Andrew Pollack's Blog

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  1. 06/16/2010Ed Brill has a blog. Peter O'Kelly has blog...Ed is an executive at one of the largest corporations in the world. Peter is not an executive. He's a smart guy and he works for Microsoft, but its not the same. When Ed makes a statement about a product, he is literally speaking for IBM. When Peter makes a statement, he's sharing his opinion. I'm not discounting Peter's opinion. He's a smart guy and he's got a lot to say. On Ed's blog, any lunatic with an axe to grind can post pretty much anything they want without moderation. At most, truly crazy or ......
  2. 06/15/2010How about Traveler for Desktop?With Traveler for Apple iPhone et. al; the host OS provides the client. With Traveler for Android, however, I understand they're building the mail, calendar, and address book clients. I wonder how hard it would be to make a Traveler implementation for native Java. The Android stuff should be 90% there already. Better yet, is the interface to the traveler servlet documented anywhere? Could we build an OS "Native" implementation for Apple, Windows, and ......
  3. 06/15/2010Why XPages is not LCD any moreLCD (Lotus Component Designer) failed in the marketplace. Since the bulk of it was repurposed for Notes & Domino as the XPages designer, one of its criticisms has been that heritage. While I'm not a big fan of the architecture -- the fact that it relies on J2EE is a huge turn off for me -- I'm not willing to buy the argument that because it came from LCD it must be no good. First, while I agree with Rob's comments up to a point and while the intent was clearly to just slide in LCD as a low-cost and ......
  4. 06/15/2010Fixing Domino Designer - I’m limiting this post to things specific to fixing the Domino Designer Client. I may talk in another post later about next steps and new features, new design architectures, library interfaces to other design tools, and changes to the client strategy – but for now those are off limits. First – Move XPages to a standalone tool. The XPages application has no business being inside the old Notes Designer Client, and keeping it there has a strong negative impact on one of the key goals of XPages – attracting ......
  5. 06/14/2010Bandwagon: Why the decline in Notes seats, when the Domino server is still the best value on the marketplace? Here's why....The Domino server still represents the best value in the industry as an application platform. So why is the market clearly still losing ground on corporate desktop seats? More important, what can be done about it? The problem isn’t lack of advertising – though that could certainly be better. The problem isn’t IBM’s website – I agree, it stinks in all kinds of ways, but that’s not what is causing problems in the marketplace. To think it is, is to think major IT decisions are getting made by CIO’s surfing ......
  6. 05/17/2010Unified Comunications Server? That ship sailed -- it's time to move on.While nobody was looking, "Unified Communications" has already happened -- just not the way you were told it would. UC was supposed to be about turning your PC into a telephone system. While several companies were pushing hard for this to come true -- Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Avaya, etc... other companies made it happen in reverse. RIM and APPLE have lead the way with Nokia and Google close behind. They've put your PC in your telephone. I'd say I fall in to the category of "early adopter" on the idea of ......
  7. 05/09/2010Risky Business; plus Weekend Work -- Crappy Equipment, a plague of mice, and tired feet.Hi all - It's been a busy spring and I've been lax with the blogging. Here's an attempt to catch you up. Work first - There's a lot happening with Second Signal right now. I hope to be making an announcement soon about the next steps toward global domination. That's meant a fair amount of work both on the business side as well as the technical. Given how busy I've been with regular (paying) work this year so far, it's been difficult to reconcile. That's the risky part. I've been able to help a friend out a ......
  8. 04/15/2010"It just isn't possible" -- Sure it is, you just don't know how to do it.How many times has the voice of customer service told you something isn't possible? I had a bit of a frustrating morning dealing with Fidelity. It did turn out OK, but it shouldn't have been that hard. Each year, as Saint John the Accountant finishes my taxes, he tells me how much I can put into my SEP IRA (the equivalent of a 401k for us self-employed types). Since this is a pretty serious deduction, the amount I put in impacts my taxes quite a bit. In fact, if I were to have put nothing in the SEP IRA ......
  9. 04/15/2010I believe it is time to improve the auto-update capability of the IBM Lotus Notes and Domino InfrastructureI probably make as big an effort at keeping up with new versions of the Domino server and Notes client software as almost any admin, but with the increasingly rapid pace of change it's getting somewhat more difficult all the time. Many of us have wished for some better automatic update capability for a long time. It's starting to get important enough to demand attention. With 8.5.2 due fairly soon, we'll have had several fairly important updates all within the space of a few months -- 8.5.1, 8.5.1 fp1, ......
  10. 03/28/2010Firefighter's Ski Race -- ......
  11. 03/25/2010Stopping http, ldap, and smtp password dictionary attacks and worms - Domino for LinuxIf you're a regular reader here, or if you've seen me speak at conferences, you know that Security is a big focus of what I do. I've been recently trying out a nice tool for Linux servers that's designed to stop dictionary attacks and worms and such. The tool comes with pre-made configurations for common linux packages like ssh, ftp, and apache web server but it can be easily expanded to include other applications. Fail2Ban essentially watches log files for entries showing failed password or other such ......
  12. 03/24/2010Here's some free code - a Lotuscript library you may find useful.I built this originally for use with a client -- but there's nothing client specific in here. This is a straightforward implementation of the SHA1 hash algorithm. SHA1 is commonly used for credential hashing and token validation in single sign-on applications. When given a string data, it returns a specific hash value, which will be the same every time for the same input string, but which cannot be "decrypted" back to the original. The hashed value is much smaller and easier to store. Hashed values are ......
  13. 03/23/2010Notes & Domino tech people - you NEED to read, print, and save this document.Understanding the IBM Lotus Notes 8.5.x client directory structure - Thank you Susan! http://www-10.lotus.com/ldd/dominowiki.nsf/dx/Understanding_the_IBM_Lotus_Notes_8.5.x_client_directory_structure Very very very good stuff here. It should be translated for MAC and LINUX, but if you use either of those platforms, the information here is still useful and very easily ......
  14. 03/18/2010File this under "Damn, I should have known that" -- CSS and Relative PathsI was whining about a feature being missing in Designer 8.5.x yesterday in a closed forum for "Design Partners" when I learned something I wished I'd known a long time ago. I'm writing this to share it with you, so you can be saved the work I've been doing. The feature I wanted (and still want) is for file resources that use the new editors (e.g. CSS, HTML, JAVASCRIPT) to allow "" values or at least some form of tokenization to allow you to include things like "@webdbname" and profile document values in ......
  15. 03/16/2010The CKEditor - with Domino -- will be better than rolling your own!If you don't know the CKEditor, you soon will. Maureen (and others) have recently gone public with the announcement that starting in near term release of 8.5.x, that fantastic rich text editor will be shipped built in with the Domino server and will be integrated for easy use for XPages. One thing that's hard to do at present with the CKEditor when you integrate with Domino, is handle the built in browsing/uploading/embedding for file attachments, images, flash, and so on. There are plug-ins for ftp and ......
  16. 02/14/2010Great weekend sleddingI'm from "away" -- a term which in Maine speak means that I wasn't born here, and while I've been here for nearly 20 years I am very easily spotted as a non-native to pretty much anyone with long time family roots in the area. Being from away, there are things I just hadn't had a chance to do that most Mainer's take for granted. This weekend, I got the chance to scratch a few of those off the list. These included going 'upta camp', being significantly north of Bangor, and spending a fair bit of time on a ......
  17. 02/10/2010Is anyone really considering a move to a hosted Exchange system?I got this press release today from someone I really should learn to just ignore -- but I couldn't help myself. I actually read it. What struck me as the most odd set of statements in it focused on the idea that small and medium businesses are migrating away from Notes and into hosted exchange environments. In other words, that the move for small business into the cloud was somehow based on ISV's hosting off-site Microsoft Exchange mail servers for people. I suppose there must be some out there. This one ......
  18. 02/06/2010When does an application stop belonging to its owner?When an application becomes truly successful and people start relying on it for things they consider important, is there a point at which the application starts to belong to the owners? Facebook's latest change brings the topic to mind, but it can happen to you with internal applications as well. There comes a time when users begin to have a personal stake in the design of a good application. Facebook makes a great example for when your users really own your application. Its user base is both extremely ......
  19. 01/29/2010Lotusphere 2010 - Session Survey ResultsSession results are always a bit strange to go through. I want to share what they looked like for me this year. Nearly all the comments were outstanding - but there's always one that really leaves me scratching my head. Like most speakers who take that part of their work seriously, I try to look at every survey, and pay extra attention to ones with written comments to see if there are things I can do better for next time. You have to grow a bit of a thick skin sometimes because there are always some ......
  20. 01/27/2010Is UPS just plain broken? * Updated* Updated January 27th -- Notes at the end of the original story. UPS is usually pretty reliable. My experience, however, has been that if the smallest thing goes wrong the whole process grinds to an inexplicable halt. Let me show you an example. On the 20th (a Wednesday) Lenovo shipped three packages to me. Two of them came from China. The first made the trip in the expected (and paid for) two days. The second seems to have spent days sitting in Shanghai and has so far chained itself to the wall in ......
  21. 01/25/2010My presentations posted here from Lotusphere 2010I've posted my slide decks from LS2010 here. Please keep in mind, this site is the ONLY place you'll find the actual slide decks I used, along with any updates made when people point out issues, additions, or errors. Please use these slides to advance your own skills, but do not redistribute them or copy the content into other forms or presentations. It is not cool to re-upload these to a drop-box, to scribd, to slideshare, or anyplace else without specifically asking me first. I've been extremely ......
  22. 01/24/2010Me - in bobblehead form[] On stepping down from my term on the Board of Directors of The Penumbra Group, I was presented a token of appreciation. The presentation of a small gift is fairly traditional, however the gift itself was most definitely not. Gab & Carl worked with my wife to gather the necessary photos and have made what may be the most odd parting gift ever. A bobblehead figure of me, in fire gear. The accompanying plaque says "Bravery in the face of Penumbra" along with my dates of service. I've placed the idol on the ......
  23. 01/23/2010Announcing the C.U.L.T. Shirt 2010 Winner ......
  24. 01/19/2010Great round table with Kristen Lauria about the Lotus Knows campaignAs you may have seen posted from some of our more fleet fingered friends, Kristen Lauria, VP of Marketing and Channels, IBM Lotus hosted a round table for those of us in the "Treat Bloggers as Press" program. The topic was the "Lotus Knows" campaign, and let me say that I'm impressed as hell. I'm not a marketing wizard, so I can't tell you she's right -- but I can tell you that everything she's saying and doing resonates with what I want to see said and done. To me, that means she's a genius. Keep in mind ......
  25. 01/19/2010The Review: Lotusphere 2010 – Opening General SessionI know there are tens of thousands of you out there slowing turning blue as you hold your breath waiting for my personal take on this year’s OGS. You may now begin breathing again, as I’m about to impart this vast wisdom. Just a note, if you fail to restart breathing, try passing out and flopping around on the floor until you draw someone’s attention and they can call 911. That usually helps. Disclaimer: Once again, I’ve been invited to participate in the “Treat Bloggers Much Better Than They Deserve By ......
  26. 01/10/2010The LiveScribe Pen - Reviewed [] It's been a busy few weeks getting ready for LS10, In the mean time, Barb bought me a new toy for Christmas and I'd thought I'd do a review. The [LiveScribe Pen] makes note taking in meetings & presentations a lot easier -- if it works. The question is, Does it? 1. What does it do? Basically, it's a pen with a good voice recorder built in that remembers where it was in the recording at the time you write any particular note on your pad of paper. The paper itself is "active" with microprinting so the pen ......
  27. 12/11/2009Comparing the iTouch/iPhone with the Blackberry Storm from a Notes Mail user & Geek perspectiveI'm living a redundant mobile access kind of lifestyle right now. I've got a Blackberry Storm connected to a BES as well as an iTouch wifi connected to Traveler. As I've been in the UK for the last few days, and was in Phoenix for several days already this month, I've had a time to get a fairly good idea of what it's like to live and work with these devices. Here's my take. Connectivity Since I'm using an iTouch and not an iPhone, the comparison isn't quite even. I have to be near a known wifi router to ......
  28. 12/03/2009Traveler - for the Non-Mac Admins Like MeToday I bought an iPod Touch and installed Traveler on my 8.5.1 Domino mail server. It was so easy as to be shocking, and works perfectly. I thought I'd give a run down on it in very quick and dirty terms for those of you who, like me, aren't really Apple fans and don't have an iPhone to play with -- but are getting requests from your users for this functionality. First of all, understand that I've never owned an iPod Touch or iPhone -- and while my kids and wife have iPods, I don't. I don't use a Mac, and ......
  29. 11/26/2009Montezuma's Castle, Sedona, Oak Creek CanyonOn the way to my father's place in Parks, Arizona (near Flagstaff), we took a side trip to see Montezuma's Castle, then up through Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon -- which I consider one of the top 5 most stunning places I've ever been. ......
  30. 11/26/2009The Phoenix Zoo - Dad with CaitlinWe spent several hours checking out the Phoenix Zoo, which gets better every time I go. One of the things that was interesting is an area they have for visually impaired people. These exhibits have molded models mean to give a tactile impression of the size or features of some of the animals. Hands on life sized models of several animals are included, as are larger sized examples of reptile scales, alligator skin, and tortoise shells -- and many other things of that nature. ......
  31. 11/26/2009Caitlin with Dad at "Hole in the Rock" - Papago Park, PhoenixI took Caitlin with me to visit family in Arizona this Thanksgiving. Here are some pictures from "Hole in the Rock" near the Zoo. ......
  32. 11/18/2009Help settle a bet... ......
  33. 11/18/2009If you didn't get chosen to deliver a Lotusphere Session........well, I'm sorry to hear that and can understand your disappointment. For most of you, you have my best hopes that next year you get a better result. If you think I can help you refine your presentation skills or your presentation submission skills, drop me an email or talk to me at Lotusphere. If, however, your response to not being chosen to deliver was to write a complaint, demand an explanation, or make statements deriding other sessions or speakers, then I believe that is itself a sort of proof ......
  34. 11/17/2009Busy and Fun year for me at LS2010 - Here are the presentations I'll be delivering in JanuaryThis is, as far as I know, the complete list of presentations I'll be doing at Lotusphere. I'm really looking forward to delivering them. The ones I've done before all have a good bit of new content, others are brand new. They're some of my favorites. The A-Z of Domino Security (With Gabriella Davis)IBM Lotus Domino Server & Application Performance in the Real WorldRunning your IBM Lotus Domino server on LinuxPerforming your own IBM Lotus Domino Security Review If you have ideas or specific things you'd ......
  35. 11/16/2009Lotuscript Editor Next Steps - My wish list for "Code Templates"I've spoken about Code Templates before, and how I think they're one of the best new features in Designer. Now I want to suggest a next step. I want to be able to define a different subset of code templates for different kind of agents. In other words when I create a new agent, I'd like the option to select what kind of agent it is and have different (or additional) template code dropped in. For me, the biggest key would be for what I'd call "Web Action Agents" I would include some standard code I use to ......
  36. 11/07/2009JFGI replaces RTFM. Just [Freaking] Google It. I thought I'd run into the first important software I couldn't use on my laptop with Windows 7. The Vsphere client for VMWARE ESXi. It wouldn't run at all., so I googled it and found two documents. The first, from VMWARE's site, said it wouldn't work: The very next document I opened was written by someone who'd gotten it to work, and gave very detailed and functional instructions. It's hard to remember what we did before the ......
  37. 10/30/2009Awesome fire pictures from Thursday nightSome really cool pictures of a huge bonfire -- The Greely HS homecoming rally held at Twin Brook on Thursday night. Engine 101 was there for safety and to put the coal bed out after everyone went home. Heavy Rescue 103 was there to provide power and lighting for the rally. ......
  38. 10/30/2009Ran into a really oddball bug while working on a 7.03 Domino web app.It took me a long time to figure out just what was going on, but here's the detail: There is a FORM with an embedded View. The embedded view uses the "ShowSingleCategory" value to change what is shown. There is a picklist field on the form, which is populated by a lookup and allows you to pick the category, which is then used by the view. The picklist field is marked "RefreshFieldsOnChange" so that the page will reload using the new value, and thus repopulate the embedded view with data from the newly ......
  39. 10/21/2009Anyone want to be a test case for some hardware that I think will instantly resolve server performance for most servers?I'm talking with a company that makes a bit of hardware that isn't cheap, but that I think would potentially allow Domino servers that are I/O bound (like you, my friend up in Canada) to get as much as ten times the scale and performance without any other changes. I'm talking to them about potentially doing a white paper. The project would require a few sites willing to try it out and be noted on the paper with some performance results (nothing proprietary, just some raw data numbers). If you think your ......
  40. 10/19/2009Comments are fixed. If you posted a comment recently, please check here to re-post.A bug cropped up in my javascript. I don't know why it was suddenly an issue, but it's fixed now. If you posted a reply in the last 10 days, I don't have it. If you want it seen, you'll have to re-post. ......
  41. 10/19/2009Windows 7 - Finally, something worth upgrading to.Last week, I moved Ari's laptop from Vista to Windows 7. That was a no-brainer, because Vista sucked. Her upgrade went very well, and I was impressed enough to try it out on my own laptop -- a much more demanding environment. By living with it on my laptop for a while, I'll know if the next laptop can be a PC or will need to be a Mac. First, before you do what I did you should be aware that current versions of Notes are not officially supported on Windows 7 (which can't happen until it is released and the ......
  42. 10/12/2009If you're just getting to try out Domino Designer in 8.5.1 -- Don't forget to set up "Code Templates" -- it's quick and easy.Sorry for the recycled blog entries today, but a few of these things really need to be widely talked about or they'll get missed. If you haven't see "Code Templates" yet, please check out this note from a few weeks ago: ......
  43. 10/12/2009Speeding up Notes 8.x Start and Run Time -- Technote Updated for 8.5.1Some time ago, I posted a blog entry on how to make Notes 8.x start up much faster. It has been one of the most popular entries on my site. That technote has now been updated to reflect a change to the location of the jvm.properties file. The file is now located in [notes]\framework\rcp\deploy\ -- it's part of the re-organization and optimization done in the 8.5.1 client and this is a much better place for the file to live. You can view the original tech note -- still very relevant -- here: ......
  44. 10/12/2009Installing Domino 8.5.1 on Linux - If you're having trouble with the installer....I've run into this before and had to go looking for the details again today. I thought I'd post it here for easier reference. When installing Domino on Linux -- especially on unsupported Linux Distributions (I'm using CENTOS 5.x) sometimes you'll see the install script crash out with no error when it tries to load the setup.jar. This is caused by a problem with the jvm version or configuration. There's an easy way around it. Use the command: # cd /[PATH]/linux/domino/tools Where [PATH] is the location ......
  45. 10/10/2009Windwos 7 - The Upgrade Process, and First ImpressionsAri's laptop came with Windows Vista and it's been a big pain in the ass all along. It had so many problems that it wouldn't take Microsoft's updates. Now that Microsoft shipped me a release version of Windows 7, I decided to give it a try and fix up Ari's laptop at the same time, since a re-install was due anyway. The Upgrade Process First off, I backed up all of Ari's stuff, expecting to have to reformat the drive. I booted with the Windows 7 dvd and tried to "upgrade" -- but it said I couldn't do that. ......
  46. 10/08/2009The Laptop Conundrum - Have the vendors got lazy?Have the hardware vendors got lazy? Have they just conceded all innovation to Apple? My laptop is nearing the end of its useful life for me. It's a good machine, but is nearing the time when the battery won't take a charge (again), the OS will need a re-install, and the touchpad is getting flaky. I could fix these things easily enough, spending a day or two on it along with a few hundred dollars -- but tossing a bunch of cash at a 4 year old machine isn't smart. Here's the problem -- there doesn't seem to ......
  47. 10/06/2009Is the Notes 8.5.1 release stable? Should you upgrade to it?I started using the 8.5.1 "Code Drops" from the time they became available to us as "Design Partners" with IBM. That means I've been running 8.5.1 as my PRIMARY mail and development client now since BEFORE Lotusphere 2009. Even in its earliest code drops, with most features still incomplete, I found it better than the 8.5.0 release -- and hated dropping "back" to that for Lotusphere 2009. My advice is this: Install it, use it, and take the time to get to know it. The designer especially can take a bit of ......
  48. 10/06/2009Example showing two views that LOOK and ACT the same, but one is 153 times largerView indexes are the real culprit in performance on so many servers. One reason they're too big, is the use of the wrong @Function. Here's the result of a simple test I tossed together. I did this for my presentation on performance at AdminCamp a week ago. I thought I'd share it here. Setup: New database with two forms, both the same other than the form name. Form one has two documents created. Form two has two documents created. What's the difference then? The two documents using form two has have 30,000 ......
  49. 09/24/20092010 C.U.L.T. Shirt Sponsorship Information - Jump on this quickly!It's that time again this year. If you want a free shirt at Lotusphere, direct potential sponsors to the page linked below. You know the shirts: The first four years, managed by Henry "NEWBS" Newberry, with Rocky "Lotusgeek" Oliver --- 2000 - "Notes World Order" 2001 - "Domino Survivor" 2002 - "Fellowship of the Domino Ring" 2003 - "Collaboration League versus Just-Us League" The shirts I've done since taking the reigns, also with Rocky "Lotusgeek" Oliver --- 2004 - "CULT SHIRT ON HUMAN" 2005 - Zen & The ......
  50. 09/06/2009Horray! We can finally talk about what we've been seeing in Notes and Domino 8.5.1I can say without question that every script I write will be better than it would have been in any previous version. The feature I'm about to show you is one of the reasons -- but not the only one. There is a lot to talk about, so first let me dispense with the disclaimers -- Notes 8.5.1 is still in beta. Absolutely anything I say about what I've seen, heard, or used is still subject to change without notice, and no ship dates that I can talk about are confirmed. In fact, it may be an entirely different ......
  51. 08/27/2009Extrication Training - Pictures of us tearing cars apartHere are some pictures I took at tonight's "Special Operations" training. Three cars were set aside in a junk yard and our crews were able to practice using the cutters, spreaders (aka jaws of life) and other tools of destruction. If you're not a firefighter, you probably don't get to see tools like this being put to use. Enjoy. ......
  52. 08/27/2009Ever wanted your own VMWARE ESXi Server? Here's what I built - hardware that worked, and tips for good results.For a small office or home office lab like mine, where the customer facing and public facing services are hosted at co-lo facilities, I'm always needing scratch servers and temporary trial run equipment in addition to my local mail and development server. VMWARE always seemed to make sense for this, and I'm very pleased with how it works on my PC's using their free "VMWARE Server" product. The ESXi product is a next step up. This is what they call a "bare metal hypervisor" -- which means it doesn't run ......
  53. 08/05/2009Lotus Knows MarketingNo, really. Seriously. Marketing. Ok, I fully understand you don't believe me. Let me explain..... No, there is too much. Let me sum up.... At the recent user conference, a new marketing campaign was announced called "Lotus Knows". This is a bid deal by itself, because for years we've been told never to expect a direct marketing campaign that is deeper than general "IBM Software". Suddenly, the LOTUS brand is going to be getting some love. The idea behind the campaign is to really show off the things ......
  54. 07/24/2009Vegas - The appearance of luxury, done on the cheap as always. Same old crap.I'm in Las Vegas for a Penumbra meeting this week. We're at the NYNY hotel and casino, which is very interesting on the outside, and to its credit is creatively and attractively designed in the casino area. Vegas is what it is though. A giant machine designed to suck as much cash as possible from the vast hoards of occasional middle class vacationers. Chief among its tactics is offering the illusion of luxury and opulence when in fact there is very little real luxury to be had. The real win in marketing ......
  55. 07/20/2009Grow. The. Hell. Up.You know who you are. All of you. On all sides. You are behaving like stupid, spoiled children. You're not winning people over to your sides, you're turning people off and reducing the chances that anyone who's watching will ever want to do business with you. Enough ......
  56. 07/13/2009Catching you up - #2 What's going on with the Fire Stuff?I know some of you read this blog only for the Domino tidbits, but some of you have also told me you like the things I post about the fire department. Others want to hear about the kids and the house (hi Mom!). I'd say something like "I try to mix it up" but that's not true. I write whatever random stuff comes to mind. This time it's a fire department update. To begin with, over the last few months we've "renumbered" the apparatus a bit. The move to county dispatch spurred our Chief into trying a numbering ......
  57. 07/13/2009Some words on OpenNTF and Big Thinkers trying to make it workThe OpenNTF project has been at the center of a great deal of hand wringing, finger pointing, and general posturing behavior that only a well established troop of bonobos could love. Where people stand on it seems to depend in large part on what they hope the project to do for them. There are issues of licensing, issues of control, and issues of association. For IBM's part, they're putting time and money into the project and expect to have some serious influence in the result. In additional to a general ......
  58. 07/13/2009Catching you up - #1 New features to not talk aboutSometimes I think the real reason they let me in the Design Partner program is to shut me up. It's been a long time, yeah? On the Domino & Notes development side it's difficult to have much to say right now because all my work is being done in the latest and increasingly greatest code drops from IBM. I'm prohibited from talking about the exciting new features so that leaves me a little speechless. As seems to be the case in so many things, the more you know they less you can say -- conversely, the people ......
  59. 06/23/2009OpenNTF Licensing ChoiceOpenNTF should settle on the Apache Licensing. It allows IBM to consume OpenNTF released software for inclusion into the core product base -- which means really good stuff could get added in as default templates or parts of the mail file, etc. It also means developers can use Google code and other Apache Licensed software without worrying about being excluded from OpenNTF. As far as I'm concerned, if you don't agree, you're wrong -- and you should fork off (your own source tree) -- maybe call it ......
  60. 06/23/2009Web Developers and Artists -- What does a color really look like?The two images in the sample to the right - which LOOK like different colors, are not. they are the same web page and being displayed on the same computer with nearly the same settings. In both cases, the color is defined as "#15433D". [] The only difference, is that the one on top is shown in Firefox using the relatively little known feature introduced in version 3.x which uses the color profile configuration you have set up for your monitor when it renders images. These settings are ......
  61. 06/04/2009Product Review: Verizon's MiFi™2200 Intelligent Mobile HotspotYou're not as connected as I am. If that's not true, you're a pretty unusually connected person. When I'm not in the office, I've used cellular tower based connections for several years. Originally it was just a cellular modem, then Verizon upgraded the network to "1xRTT" which gave speeds comparable to a dial-up line at home. EVDO came out and we boosted to the speed of a cheap DSL connection, and now with EVDO Rev A we can be connected almost anywhere with speeds nearly as good as any hotel or coffee ......
  62. 05/27/2009Second Signal - Starting to see the kind of growth I've been looking forward toThe last few months, Second Signal has really picked up. It's still pretty small scale, but when you consider that I haven't spent any time or money marketing it, any growth is significant growth. Here's some really interest thresholds it's crossing: 1. We'll cross the first major goal of 10 fully committed, independent sites this June. That may not sound like much, but these are customers making significant regular monthly payments for the service, and we're already ahead of "break even" on the books. For ......
  63. 05/26/2009Memorial Day 2009 - Slideshow of the parade, the marching band, the kids' bike parade, etc...This is what it's like to live in a great small town. On Monday morning, Coryn biked up to the middle school to get read while I biked up to main street to get some good pictures. Caitlin and Ari joined us after a bit. Enjoy. Starts off with some shots of the CFD Flag Detail. I put them first because they don't dress that well very often. ......
  64. 05/21/2009Speaking at events that are not specific to our industry - Interesting ReactionLast week, I was in Sacramento to help long time client and friend Laurie Webb with a presentation at the Government Technology Conference. This is a conference entirely geared toward the California state government's I.T. needs. Laurie had taken a booth and sponsorship at the event and had a one hour speaking slot, with the topic "Reaching Citizens through Web 2.0". My job was to help her prepare and deliver that presentation. If that seems a bit outside what you think I do, keep in mind that as a ......
  65. 05/19/2009Corporate Protectionism is as bad as the nationalistic kindI want to talk about Corporate Protectionism in general first, and then I’ll speak about industries in specific. Corporate Protectionism is the term I’m using to describe vendor lock in through long term contracts, through exclusivity agreements on products, and through business process patents. We’re Americans. We’re brought up with the jingoism of freedom, capitalism, and of democracy in what it supposed to be the purest forms possible. We’ve allowed the reality of these to become severely distorted, ......
  66. 05/17/2009Skippy, the Omega Dog! Freedom - thanks to the new "Dogwatch" fenceHere's a slideshow.... Skippy is learning the limits and enjoying the freedom offered by the new "Dogwatch" fence. Dogwatch is a competitor to "Invisible Fence" but we believe it to be more reliable, less likely to trigger in error, and much less expensive over time. The system uses a buried antenna wire in a loop around the house. The dog is warned with a beep if he approaches within 5 feet of the wire. If he gets closer, he gets a small shock. If you train the dog carefully, he understands the warning, ......
  67. 05/17/2009This blog interrupted by the Lotus Design Partner ProgramThere are things I want to tell you about. I've decided it's time to make a statement about some of them. Why haven't I been posting all kinds of neato Lotus Domino tricks? It's this weird side effect of having access to more information. The more you know, the less you can say. A few cynical bastards have suggested that the only reason I'm IN the design partner program is to shut me up. If that's true, it's working and I'm grateful for it. There's no rule against me telling you that I'm in the DP program. ......
  68. 04/24/2009Even more cool integration with the XLight FTP & SFTP Server to Domino - Upload/Download notificiations to the the Domino serverThe other day () I talked about how the XLight FTP server for Windows machines was able to be integrated via Domino's LDAP service for not just login credentials, but for almost complete configuration including individual user home paths, permissions, quotas, speeds, ratios, etc. Here's another very cool feature: When any file is uploaded, downloaded, or deleted from the FTP server, you can have it run an executable program and pass it parameters that include the file path and name, size, the status of ......
  69. 04/23/2009The End for this old Maple TreeThis tree on the side of the house -- right outside my office -- has being slowly declining since we did the addition several years ago. Today was the day to finally have it cut down. ......
  70. 04/21/2009Does anyone need an FTP & SFTP server that can use your Domino Directory for authentication & configuration?For a client project, I needed an FTP -- and preferably an SFTP -- server integrated into the web site. Of course it is possible to use the one built into IIS, or else use a linux server or some other solution. Instead, I found and tested one that gave us a lot more integration. The Xlight FTP Serverruns on just about any flavor of Windows, installs is a few seconds, and can be configured to run multiple virtual ftp and sftp servers. I've opted for the Professional version with the SFTP add on module, and ......
  71. 04/19/2009Some photos of spring in Maine -- Before and After the cleanup ......
  72. 04/19/2009HOW-TO: John Deere L100 Lawn 42" Tractor/Mower Brake AdjustmentUpdate 5/5/2019 -- TEN YEARS after I wrote the original post and it's still helping people! I love your feedback this time of year and I read every single one. It reminds me that spring is on the way and in another month I'll be out mowing like the rest of you. FYI: I've been told that the adjustment nut is on the opposite side on many newer tractors but otherwise, the work is the same. Have fun. Update 5/8/2011 -- If this posting doesn't solve the problem, the brake may be frozen and need a rebuild. It's ......
  73. 04/15/2009Man, I just love working with my enterprise email and calendaring system!Have you every heard anyone not directly involved in managing these systems just declare their love for them? No? Of course not. Just like I don't go around declaring how much I love the way the lights work every single time I flip the switch. If the lights didn't work -- or if I didn't like the way the switch worked -- then I'd bitch about it frequently, but otherwise why would I say anything at all? Does anyone, at any company, stand up now and then and say "Wow, I love my email program!"? Of course not. ......
  74. 04/09/2009Installed YTria EZSuite Today -- Finally; Here's some first impressionsFollowing up from Lotusphere 2009, the folks over at Ytria have gone out of their way to make sure I could take a look at their tools. The demo was extremely impressive at Lotusphere and I've been very remiss in not taking advantage of the chance to try them out. Since the software version I run is almost always some kind of pre-beta or beta, I'm pretty cautious about installing any add-on tools -- that plus lack of time have really delayed me looking at this. The suite consists of tools to manage many ......
  75. 04/03/2009What can IBM do to help grow the Lotus community?In a side conversation this week, I was talking with some people about what kinds of things might increase the size and power of the Domino community. I've heard some suggestions that are pretty radical but I don't think its necessary to go so far. If the goal is to increase and empower the community, I think the best place to start is the community. Think of the Domino community in two or three levels. First, there's a sort of loud, showy, dog and pony show blogger community. I'm in it, some of you are as ......
  76. 04/01/2009Happy Birthday MomHappy Birthday Mom -- and best wishes for many ......
  77. 03/29/2009This site is now running Domino 8.5 on LinuxOver the weekend, I've upgraded my public facing site to IBM Lotus Domino version 8.5 for Linux. After some initial challenges, (how Fascinating!) the site is running nicely and performance is ......
  78. 03/23/2009A few tips for "Graphic Designers" who are creating page mockups for developers to code into web pagesSo called "Designers" take their artsy-fartsy training with Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop to create "Mockup" pages, then ask us as developers to make web pages that look the same way. Sometimes I think they don't really know when what they're asking us to do is particularly difficult. These are my tips to "Designers" -- I hope they'll understand what they're asking us for. I realize that these are "best case" recommendations. Sometimes you want color fades or other things for the look they achieve. Its a ......
  79. 03/21/2009Survival Guide for Lotus Notes and Domino Administrators - Got mine Friday ......
  80. 03/20/2009Why do traditional boxed software companies have their heads in the cloud? ......
  81. 03/17/2009Images not showing up from your Web Applications? I spent hours tracking this down...I've been working on an application for a client, and needed to store file resources both on documents and as design elements (file resources). For some reason, they simply weren't showing up on the web browser when viewed as part of any page. * The images showed up when you would put the URL directly into the browser to view the image itself. * The images showed up when you put the same code and image -- the same document -- in any other databases. * The "Firebug" debugger for Firefox showed the image ......
  82. 03/14/2009New Facebook setup means if you're posting your Twitter feed to it, you're being obnoxious.Here's something to think about. If I want to follow you on Twitter, I will follow you on twitter. That way, when I bring up my twitter client because I'm in the mood to look at that kind of low-level banality (which is fairly frequent) I'll see your tweets where they belong. Within the twitterverse. If you insist on posting your tweets directly as a feed to your Facebook home page, the new interface means that not only am I forced to sift through them when I go onto Facebook -- which is NOT why I'm on ......
  83. 03/09/2009A quick tip that may speed up your laptop or workstationIf you've had your laptop or workstation a while -- especially if you've installed things like vmware -- you may not be getting the network performance you once did. Here's a little thing to check. ......
  84. 03/07/2009I'm looking to try outsourcing some HTML/CSS coding - However.....For outsourcing html/css, I don't dare do a web search on it and just pick -- and I sure as hell don't want to pick from the ones that spam me. Who are you using? I get pages in Illustrator that were put together from a "designer" (who just can't seem to understand that this is NOT a good design tool for the web). This happens at least once a month. I need to turn them into html/css. Once that's done, I rip sections of code out and replace it with dynamic content using Notes fields. I'm considering running ......
  85. 03/06/2009Why so negative now? Domino & Notes are on the UPSWING for a change. ......
  86. 03/03/2009The ZOOM! -- The Gelsenkirchen ZooWhat a fantastic surprise! Coryn and I along with Ben's wife and son went a few miles to the Gelsenkirchen Zoo -- called the "Zoom!" We expected a couple of animals and a ten minute tour. We were wrong. We spent a few terrific hours there and saw more animals than we could possibly have expected. They were all well cared for and appeared happy and active in the nice spring weather. Here's some photos. ......
  87. 03/03/2009Coryn & Dad at the Koln (Cologne) Cathedral - Some very cool picturesI had some challenges in taking these pictures -- you can't use a flash inside the dimly lit Cathedral, for example. These were all taken with my little Casio EXILIM pocket camera without flash or tripod. Where possible, I held the camera against something stationary and gave the shutter as much time as possible. ......
  88. 03/02/2009AP Phone Home - Cheaper. -- Calling anywhere from my cell in Germany, using my home VOIP ratesMy cost to call home to the US from my German cell phone is now essentially the same as it is for anyone in Germany calling to anyone else in Germany from a cell phone. Call costs in Europe are very different from the pricing structure in the US. Calls TO cell phones cost more than calls to land lines. Call from cell phones have various rates depending on your carrier, plan, and who you're calling. I'm using an O2 Loop account with an unlocked Nokia phone I bought for 40 Euro last time I was here. With ......
  89. 03/01/2009Coryn & Dad in London - Some pictures via Flick'r streamOn our way to the software developer's conference in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Coryn and I overnighted in London. Gab & Tim were kind enough to meet us at the airport and after a nice dinner we strolled around central London a bit. And yes, its a Sprite she's holding, not a beer.Attention GMS StudentsThis site is to be used within the appropriate context for family, friends, and coworkers. All workstation addresses are logged.You're at school right now, pay attention! -- Coryn's ......
  90. 02/26/2009Some new tools I'm tryingI'm trying out a couple of tools for the Domino product line. In particularly I'm finally getting around to testing DEFRAG.NSF -- I'll let you know how that goes, I'm hopeful but skeptical. I'm also going to be installing and working with Ytria's development tools. In the interest of full disclosure, both vendors have made those available to me to try out, and if I like them I'll say so here on the blog site. If I don't like them, I probably won't say anything about them unless they're truly terrible ......
  91. 02/24/2009Cutting through the B.S. -- Should you deploy DAOS right now or not?As posted on Ed's blog, there's a lot of talk going on right now about DAOS. I thought I'd try to clarify some of the benefits and potential pitfalls as clearly as possible to help some of you make the decision. First the Potential Benefits Most sites are reporting between 40 and 60 percent reduction in disk storage requirements without making any policy changes or requiring users to change behavior. I personally believe you will be hard pressed to find any site with more than 50 mail users that isn't ......
  92. 02/23/2009Web Design Influences on Classic Notes Client ApplicationsI spent the day working on a classic Notes Client application. It wasn't anything overly complex -- just a few views and forms, some action buttons and agents. Fortunately for me, UI design wasn't a priority on this. Its a single use case tool for one site-admin person to use as a time saver for an otherwise onerous task. One thing I did notice, however, was that the expectation we have of the way things look and work has changed pretty drastically. We've learned to ignore the "frame" and focus on the ......
  93. 02/15/2009PCI Compliance - Is it important to you that Notes & Domino play nice in this space?If your company takes or stores credit card data, you may be required to meet PCI Compliance standards. Not all credit card processing requires this -- it has to do with the volume of transactions and other things. If you have to comply, you know what a challenge it can be. I spent a good part of last week working on an issue which was related to PCI Compliance and data being stored in NSF databases. While I can't go into details right now due to NDA, there are a couple of things I'd like to press for in ......
  94. 02/09/2009Yes - its time for an actual Notes and Domino Technical Tip Blog Entry!I don't do these that often because I don't usually have that much to add. When I do, its because I think something may really help. I've been driven crazy recently by a couple of type-ahead names in my 8.5 client. You see, someone I communicate for business with all the time sent me an email from an alternate account. Like a Gmail account only even more of a problem -- its an address at one of her clients. Ever since, whenever I type her name the wrong one comes up and if I'm not careful I send the ......
  95. 01/29/2009Pictures from the Snow-PocalypseOk, it didn't turn out to be that big a deal. We got about a foot of snow, with a crust on top of ice. It looks good though, on top of the 8 inches or so we already had. ......
  96. 01/29/2009A couple of photos I took this evening of the fire trucks on scene -- came out really interestingI'm not much of a photographer. The nice thing about a cheap little digital camera for someone like me is that its size means its almost always there. I snap a bunch of pictures and every once in a while I get something really interesting. Take a look at a couple of lucky shots that came out cool -- at least I think so. As always, click to see the full size. ......
  97. 01/29/2009Returning to the Village – Are you ready?Our nature is to live in small communities. For all of history up until the last hundred or so years, we knew the people around us fairly well. We knew what they did at work and what they did at home. We did business with friends, relatives, and other people in the village. Then we stopped. Instead of living near the people we grew up with, we live in different communities entirely. We commute to yet another community for work. In the process, we’ve built home lives and work lives. We re-invent ourselves ......
  98. 01/25/2009Hey! Everyone welcome Richard Schwartz to the twitterverse....Richard Schwartz -- truly one of the pioneers of using Lotus Notes going all the way back to the L-Notes-L mailing list -- is now a twit. er.. I mean a twitterer. That is to say, he's tweeting. Follow him here: ......
  99. 01/24/2009How far can you take Guerrilla Marketing in a community setting?Guerrilla Marketing - using crowd tactics, community influence, and other techniques to get attention at low cost through other peoples media is no longer revolutionary. Its common as dirt. We all do it to some extent. The C.U.L.T. shirt is a bit of it. The idea is to get yourself of your product known on someone else's dime. But what happens when you over-apply these tactics in a community? When a group of people who are essentially competitors come together in a tight community like a conference setting ......
  100. 01/24/2009Careful timing for a 2 hour jumpstart session - A picture is worth a thousand wordsGab & I did our Jumpstart session on security again this year. We did it twice last Sunday. The jumpstart is 2 hours long and covers so much material that we really need at least 4 hours to cover it all. It took Gab and I several hours just to refine the topics and timing when we go together in early December to finalize it. There's a technique I use when I'm presenting and I know other presenters use a similar tool to manage their delivery. We write down the time (not the number of minutes, but the actual ......
  101. 01/24/2009For FSCK sake, Barak Obama is not going to be using a Blackberry. The press has been jabbering on for days about how President Barak Obama will keep his beloved Blackberry. It's not true. He will not be keeping the device he loves, he'll be allowed to use a PDA created by General Dynamics -- or should I say bastardized by General Dynamics -- which is based on Windows CE. It's a competitor to Blackberry, not a Blackberry at all. I suppose RIM is allowing the news people to proliferate this mistake because it's good press for them when people hear how much he likes their ......
  102. 01/23/2009Special Thank you to all 6 of my readers -- and a happy birthday shout out to one....In 12 years of Lotusphere I have never once been in Kimonos until tonight. Anyone who has suffered through my singing can tell you why this is the case. After an insane round of miniature golf in the "Blogger's Open" and then an amazing dinner with five great friends (Gab, Tim, Carl, Mike, and Sue) I was headed back to the hotel for bed when I decided to drop in at Kimonos. Those of you who know me also know that I don't drink much if at all. All of these facts together make it even more astonishing to me ......
  103. 01/21/2009Watching the inauguration with a few thousand of my closest friendsWhat an amazing day. I watched the inauguration from Lotusphere. At first I was in Rocky & Bob's session on busting myths around the software. They finished with one last myth. The slide showed as a myth that there would never be a black president -- then they cut directly to the CNN coverage just as Obama was about to be sworn in. As that session was ending, I went out side to watch the coverage on the information screens the conference uses. There were dozens around each screen silently watching. After a ......
  104. 01/19/2009Best. Lotusphere. Ever. So far, this is the best Lotusphere I have ever attended. I don't say that lightly. I'll detail the key things in the OGS at the end because there's a lot of content and I don't want a few things I have to say first to get lost in it..... ......
  105. 01/19/2009My "Live Blog" stream is on Twitter -- I'll do a real blog post summing it up laterMy LS09 OGS comments can be found here: http://twitter.com/FirefighterGeek The stream so far (from most recent to least) beanbag chairs are great -- but after an hour I can say that at 41, maybe not a good long term solution + mine will need tougher 'beans' :-) 4 minutes ago from twhirl reduction of disk, i/o, and cpu use (40-60%) over Exchange servers. Important to sites who deploy on VMs, rather than boxes. #ls09 9 minutes ago from twhirl slide about reduction of disk, i/o, and cpu use (40-60%) over ......
  106. 01/18/2009Lot's of highlights from Day -1, and Day 0 at Lotusphere 2009 The shirts are done (for me). The Fulton's dinner is done. The Jumpstart Security sessions are done (4 hours of talking) are done. Now I can have some fun! If you're one of the six people who read my blog, come up and tell me so during the week. Don't be shy, I love to meet the people who read my rants. Bob Picciano - the new man running the show for Lotus - is poised to do some fantastic work. I'll blog more later because some of it should wait until after the OGS. For now, let me say that he's a Notes ......
  107. 01/18/2009Debora Cole awarded the Penumbra Prism Award for 2009As a member of the board of directors of the Penumbra Group, I had the distinct honor of presenting Debora Cole with the Penumbra Prism Award for 2009. The Prism Award is given by Penumbra to someone at IBM who we believe goes above and beyond the expectations of their position to work with Lotus Business Partners in a way that helps us keep customers running smoothly with Lotus Software. Debora has been active in the various partner forums and events for a long time, but on top of that she is frequently ......
  108. 01/09/2009National Car Rental called this morningAfter yesterday's post about the Emerald Club problem, I heard back by voicemail this morning. They're sending the agreement over by email and I can then fax it back. Apparently my whining caught the attention of someone with a sense of customer service. (Yesterday's post: http://www.thenorth.com/apblog4.nsf/0/4D1B7DC2F8F514C0852575380075A2DA) I'll follow up and tell you how it ......
  109. 01/08/2009National Car Rental - Emerald Club Signup - Epic FailSo in making my car reservations for Orlando, I decided to try National's Emerald Club. The idea being that you walk to the cars in the row you want (or an upgrade row if they're in there) and get in, they check your license at the gate and you leave. Done. If you want a more expensive car, just get in it and they'll fix it at the gate. In concept, I like the idea. I have Gold service with Hertz and "wizard" service with Avis. Both offer bypass services, but not with that kind of flexibility. I'm not a ......
  110. 01/04/20092009 starting off HOT! CFD run #2 for 2009 is a huge structure fire! Photos, Video, & Audio here...I'd already mentioned in this previous postthat our first run of 2009 was a structure fire on a really cold night. Well, shockingly, our SECOND run of the new year was also a structure fire. The weather wasn't as cold -- this time it was just below freezing -- but the fire was much, much larger. I rolled up in our Ladder 7, and just our luck we were 20 seconds behind Falmouth's Tower truck. They ended up putting their stick in the air and running their master stream for hours, while we ended up "staging" ......
  111. 01/02/2009Starting the year off HOT and COLD with a Structure Fire on a sub-zero nightWe don't get that many structure fires here in Cumberland. I've been to more fires out of town than in. That makes it all the more strange to have Run #1 for 2009 come in as a structure fire -- but that's exactly what happened. With temperatures hovering at around 0 degrees Fahrenheit ( -17 C for you Europeans reading this) and winds gusting from 5-20 miles an hour it was extremely cold. To make matters worse, the part of town where this home is has no hydrants or town water system. All the water to fight ......
  112. 12/30/2008Quick product review: Eye-Fi - a wireless card for your digital cameraForgive me, FSM. It has been 9 days since my last blogfession. The Flying Spaghetti Monstera religionmade up as aprotest to the Kansas School Board. protest to the Kansas School Board. I consider myself a member of that religion (a Pastafarian) in as much as I consider myself a member of any religion.Sorry to be away so long. First we had the ice storm, then a few quick days to catch up before our big snow storm, then the holidays. Wow, time does fly when you're running behind. A few neat gifts this year ......
  113. 12/21/2008Stormcam is up if anyone is interestedWe're expected 18 inches of snow and blowing wind this evening. I've hooked up a web cam out my office window, and cobbled software together to snap the pics and send the up to the web site every 2 minutes. A live, auto-refreshing page is available here: EDITED: 12-22-2008 -- Took down the storm cam, but here's some pics of the aftermath: ......
  114. 12/16/2008There are HOW MANY prizes this year for wearing your C.U.L.T. Shirt?Count 'em baby -- FOUR prizes this year! Oh, and the prizes don't suck at all. Each is worth at least $100 US. We've given away a prize each year at the Wednesday night party to some random, unsuspecting person who happens to be wearing a C.U.L.T. shirt. This year we're not just going to top that, we're going to blow it out of the water. The four prize giveaways are as follows: Prize Number 1 - To be given out as usual at the Wednesday night party. At a secretly chosen time, our super under-cover spotter ......
  115. 12/14/2008The 2009 C.U.L.T. Shirt Top Ten List - Submit Your Ideas Now!This year's theme is "Three Delicious Flavors" I'm really late in getting this done -- and Rocky and I talked several times about what to make for a top ten list. We had a breakthrough that seemed brilliant to both of us, but then we didn't write it down so its gone complete. You're stuck with what we can remember. Even worse, you're stuck with what I can recall of what we remember. Here's the list: "Top Ten Slogans or Statements Not Chosen for Notes 8.5 Data Sheets" Some Examples: * Designer Sold ......
  116. 12/14/2008Is the "Users want Outlook because they use it at home" argument valid?Without digging into Notes much, Ed points out on his blog, that he's done a survey that makes this idea that Outlook Express at home is how people are used to working less valid. A few things come to my mind as I read what he wrote. Usually, I'd respond on his blog site but to be honest I didn't want what I had to say to be lost in the noise over there this time around. Regardless of his survey method being decidedly self referential -- There's validity in its results if you look at them in the right ......
  117. 12/14/2008Maine Ice Storm Update -- 3rd Day w/o Power, 15 Degrees ( -9 degrees C)Think it's no big deal? Into the 3rd day here in Maine, and nearly 100,000 residences remain without power. Here's what happens if you can't heat your house. That means no heat. No heat for the house also means no way to keep the pipes in the house from freezing and bursting. We're not just talking about the water pipes in the kitchen and bathroom here -- houses here are usually heated by pumping heated water through pipes that run through all the rooms to baseboard registers. Those pipes also freeze and ......
  118. 12/12/2008Ice Storm 2008 - Deady Beauty - Pictures finally uploadedIts been 10 years since we've had an ice storm of this severity here. We've been without power since 7:30am today (about 8 hours as I write this) and without cable TV and cable broadband internet for about as long. We knew it was coming and had planed an EOC (Emergency Operations Center), but it has still been a lot of work. Starting at around 5am the down power lines calls started coming in, and for several hours we didn't get a break. This afternoon as been quiet, with temperatures warming a bit, but ......
  119. 12/10/2008How can we help IBM make better core level decisions about the Notes client and Designer?Note: I originally wrote this commentary in another venue, and have edited it to be more appropriate to the blog audience. When it comes to the vision for Notes and Domino Designer, I strongly believe there is a huge hurdle to consider that stems from the very nature of IBM as an organization. Directions get taken based on talking with large IT shop management, but also very much on trends and goals within IBM which is itself one of the biggest customers of the products in the world. It is not, however, a ......
  120. 12/05/2008Gab and I aren considering putting a security class togetherGab is here and we're working on our Security Jumpstart. If you've been to this before, you know that we cram an insane amount of information -- an attempt at virtually everything security related in Notes & Domino -- into a 2 hour overview. This year, in the same time, we have to add information about the new file server based roaming, ID Vaults, and the new workstation Single Sign-on features. We've come to the realization that if we took this and really gave a full level attention to each piece instead ......
  121. 11/27/2008VLC -- The open source media player -- continues to amaze me with its flexibilityTo catch up on some videos that I'd missed, I pulled them down to my PC. Little by little I've been watching them, using VLC because it seems to have enough codecs to play just about anything. The only real complaint I could make is that the PC isn't the best place to watch video. The video card on my PC is good enough that it can output to the HDTV with a pretty good picture. It works great, and lets me sit in my comfy chair with my laptop while I work and have the video on at the same time. The only ......
  122. 11/25/2008Rocky and I need your help. We're a bit stuck finalizing the topic for the CULT shirt top 10 list.Since I took over the production side of the C.U.L.T. shirt in 2004, I don't recall ever having so much trouble picking out a top ten list. We'd really like to get it posted out there but need some help. Here are some ideas that Rocky and I came up with. We think some are close, but none ring the bell. The goal for these is: 1. Must be fun, and lead to some good funny entries. 2. Must be in good spirit, though a little bit of a poke isn't out of the question. 3. Must not be too "insider" 4. Must be fun. ......
  123. 11/24/2008I suspect prospects for the Somali pirates are not good at this point. ......
  124. 11/23/2008I tried out the new Blackberry Storm yesterday. Here's my review of it, and Verizon's pricingShort answer: Looks good, going to it would means some sacrifice for me. The Storm is Blackberry's current best swing at the rapid market share gain of the iPhone. Its a touch screen of a little different nature, but with all the blackberry goodness that you addicts love so much. Its also a dual mode phone, which includes a GSM SIM card in addition to its CDMA primary network. Unfortunately, according to Verizon it cannot be used in Europe on the GSM network as anything other than a phone. It looses its ......
  125. 11/21/2008New MEME Friday (NMF): Create Your New Persona Candidate -- Here's Mine: Sally StoneheadI thought for some fun on Friday, I'd come up with a new Persona (look how Agile I am). Ok, its a little bit tongue in cheek -- but I suspect there are a lot of people making decisions out there in the same way, even if they don't quite have Sally's unique experience. Then I thought I'd see if anyone else wanted to give it shot. So, introducing "New MEME Friday". ......
  126. 11/20/2008Ever wonder about just how much Oil prices impact Gasoline Prices at the Pump?Well, not really a Domino related post, but I've wondered for a while now why it seems that gas prices go up faster than they come down. It took a few minutes to search out some real statistical data, and I put this chart together. It shows the percent change in price for a barrel of US Oil and the average consumer price of a gallon of unleaded gasoline for the US. The dates are close, and both are weekly, but they're not on the same day. Still, the trend analysis works fairly well. The charge tells the ......
  127. 11/20/2008Fairly large project put on hold -- looking for something interesting to work onIn the course of the last month, I've had two fairly good sized projects either scale way back or get put on indefinite hold. Sign of the times? In one case it is related to the economy so I guess you can say that. In the other case its a fairly typical thing where the people who want the work done got stopped by the I.T. department who wants to do it themselves with different (though as yet undefined) technology. That one will come back to me in the spring once they fail. In any case, I'd love to find ......
  128. 11/19/2008Can Lotus Sell Me on Portal? What would it take to make me a believer? ......
  129. 11/19/2008The first unofficial Lotusphere 2009 Track Breakdown by Product AreaI've been making some aggressive statements about track planning, and I've been tossing some warning statements about trying over-play the hand on pushing products that don't have following. I can now much more more clear about what's good and what's not. I imported the preliminary session list from the web site into a spreadsheet, and just marked off which sessions fell into which categories. Keep in mind not all sessions fit in a category as I didn't make a million categories. I'm likely wrong about a ......
  130. 11/18/2008Cloud Computing Concepts - Part 4 - Cloud Computing in the Long RunWhat does Cloud Computing look like in the long run? The best thing about predictions is that you very rarely get called to account. In this case, I’m going to make some pretty broad predictions. Some will come true, some won’t – but here’s how I see the market in ten years: The Internet is the Cloud. Just as there is no “The” internet, but rather a lot of interconnected networks owned by a huge variety of people, nations, and companies; there will ultimately be no “The” cloud. Instead there will be a few ......
  131. 11/18/2008Cloud Computing Concepts - Part 3 - Picking a Cloud Computing StrategyHow to pick a cloud computing strategy That’s the billion dollar question. Some vendors are starting to offer real solutions in the cloud computing arena. Before you decide to turn over your company jewels to a cloud based solution, consider these things: 1. Data Security – Is what you’re putting out there going to stay private to your company and never every get into someone else’s hands? Will it be more easily obtained by government with or without subpoena? 2. Data Availability – Is the data being ......
  132. 11/18/2008Cloud Computing Concepts - Part 2 - Why Businesses Like it, and Why They Don'tWhy Business Likes It, and Why Not? I.T. Shops bring it on themselves A move to Cloud Computing is a huge commitment for a business to take. When your applications and sometimes even your data isn’t stored, managed, and controlled by your own business you’re talking a huge risk that the provider of those things could disappear or have some major catastrophe. Why would any business take such a risk? For those of us in the I.T. industry – those who consider themselves technology savvy, there would seem to be ......
  133. 11/18/2008Cloud Computing Concepts - Part 1 - What is Cloud Computing?What is “Cloud Computing” – and why is it so attractive as a concept to business? Microsoft, Yahoo!, Google, and IBM are all talking about their “Cloud Computing” models and Sun has been saying for years that “The Network is the Computer”. What does this really mean, and what will it take to make it work? Part 1 - What is it? Like any other new buzzword, no exact definition is possible. You have to strip out the marketing spin associate with how each vendor wants to use it. When you get down to it though, ......
  134. 11/18/2008Lotusphere Plans: Open Live Photo BloggingI'm going to take something I built for Second Signal and apply it to Lotusphere 2009. The application works like this: The Basics 1. Take a picture with your camera phone. 2. Send that camera phone picture and a short text caption to a mail in address that I'll publish3. The site will receive the photo, create a snapshot, and add it to a live index page The Details Who can use it? Anyone - but you could get banned if you try hard enough. Photo Limits? There will be a maximum size per photo -- its meant to ......
  135. 11/17/2008Presentations posted from AdminCamp 2008In the fall of 2008 I had the privilege of participating in the AdminCamp show in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. The whole show was fantastic. If you ever get the chance, you should attend. The focus of the event is deeply technical, but no small amount of effort is paid to making sure that every attendee and every speaker is well fed and has a good time. I've never seen a show done better. Confessions of a Penetration TesterAndrew Pollack, 60 Minutes, Closing SessionPutting the best lock on a rusty chain isn't ......
  136. 11/16/2008Lotusphere is January 18-22. President Elect Barak Obama's Inauguration is January 20th. Will it matter to you?I have to admit that I'm swept up in the hysterical wave of idealistic hope around this newly elected President. I'm not foolish enough to think that's going to last. He'll make mistakes -- he may already be making a big one -- and his administration will do things I don't like. They may even do things I detest, though I hope not. For now though, I'm hopeful that we've made the choice to put a man who is capable and well meaning into a position with the power to do great things. On Tuesday, January 20th ......
  137. 11/14/2008I've noticed a trend in customer demand over the last few weeks: InteroperabilitySametime, ST Advanced, Quickr, Domino, and Websphere SSOMicrosoft IIS with Dominox.509 Certificate AuthenticationLDAP with damn near everythingTool vendors and ISV's -- pay attention. This is a serious customer pain ......
  138. 11/14/2008VPN Hell -- I hate when I have to work through people who can't get things rightI've spent all day working on an agent to correlate some data and produce a report for one of my clients. By itself, that's not hard. Unfortunately, the VPN connection supplied by their I.T. department cannot stay connected this week at all. I've got the connection set to auto-redial, but it literally couldn't hold up for 5 minutes at a time. The system log shows 64 reconnects over the course of my working on this thing. Ever tried agent code debugging when your session drops out every 5 ......
  139. 11/11/2008Dear Apple, why do you insist on telling me about music I won't buy?Dear Apple - While it is true that I have in the past purchased iPods, and in one case a desktop computer from you, I have never been even the least bit interested in purchasing music, videos, or other content from your on-line store. Quite aside from the fact that I don't like the way you sell these things, the DRM and the proprietary nature of your gear and software; I simply have no need of your store. I have even less need of your weekly "New Music Tuesday" electronic mail. Why? Because I don't like ......
  140. 11/11/2008Speaking at Lotusphere 2009So yes, it looks like I'm speaking at Lotusphere this year. I'm not sure which or how many sessions, however, as I submitted several and the number of accepted/rejected doesn't equal the number of submissions. I'm guessing that Postini snagged some as spam due to the repeated subject and sender. I'll dig through tonight and figure it out, then ......
  141. 11/11/2008Thank you for flying the desperate skysI used to travel a lot. No, really, like every week. I glad I don't any more. Travel gets more difficult and annoying every week. Its been an unusual month and I'm finally back from a long series of trips that have had me away from home for something like 15 of the last 20 days and logging something close to 20,000 air miles. To top it off, I've been flying on old-school airlines that are desperately seeking to exploit every possible method to extract the last dollar from every traveller. This means adding ......
  142. 11/10/2008Reading "Halting State" by Charles Stross -- He's really nailed consulting, high tech startups, and contract employmentCharles Stross has written "Halting State" -- a near future high tech mystery novel. It reads like it was written by a cross between William Gibson and Kurt Vonegut Jr. Its that good -- at least what I've read so far. I'm not Tom Duff and I don't digest these things in a single sitting. Each of the main characters has their part of the story told in the second person. That's a little hard to get used to. "You" -- the reader -- switch perspectives with each chapter. It puts you right there in the middle ......
  143. 11/09/2008US Airways - Once again, the most difficult airline to put up withOn business, particularly flying to Lotusphere or other conferences I always to try book airlines that I've got confidence in and with as few stops as possible. Each connection you have to make reduces the likelihood of getting to your destination on time. US Airways has a track record with me that's just abysmal. I knew I was asking for trouble when booked this flight, but with the prices it really was the only way to go. Flying to Phoenix with my oldest daughter for a wedding, we were scheduled to fly ......
  144. 11/09/2008Why isn't it possible to have a political conversation with someone, that doesn't involve the repeated talking points of a celebrity media person?I've had some really interesting conversations lately, but they quickly seem to devolve into a repetitive litany of talking points and off the wall statistics that clearly come from some media personalities research time. Its a shame, because from that point forward I'm not having a conversation with the person in front of me -- or on the discussion site -- I'm playing a game called "combat the out of context research guy talking points." That bores me. Anyone who wants to come and talk politics with me ......
  145. 11/07/2008Travelling again, and there's an important reason why I'm blogging this morning...Well, there are two reasons I guess. The first is to put a bit of warning out there for those of you who haven't yet gotten back to me about the spots you want on the CULT shirts for Lotusphere 2009. We are probably going to do less shirts overall this year, but they're going to be good fun. We're overdue posting the Top 10 list, but that will happen within days. If you haven't contacted me yet, but plan to sponsor -- your time is running out. I'm headed to Phoenix now with my oldest daughter. She's 15 ......
  146. 11/06/2008Creating new kinds of content for the full Notes 8.x client -- what I struggle withNotes 8.x gives us this rich platform to work with as developers. There's this ability to do stuff at the GUI layer, to hook into the framework itself and do ....stuff. So why aren't we seeing more stuff being done beyond the "example" level of complexity? To me, as I try to get my head around building for this environment there are four challenges. Three are technical. I'm not going to attempt to answer these here. I just want to start by identifying what I see as the challenges that need to be address by ......
  147. 11/05/2008John McCain -- You came back to us last night, but where have you been?John McCain's gracious concession speech last night -- delivered in earnest and without reservation -- was dead on the mark. For the first time in over a year, the John McCain that has been honorably serving our country and keeping his own conscience for decades reappeared on national television. It was as if an exorcism had been performed. What a shame that for all his years of service, most of the world will only know him by the show he put on in the last few months. I said during the nomination process ......
  148. 11/05/2008Sometimes we get it right. As a nation, we've shown something important to the world - The best night in my memory of politicsLast night the strong center of American political thinking stepped out and said "Enough". It isn't every day that any idea or candidate can capture the support of such a wide cross section of our country. In nearly every measurable demographic other than the most hard core neo-conservative right wing base, Americans united to say that no matter what differences on individual parts of the Democratic message they can no longer stomach the abuses of power that have defined the last eight years. That's what ......
  149. 11/04/2008I'm holding Ben personally responsible....Ben, with all his business success surely has plenty of power and influence in Ohio. I'm counting on you, Ben, to "deliver a result" (as they say in Futball) in Ohio. I mean it, Ben. Get with the program ......
  150. 11/04/2008The disgusting dirty tricks are out in full forcePersonally, I think any new or changed advertisement of a political nature less than 72 hours prior to an election is highly suspect. Today is the first time I've seen the negative "Rev. Write" ads in months -- but they sure are prominent and as misleading and slanderous as ever. Its the same crap as every year. Save the stuff that's most ugly until the last minute when there's no time for it to be refuted or for the candidate to respond. There are robot phone dialers in key places making calls to mislead ......
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