings, so I get to try again to grow the LUG.
Some good conversations around R8 and the buzz at Lotusphere, was it really 4 months ago?!
Motorola was great, gave away a Treo700 from a Verizon network and some nice padfolios.
Hotel was excellent, I recommend it for events, Radisson Miami in downtown.
To all who did not come, shame on you and don't complain about no Lotus help down here.
But call me, email me, suggest something.
Since the IBM person did not show I was the evangelist and am perfectly happy to be so.
BUT life is good, lined up 2 more sponsors for future meetings, so I get to try again to grow the LUG.
Some good conversations around R8 and the buzz at Lotusphere, was it really 4 months ago?!
Motorola was great, gave away a Treo700 from a Verizon network and some nice padfolios.
Hotel was excellent, I recommend it for events, Radisson Miami in downtown.
To all who did not come, shame on you and don't complain about no Lotus help down here.
But call me, email me, suggest something.
Since the IBM person did not show I was the evangelist and am perfectly happy to be so.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Southeast Lotus User Group Premiere
Well I have finally nailed a date down, May 30th.
Radisson Miami for the premier event of the SLUG.
Came up with some logos too. I like the religion thing. Perhaps IBM's ad campaigns can do some comparative religion courses for CIOs.
:-)
Anyway, now I need to find every Lotus perosn in South Florida, so please let them know if you know any to contact me.
Motorola's Good technology is sponsoring, but I hope to have some Lotus support for speakers or presentations for me to give on the future and updates on Connections.
By the way I have I said how much I love spam-sentinel?
Thursday, May 03, 2007
More Lotus ads that may never see the light of day
Lotus leverage, less baggage, more functions.
Lotus lives!
Golf ad/commercial:
Comparing golf clubs, the ball is behind a tree, but enough to pop over it, do you want the 9 iron? Or do you want an 8 iron? Your software should be as open to choices as you are.
Lotus software...you've got to take a shot...we have the choice of clubs.
Wall street ad:
Do you buy on the gut or the computations?
Sometimes everyone needs options.
Lotus software...you've got choices...we have the options.
Football ad:
3rd and goal from the 3 yard line, run or pass?
Having a half back option pass would be helpful.
Lotus software...prepared to go the extra yards...can you?
Legal ad:
Some clients require heavy caseload upfront. Others want everything at the last minute.
Lotus Software...legally we can't say much...but some lawyers are golfing with more clients.
IT ad:
Keep the lights on, keep the lights on, that's all they think of IT even though you try to plan for the future.
Sometimes what you need, you already have and don't know it.
Lotus software...we planned for this day...so you can plan for the future.
ad:
2 guys on a golf course, 1 says: what do you do? The other says: I help my clients retire young and wealthy.
Lotus software...helping businesses with risk...because the reward is worth it.
I share because I care. (apologies to Monsters, Inc.)
Lotus lives!
Golf ad/commercial:
Comparing golf clubs, the ball is behind a tree, but enough to pop over it, do you want the 9 iron? Or do you want an 8 iron? Your software should be as open to choices as you are.
Lotus software...you've got to take a shot...we have the choice of clubs.
Wall street ad:
Do you buy on the gut or the computations?
Sometimes everyone needs options.
Lotus software...you've got choices...we have the options.
Football ad:
3rd and goal from the 3 yard line, run or pass?
Having a half back option pass would be helpful.
Lotus software...prepared to go the extra yards...can you?
Legal ad:
Some clients require heavy caseload upfront. Others want everything at the last minute.
Lotus Software...legally we can't say much...but some lawyers are golfing with more clients.
IT ad:
Keep the lights on, keep the lights on, that's all they think of IT even though you try to plan for the future.
Sometimes what you need, you already have and don't know it.
Lotus software...we planned for this day...so you can plan for the future.
ad:
2 guys on a golf course, 1 says: what do you do? The other says: I help my clients retire young and wealthy.
Lotus software...helping businesses with risk...because the reward is worth it.
I share because I care. (apologies to Monsters, Inc.)
Retirement and Lotus
I just came back from my mom's retirement party. Nearly 25 years with the same organization.
And now she says she wants to illustrate children's books.
Well it's a better answer than golf in my opinion when asked what she will do after she retires.
So what does this have to do with Lotus?
Well, it's been almost 20 years since Notes came out and is it ready to be retired?
Hell no!
Businesses keep buying it, using it, licensing it.
But at the same time, are we making it a mainframe?
Is it becoming legacy or is it about to reincarnate itself?
Perhaps someone in Lotus or IBM should or did write a memo similar to the ones of mythical status from Gates and Ozzie at Microsoft.
What would it say and how would we get there?
The journey has been hard, but we have gotten to the top of the mountain, and when we see the guru, he says: 42.
"Forty-two!" yelled Loonquawl. "Is that all you've got to show for seven and a half million years' work?"
"I checked it very thoroughly," said the computer, "and that quite definitely is the answer. I think the problem, to be quite honest with you, is that you've never actually known what the question is."
So perhaps the question is the problem. It is NOT how do we promote Lotus?
Nor is it a case of this brand for this product.
You could argue it's a maze and we are on the right course, presuming we could see the way out.
No it's more deeper than that even.
In a world where anything is possible, could Lotus find its way to the top of the hill again?
Can it beat Microsoft at it's own game?
Did Lotus miss something by not setting up Domino to be SaaS? Yes it can be, but is rarely done that way.
Lotus was always ahead of the curve from a technical/cultural perspective and is again, but the problem is the world is not quite ready to listen as intently as they used to in the early days.
I see an open jar of honey with a Microsoft logo stuck in it and the IBM bee swirling around stinging it.
And now she says she wants to illustrate children's books.
Well it's a better answer than golf in my opinion when asked what she will do after she retires.
So what does this have to do with Lotus?
Well, it's been almost 20 years since Notes came out and is it ready to be retired?
Hell no!
Businesses keep buying it, using it, licensing it.
But at the same time, are we making it a mainframe?
Is it becoming legacy or is it about to reincarnate itself?
Perhaps someone in Lotus or IBM should or did write a memo similar to the ones of mythical status from Gates and Ozzie at Microsoft.
What would it say and how would we get there?
The journey has been hard, but we have gotten to the top of the mountain, and when we see the guru, he says: 42.
"Forty-two!" yelled Loonquawl. "Is that all you've got to show for seven and a half million years' work?"
"I checked it very thoroughly," said the computer, "and that quite definitely is the answer. I think the problem, to be quite honest with you, is that you've never actually known what the question is."
So perhaps the question is the problem. It is NOT how do we promote Lotus?
Nor is it a case of this brand for this product.
You could argue it's a maze and we are on the right course, presuming we could see the way out.
No it's more deeper than that even.
In a world where anything is possible, could Lotus find its way to the top of the hill again?
Can it beat Microsoft at it's own game?
Did Lotus miss something by not setting up Domino to be SaaS? Yes it can be, but is rarely done that way.
Lotus was always ahead of the curve from a technical/cultural perspective and is again, but the problem is the world is not quite ready to listen as intently as they used to in the early days.
I see an open jar of honey with a Microsoft logo stuck in it and the IBM bee swirling around stinging it.
Lotus Ad Campaigns
I posted this on Ed Brill's blog:
(My apologies to animal house)Was it over when 123 ran adrift? Was it over when OS/2 disappeared? Was it over when Exchange came out? Hell no! And it ain't over now, 15+ years later Notes is still going strong across 6 OS's, 3 client OS's and one excellent annual event.
Who's with me....
Lotus, we never stopped working together, when did you?
And maybe some other ways of looking at this exist, like:
Remember your first car? Sure it worked, but it leaked oil, had some braking issues, right?
But you still remember the great feeling of driving, even if you don't have the car anymore.
What if you could have that same car, in modern times and it took care of itself?
Well you can.... show matching cars 20 years apart.
Then cut to a Lotus Notes Release 1 box and then R8 box.
We'd let you test drive it whenever you want..lotus.com/testdrive.
More ideas later
(My apologies to animal house)Was it over when 123 ran adrift? Was it over when OS/2 disappeared? Was it over when Exchange came out? Hell no! And it ain't over now, 15+ years later Notes is still going strong across 6 OS's, 3 client OS's and one excellent annual event.
Who's with me....
Lotus, we never stopped working together, when did you?
And maybe some other ways of looking at this exist, like:
Remember your first car? Sure it worked, but it leaked oil, had some braking issues, right?
But you still remember the great feeling of driving, even if you don't have the car anymore.
What if you could have that same car, in modern times and it took care of itself?
Well you can.... show matching cars 20 years apart.
Then cut to a Lotus Notes Release 1 box and then R8 box.
We'd let you test drive it whenever you want..lotus.com/testdrive.
More ideas later
Thursday, April 26, 2007
SPAM Has Stopped, Wish R8 would stop it too
Finally found the gold. SpamSentinel from http://www.maysoft.com/ Mayflower is the key.
Now before I or you go too far, remember I use Notes as a POP3 client without a Domino server, usually.
So all those who like the other ones, I tried 3-4 already, none would work. Not mentioning names since I am sure they work in other cases not as unique as mine.
You see the problem is Lotus never enabled mail rules on the client side to work without a server. And in R8, this continues. Bummer. So even though I blocked 100's of emails, it never will work without a server.
But now, I have to shell out $50 to Mayflower, but I don't mind, it's unbelievable!
Excellent support staff and very responsive and accepting of advice for enhancements even.
Why did it take me so long to find them, well until the last 6 months I never had more than a handful of spam in my inboxes(under 30 usually), now I get over 100 a day!
So kudos to Allison(she does the video on their website) and Chris(the tech guy who helped me sort out some questions I had). See you in Orlando next year!
Now before I or you go too far, remember I use Notes as a POP3 client without a Domino server, usually.
So all those who like the other ones, I tried 3-4 already, none would work. Not mentioning names since I am sure they work in other cases not as unique as mine.
You see the problem is Lotus never enabled mail rules on the client side to work without a server. And in R8, this continues. Bummer. So even though I blocked 100's of emails, it never will work without a server.
But now, I have to shell out $50 to Mayflower, but I don't mind, it's unbelievable!
Excellent support staff and very responsive and accepting of advice for enhancements even.
Why did it take me so long to find them, well until the last 6 months I never had more than a handful of spam in my inboxes(under 30 usually), now I get over 100 a day!
So kudos to Allison(she does the video on their website) and Chris(the tech guy who helped me sort out some questions I had). See you in Orlando next year!
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Lotus Evangelism is alive and kicking
I posted at another site https://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=21077086&postID=5366527023338273982 that asked where are the Supermen of Lotus. And Women.
Well they exist, and like Clark Kent, do not want to be known in the public eye.
It's easy for Ed, Alan and others because that is not their true job, they are high profile people and deserve to be evangelists by default. One would hope more would come out to blog as well, I know Ed encourages them so there is hope.
But having been a Lotus EMEA (Europe Middle East & Africa to the uninformed) "technology advocate"/"Product evangelist"/"IT Specialist" , my team and I preferred being more anonymous.
Why?
Think about it, if everyone knew us, we would be blacklisted from conferences and certain competitor events(ya ya, it never happens, right we just get funny colored badges).
We covered everything we could from ancient times(OS/2, cc:mail DOS) to the mainframe to advanced application design(way out of my field) and java/linux you name it as it came up.
AND we had to be fully knowledgable on every announced product or demo'd at Lotusphere or just downloaded. e-suite? Extended Search? Death of cc:mail? You name it we had to know it.
Calls at anytime of day/night because we could be anywhere in the world, emails/IM's everywhere on everything, meetings with clients in Saunas in Helsinki, yep we did it all.
Sometimes you were saving Lotus during a merger, sometimes it was a "tell us what's new" discussion, other times it was just "so happy someone from corporate came to meet us". Sometimes it was a premiere like R5, Domino.Doc, Quickplace were some of my big ones.
The equivalent of a rock star life within the IT profession, we joked about tour shirts but figured we would run out of space on the shirt.
Demo's, multiple laptops(before vmware), 4 versions of servers, 8 clients running on a thinkpad and someone wants to know how you did it? Magic my friend, and a long plane flight with electrical power.
I was privileged to work with some of the smartest and funniest people I ever could imagine. People who equalled my knowledge in messaging or OS's with their appdev ways or A/V or telco understandings.
Finally after many years some of those people are running the SWAT teams and thank god, because unless you have done the work, you can't possibly understand how to manage a group like us. These guys were all over Orlando, but you had no idea, you watched some of them on stage, maybe on BP day(which is when I used to do most of mine). Maybe the guy in the lab you visited that seemed to know way more about your topic than you expected from them.
So yes, Supermen, and women do exist and they regularly come to your town, but don't tell them I told you.
Well they exist, and like Clark Kent, do not want to be known in the public eye.
It's easy for Ed, Alan and others because that is not their true job, they are high profile people and deserve to be evangelists by default. One would hope more would come out to blog as well, I know Ed encourages them so there is hope.
But having been a Lotus EMEA (Europe Middle East & Africa to the uninformed) "technology advocate"/"Product evangelist"/"IT Specialist" , my team and I preferred being more anonymous.
Why?
Think about it, if everyone knew us, we would be blacklisted from conferences and certain competitor events(ya ya, it never happens, right we just get funny colored badges).
We covered everything we could from ancient times(OS/2, cc:mail DOS) to the mainframe to advanced application design(way out of my field) and java/linux you name it as it came up.
AND we had to be fully knowledgable on every announced product or demo'd at Lotusphere or just downloaded. e-suite? Extended Search? Death of cc:mail? You name it we had to know it.
Calls at anytime of day/night because we could be anywhere in the world, emails/IM's everywhere on everything, meetings with clients in Saunas in Helsinki, yep we did it all.
Sometimes you were saving Lotus during a merger, sometimes it was a "tell us what's new" discussion, other times it was just "so happy someone from corporate came to meet us". Sometimes it was a premiere like R5, Domino.Doc, Quickplace were some of my big ones.
The equivalent of a rock star life within the IT profession, we joked about tour shirts but figured we would run out of space on the shirt.
Demo's, multiple laptops(before vmware), 4 versions of servers, 8 clients running on a thinkpad and someone wants to know how you did it? Magic my friend, and a long plane flight with electrical power.
I was privileged to work with some of the smartest and funniest people I ever could imagine. People who equalled my knowledge in messaging or OS's with their appdev ways or A/V or telco understandings.
Finally after many years some of those people are running the SWAT teams and thank god, because unless you have done the work, you can't possibly understand how to manage a group like us. These guys were all over Orlando, but you had no idea, you watched some of them on stage, maybe on BP day(which is when I used to do most of mine). Maybe the guy in the lab you visited that seemed to know way more about your topic than you expected from them.
So yes, Supermen, and women do exist and they regularly come to your town, but don't tell them I told you.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Job Hunting and the Pregnant wife
Evidently it is not easy to take a job outside of your local area if your wife is pregnant.
I have lost quite a few jobs because the company(some small, some behemoths) could not figure out relocation for us because the family can not come until after the baby and I would have to be back and forth to home.
I have no problem with travel, working remotely or managing remotely or traveling 75% of my time. Evidently some companies do.
So even though I am willing to be based in Atlanta, Spain, Benelux, Seattle and others, I just get turned down because my family holds me back.
This is not right.
So if you have open headcount and don't mind me being based in Boca Raton, Florida for the next 6 months or so, please let me know so I can afford my new baby. Or alolow me to work in country for a week or 2 then home for a week.
I have lost quite a few jobs because the company(some small, some behemoths) could not figure out relocation for us because the family can not come until after the baby and I would have to be back and forth to home.
I have no problem with travel, working remotely or managing remotely or traveling 75% of my time. Evidently some companies do.
So even though I am willing to be based in Atlanta, Spain, Benelux, Seattle and others, I just get turned down because my family holds me back.
This is not right.
So if you have open headcount and don't mind me being based in Boca Raton, Florida for the next 6 months or so, please let me know so I can afford my new baby. Or alolow me to work in country for a week or 2 then home for a week.
Lotus and SPR/QMR and Templates
So what happens in this fast moving world when you encounter a problem, a bug or an issue with your favorite software?
Well you file a complaint with the online feedback location.
NOw, do you expect an immediate answer? Nope.
Do you eventually expect some answer? Yes.
Do you want to wait for a quarterly or semi-annual distribution? I don't think so.
My question is why can't Lotus provide template updates online to registered customers or even in general. Sure not much changes these days to templates but if they did or needed to, why should one have to wait? Sure you could argue there are special templates which require fees, but without the updated server side code, most template changes are useless.
If it was a security thing it would be out immediately. But fixing a sorting tab or button which does not perform as designed surely could be handled differently.
While on this topic, why don't we get a list of openntf.org templates or the ones in the Lotus sandbox when the file-new application dialogue box? MS Office does this very well by sending you to the online template site when you are searching for something.
Well you file a complaint with the online feedback location.
NOw, do you expect an immediate answer? Nope.
Do you eventually expect some answer? Yes.
Do you want to wait for a quarterly or semi-annual distribution? I don't think so.
My question is why can't Lotus provide template updates online to registered customers or even in general. Sure not much changes these days to templates but if they did or needed to, why should one have to wait? Sure you could argue there are special templates which require fees, but without the updated server side code, most template changes are useless.
If it was a security thing it would be out immediately. But fixing a sorting tab or button which does not perform as designed surely could be handled differently.
While on this topic, why don't we get a list of openntf.org templates or the ones in the Lotus sandbox when the file-new application dialogue box? MS Office does this very well by sending you to the online template site when you are searching for something.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Vacation and Nomad
Going to Dublin to see the inlaws and all I can say is thank Lotus, and God for helping them, create Nomad for my USB stick. Sure I can use webmail, but my contacts are not in synch with it since it is not Lotus based like my desktop is at home.
And with business opps, the lotus user group and side projects takign shape I can't be without my contacts or details should they be needed.
Thanks again guys!
And with business opps, the lotus user group and side projects takign shape I can't be without my contacts or details should they be needed.
Thanks again guys!
Lotusphere came to me, well Miami
Yes, I went to Orlando and Lotusphere came to me, well the Hard Rock casino in Hollywood.
Well a mini version actually.
Run by Perficient, a BP with a new office in Hollywood. They did an excellent job, Vishal, the local Perficient rep, was very nice and helpful. Wish him the best of luck in growing business down here.
About 20 or so people were there.
Encouraging since I am working on restarting the South Florida Lotus Users Group.
Some big companies were there, 1 brought 4 or 5 of their staff.
Details:
4 sessions.
1 general overall pitch by Craig Pessman which could have had more power to it.
1 portal express overview from Perficient's Portal expert(he really knows his stuff, unfortunately I forgot his name and did not get a card.
1 connections/quickr/green house like presentation by Maria Manchessi( ithin is how it is spelled).
1 Lotus forms by Jamie Hughes. Not sure where Lotus hid this product, but she made it sound really cool, and as a BP I saw it as really key for business. The problem is, I am told, it has been around for 2 years or so, since IBM bought the original company.
It runs on Websphere but not the Portal server, although it looks to have multiple server requirements based on needs.
Still a very cool product.
Sometimes too much info is bad, you know?
Anyway I met some nice people who hopefully will come tot he event in May.
Motorola/Good wants to sponsor and hold the meeting which looks promising.
Also the IBM people in attendance were very supportive of my efforts to start the LUG.
All in all a good day.
Well a mini version actually.
Run by Perficient, a BP with a new office in Hollywood. They did an excellent job, Vishal, the local Perficient rep, was very nice and helpful. Wish him the best of luck in growing business down here.
About 20 or so people were there.
Encouraging since I am working on restarting the South Florida Lotus Users Group.
Some big companies were there, 1 brought 4 or 5 of their staff.
Details:
4 sessions.
1 general overall pitch by Craig Pessman which could have had more power to it.
1 portal express overview from Perficient's Portal expert(he really knows his stuff, unfortunately I forgot his name and did not get a card.
1 connections/quickr/green house like presentation by Maria Manchessi( ithin is how it is spelled).
1 Lotus forms by Jamie Hughes. Not sure where Lotus hid this product, but she made it sound really cool, and as a BP I saw it as really key for business. The problem is, I am told, it has been around for 2 years or so, since IBM bought the original company.
It runs on Websphere but not the Portal server, although it looks to have multiple server requirements based on needs.
Still a very cool product.
Sometimes too much info is bad, you know?
Anyway I met some nice people who hopefully will come tot he event in May.
Motorola/Good wants to sponsor and hold the meeting which looks promising.
Also the IBM people in attendance were very supportive of my efforts to start the LUG.
All in all a good day.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Lotus Notes8 and a Phoenix rises from the Ashes
Well it came out, finally, and no complaints.
Sure it crashes, what beta doesn't?
But the UI is fluid, cool(really) and highly productive.
I haven't been able to sit in one spot to do almost everything since the days of QEMM and Direct Access Menus.(If you remember those, you like me have been doing this for a LONG time).
Anyway, the sidebar is now for the first time since R5 able to much more than email pieces.
It handles Sametime and the Phoenix rising, "reborn/renewed" Lotus Smartsuite or e-suite which has a word processor, spreadsheet and presenter.
And of course your calendar, and will do much more.
But it's the Rss feeds/reader which is most impressive IMHO of the sidebar functionality.
Why?
Because I was using "my yahoo's page" as a reader(bad) or MS clients which I am beta testing(not bad but yet another piece of sofware).
Now it's not only in one spot, but provides listings, opens in the Lotus client or my browser, pops up when something new is posted from one of my followed sites and well, just makes the day to day of the executive who is a little techy, much more useful.
The downside might be many more calls to the helpdesk until the exec gets it right and setup.
But hey, office 2007's ribbon is no less confusing so I guess the new UI is the old time UI of "guess where/what the function you need is hiding".
And I thought software should make your life easier.
Again it's BETA people, get over it, these things will be worked out before it goes live.
Well, not in Office 2007's case :-P
Sure it crashes, what beta doesn't?
But the UI is fluid, cool(really) and highly productive.
I haven't been able to sit in one spot to do almost everything since the days of QEMM and Direct Access Menus.(If you remember those, you like me have been doing this for a LONG time).
Anyway, the sidebar is now for the first time since R5 able to much more than email pieces.
It handles Sametime and the Phoenix rising, "reborn/renewed" Lotus Smartsuite or e-suite which has a word processor, spreadsheet and presenter.
And of course your calendar, and will do much more.
But it's the Rss feeds/reader which is most impressive IMHO of the sidebar functionality.
Why?
Because I was using "my yahoo's page" as a reader(bad) or MS clients which I am beta testing(not bad but yet another piece of sofware).
Now it's not only in one spot, but provides listings, opens in the Lotus client or my browser, pops up when something new is posted from one of my followed sites and well, just makes the day to day of the executive who is a little techy, much more useful.
The downside might be many more calls to the helpdesk until the exec gets it right and setup.
But hey, office 2007's ribbon is no less confusing so I guess the new UI is the old time UI of "guess where/what the function you need is hiding".
And I thought software should make your life easier.
Again it's BETA people, get over it, these things will be worked out before it goes live.
Well, not in Office 2007's case :-P
Thursday, February 15, 2007
CIO Magazine quotes me in article about SPAM
The senior online editor, Esther Schindler, from CIO magazines website had posted in the Lotus forums, and probably in many other sites as well looking for insights about SPAM and LOB(Lines of Business) and CXO's.
You can read the article here.
There were many thoughts pushed, but the one which I htink was missed, although an obvious one, is the following:
SPAM falls under SECURITY not messaging infrastructure or some other "admin" task area.
SPAM can and will be used against your organization at some point in time and who has the budget, if not the resources, to handle it? Not the IT staff. The security staff.
OK, so Postini is a great option, I met them at Lotusphere 2007 and previously. But maybe you are not big enough to pay for them. Maybe you should rethink it.
Look into the expenses you have now to fight spam, from hardware, software, time effort of the IT staff, telecoms/data traffic, and you start to see big numbers.
Read the article if you think SPAM is just a monty python skit!
You can read the article here.
There were many thoughts pushed, but the one which I htink was missed, although an obvious one, is the following:
SPAM falls under SECURITY not messaging infrastructure or some other "admin" task area.
SPAM can and will be used against your organization at some point in time and who has the budget, if not the resources, to handle it? Not the IT staff. The security staff.
OK, so Postini is a great option, I met them at Lotusphere 2007 and previously. But maybe you are not big enough to pay for them. Maybe you should rethink it.
Look into the expenses you have now to fight spam, from hardware, software, time effort of the IT staff, telecoms/data traffic, and you start to see big numbers.
Read the article if you think SPAM is just a monty python skit!
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Lotusphere 2007, to infinity and beyond!
Well at least to R8 and beyond. I should have used it in my session.
Anyway, a great show, very much a Lotus focused event, with very little IBM referencing. Nice in light of the last few years where anything not IBM branded was tossed out.
Where to begin.
UX Lab (User Acceptance)
1st of all if you never did a user experience, they are great but take time, so plan ahead and sign up for a time that works for you.
I did 2, one on R8 collaboration and one on the Dogear product.
What can I say about R8 that many haven't? It's cool, it's advanced, it's a portal/dashboard, it can detach "pieces" like calendar or activities or sametime.
Downside, well, good luck getting some older employees used to a million things blinking and popping up around their screen.
Dogear is interesting, to a point. It is about sharing bookmarks and tags to better search or compare information. Maybe you think I know what I am talking about and like my bookmarks to update yours. Maybe not.
While I enjoy the online sharing of information, sometimes my internal interests should not be shared. Also I found it odd why I would want to include someone else's bookmarks into mine(making a few dozen to a few hundred) when I could just as easily search the system or web for the information as well. I was confused and still am on this point, but as the product was still being UI completed, even though it has been running in IBM for 2 years I was told, it is far from unintuitive and I consider myself technically adept.
I did not make it to too many sessions, but then there are really only a few I ever want to go to since the majority is either about the future (R8 which I still can not touch) or application developement. Damn if I missed the worst practices session, probably the most enjoyable one.
GURUPALOOZA
Yep, fun, but seriously lacking in admin people, HELLO! not everyone cares about appdev. Wait Nathan just threw something at me, it's a flyer from openntf.org.
Seriously, it was great to see so many up there, and put names to faces. The combined experience on the dais was amazing, although a brief name or intro on each person would have been helpful to those of us that just know people by their blog or reputation.
But the email problem questions could and should have been answered in a better way. Well maybe next year I can obtain Guru status or at least I can have it as a goal for this blog and my self over 2007.
Sadly I missed Ed Brill's BoF for bloggers on thursday, overslept, big bummer. And then missed the dinner with them all Thursday because of family things. Well there is always next year.
I was impressed to see all my EMEA friends there, were there any US Lotii down at the show?
Edited names to protect everyone.
And thank you to the IBM partner pedestals that gave out network travel packets (with phone charger connection ends too for USB) and usb hubs, they came in VERY handy in a pinch.
I think in another post I will update my list of required items for Lotusphere.
And as always if you have a Domino emergency, do not hesitate to call. We are open for business.
Edited to protect the innocent!
Anyway, a great show, very much a Lotus focused event, with very little IBM referencing. Nice in light of the last few years where anything not IBM branded was tossed out.
Where to begin.
UX Lab (User Acceptance)
1st of all if you never did a user experience, they are great but take time, so plan ahead and sign up for a time that works for you.
I did 2, one on R8 collaboration and one on the Dogear product.
What can I say about R8 that many haven't? It's cool, it's advanced, it's a portal/dashboard, it can detach "pieces" like calendar or activities or sametime.
Downside, well, good luck getting some older employees used to a million things blinking and popping up around their screen.
Dogear is interesting, to a point. It is about sharing bookmarks and tags to better search or compare information. Maybe you think I know what I am talking about and like my bookmarks to update yours. Maybe not.
While I enjoy the online sharing of information, sometimes my internal interests should not be shared. Also I found it odd why I would want to include someone else's bookmarks into mine(making a few dozen to a few hundred) when I could just as easily search the system or web for the information as well. I was confused and still am on this point, but as the product was still being UI completed, even though it has been running in IBM for 2 years I was told, it is far from unintuitive and I consider myself technically adept.
I did not make it to too many sessions, but then there are really only a few I ever want to go to since the majority is either about the future (R8 which I still can not touch) or application developement. Damn if I missed the worst practices session, probably the most enjoyable one.
GURUPALOOZA
Yep, fun, but seriously lacking in admin people, HELLO! not everyone cares about appdev. Wait Nathan just threw something at me, it's a flyer from openntf.org.
Seriously, it was great to see so many up there, and put names to faces. The combined experience on the dais was amazing, although a brief name or intro on each person would have been helpful to those of us that just know people by their blog or reputation.
But the email problem questions could and should have been answered in a better way. Well maybe next year I can obtain Guru status or at least I can have it as a goal for this blog and my self over 2007.
Sadly I missed Ed Brill's BoF for bloggers on thursday, overslept, big bummer. And then missed the dinner with them all Thursday because of family things. Well there is always next year.
I was impressed to see all my EMEA friends there, were there any US Lotii down at the show?
Edited names to protect everyone.
And thank you to the IBM partner pedestals that gave out network travel packets (with phone charger connection ends too for USB) and usb hubs, they came in VERY handy in a pinch.
I think in another post I will update my list of required items for Lotusphere.
And as always if you have a Domino emergency, do not hesitate to call. We are open for business.
Edited to protect the innocent!
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Lotusphere 2008
I can say, for perhaps the first time in a decade, I want to sign up as an early attendee for next year. I am sure many people would agree the future is bright and yellow and at an early fee of about $1500 it is well worth it.
Now how do i get more hours in my day and days in my week to do everything here.
And oh yeah, everyone is walking around on tuesday saying its been a long week!
Now how do i get more hours in my day and days in my week to do everything here.
And oh yeah, everyone is walking around on tuesday saying its been a long week!
ed brills session on selling notes
had a whole blog done, hit send, no go. Evidently pocketpc and my blog do not work well together.
I had done it all on my phone.
Bummer.
Ed and Julian's sessions was great, SRO.
Superman looks the same as in his R5 days but Julian substituted.
10 steps to selling clients and some anecdotals upfront go along way.
And for everyone's benefit, ROI means "Rely on IBM".
Everyone is ecstatic about R8 and the future although for me it will be rough, i am not a developer and eclipse will make my life slightly miserable while I learn some of it.
I also did some user testing on the R8 client, more about that in a different post because, well, it's cool, great, but some issues arose which when i look at it from a corp perspective nothing show stopping of course, just a hint to Iris to create some good help files.
I had done it all on my phone.
Bummer.
Ed and Julian's sessions was great, SRO.
Superman looks the same as in his R5 days but Julian substituted.
10 steps to selling clients and some anecdotals upfront go along way.
And for everyone's benefit, ROI means "Rely on IBM".
Everyone is ecstatic about R8 and the future although for me it will be rough, i am not a developer and eclipse will make my life slightly miserable while I learn some of it.
I also did some user testing on the R8 client, more about that in a different post because, well, it's cool, great, but some issues arose which when i look at it from a corp perspective nothing show stopping of course, just a hint to Iris to create some good help files.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Lotusphere 2007 is here
Not leaving until sunday night, but preparing everything to go.
Full agenda, up very early all week, BP work to do, client work to finish.
Business is good, but business should pick up at the sphere.
See you in Orlando!
Full agenda, up very early all week, BP work to do, client work to finish.
Business is good, but business should pick up at the sphere.
See you in Orlando!
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Lotusphere Fun
Lot's of fun out there to be had over the next week. Rocky's got his 12 Lotusphere Attenders as reported by Ed Brill.
My entry for the Haiku was:
Microsoft is bad,
Borat makes them look okay,
Lotus is Brilliant!
I have something just for the Ed Brill lovers out there, Ed Brill Bingo!
Was gong ot have a t-shirt made up but you know how it is sometimes, getting waivers signed, etc.. Names are listed just in case....
No I don't have too much time on my hands, this was done a few weeks back over holiday vacation.
My entry for the Haiku was:
Microsoft is bad,
Borat makes them look okay,
Lotus is Brilliant!
I have something just for the Ed Brill lovers out there, Ed Brill Bingo!
Was gong ot have a t-shirt made up but you know how it is sometimes, getting waivers signed, etc.. Names are listed just in case....
No I don't have too much time on my hands, this was done a few weeks back over holiday vacation.
Never turn down clients
Sure my main project disappeared last week.
Bummer, "I love this place", well i do and did, but you know how it is.
So I had lined up a small Domino setup for a law firm, Sametime, Domino, Document Manager, the fun and simple stuff.
Now one of my recycling clients has called, last minute, to get 100 pieces of equipment. Good money but I am short on time, with Lotusphere coming up and being out of town.
We should all have such problems. :-)
I am busy editing my corp. website for the Sphere and it is taking WAY too long.
But business is business and business must grow!
See you in Orlando, I'm the simple man with a yellow "Boca Beanie" you can't miss it.
Bummer, "I love this place", well i do and did, but you know how it is.
So I had lined up a small Domino setup for a law firm, Sametime, Domino, Document Manager, the fun and simple stuff.
Now one of my recycling clients has called, last minute, to get 100 pieces of equipment. Good money but I am short on time, with Lotusphere coming up and being out of town.
We should all have such problems. :-)
I am busy editing my corp. website for the Sphere and it is taking WAY too long.
But business is business and business must grow!
See you in Orlando, I'm the simple man with a yellow "Boca Beanie" you can't miss it.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Nomad NO GO on PocketPC
Bummer of a birthmark. What looks like Windows, talks like windows, acts like windows but isn't windows?
drum roll please.....
PocketPC or Windows mobile 5
I copied the nomad over to my minisd on my phone click to run and error says this is not a pocketpc app.
DUH!
So now my friends in the development world, help me to help all lotus fans everywhere. How can I get Nomad to run on pocketpc?
On the bright side, all 3 notes clients work fine.
drum roll please.....
PocketPC or Windows mobile 5
I copied the nomad over to my minisd on my phone click to run and error says this is not a pocketpc app.
DUH!
So now my friends in the development world, help me to help all lotus fans everywhere. How can I get Nomad to run on pocketpc?
On the bright side, all 3 notes clients work fine.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
NOMAD ROCKS!
This is cool, sorry i did not get around to doing it sooner.
Forget the laptop, just plug it into your phone and go.
Will move my mail dbs and stuff tonight.
Sadly it did take an hour to install and a few minutes for setup/config info to get sorted.
Mine installed admin and designer too so I am slowly dropping pieces I don't need.
So far got notes down to about 350MB.
Pretty cool. And if my theory holds on connecting it to my phone, then no laptop for me.
Damn, I should make tshirts for orlando, go Nomad and leave the laptop at home, clothes optional.
:-)
As Chris W. pointed out, who knows if IBM will lock out USBs on the kiosks, but I don't care :-)
Forget the laptop, just plug it into your phone and go.
Will move my mail dbs and stuff tonight.
Sadly it did take an hour to install and a few minutes for setup/config info to get sorted.
Mine installed admin and designer too so I am slowly dropping pieces I don't need.
So far got notes down to about 350MB.
Pretty cool. And if my theory holds on connecting it to my phone, then no laptop for me.
Damn, I should make tshirts for orlando, go Nomad and leave the laptop at home, clothes optional.
:-)
As Chris W. pointed out, who knows if IBM will lock out USBs on the kiosks, but I don't care :-)
NOMAD and Lotusphere
No idea what is in store for us in orlando as it relates to NOMAD, but I got my 1GB usb drive installing as I write.
As the docs state, it may take a while to install, and it sure does. Mine will take about an hour.
Should be worth it though.
I am not taking a laptop to Orlando, no need to carry excess baggage.
My Cingular 8125 handles any emergency browsing, note taking or emails I need to reply and the NOMAD should handle more email at a kiosk, pedestal or friends laptop.
Still hunting for sponsors and promotions for my BoF so let me know.
As the docs state, it may take a while to install, and it sure does. Mine will take about an hour.
Should be worth it though.
I am not taking a laptop to Orlando, no need to carry excess baggage.
My Cingular 8125 handles any emergency browsing, note taking or emails I need to reply and the NOMAD should handle more email at a kiosk, pedestal or friends laptop.
Still hunting for sponsors and promotions for my BoF so let me know.
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