IdoNotes (and sleep)

IBM has partnered with HCL Technologies to invest in a long-term roadmap for the IBM Domino product line and family. This means updates for Domino, Notes, Sametime, Verse, and more

.To show IBM’s level of commitment to stakeholders, the company is entering into a strategic partnership with HCL Technologies to begin delivering on the roadmap with the intent to release version 10 of the Domino portfolio next year. The goal of the partnership is to drive future development of the Domino product family, energize the offering, and protect clients’ investments.

This means to customers that the original  fixpack featurepack and support only announcements are totally gone. IBM had previously promised small enhancements and bug fixes through more consistent featurepacks. They were staying away from delivering an entirely new version number for many reasons. One was speed of delivery, legal naming and all that stuff we geeks just say give us a 10.  With this move and the below #domino2025 jam announcement, IBM has fully committed to enhancing the entire product family.
Continue Reading here" Announcements on IBM Domino and Notes 10 and Beyond for numerous products" »

for this posting



On Thursday, October 26th, 2017   by Chris Miller        

IBM Traveler is upgrading the security requirements with minimum HTTPS/TLS connections and certificates. YOu need to make these adjustments by January 1 2017. This requirement applies to the server which the IBM Verse client connects.

It is important to note that failure to meet all of the requirements listed below may result in your Verse for iOS, Verse for Android, IBM Notes Traveler Companion and IBM Notes Traveler To Do apps being unable to connect to your Traveler servers.

There is a list of requirements on the support page that walks you through exactly what you need to do and look for.  Minimum requirements (if connecting straight to the IBM Traveler server and not an intermediary) are Domino 9.0.1 Fix Pack 5 or later so you can make sure you have TLS 1.2 with the latest cipher protocols.

I suggest walking through the support document sooner than later since January 1 2017 is coming up quickly.

for this posting



On Tuesday, October 11th, 2016   by Chris Miller        

IBM has announced the General Availability of IBM Mail Support for Microsoft Outlook (IMSMO) version 2.0. This means that everyone is now eligible to download and install IMSMO.

Here is the announcement from IBM about the general availability of IMSMO

IBM mail support for Microsoft Outlook enables you to connect a Microsoft Outlook client to a Domino V9.0.1 Server. As a Domino V9.0.1 user, you can download IBM mail support for Microsoft Outlook at no charge from Passport Advantage

If you are currently part of the Project Hawthorn program,    Continue Reading here" IBM mail support for MS Outlook (IMSMO) V2.0 announcement - formerly Project Hawthorn" »

for this posting



On Tuesday, July 5th, 2016   by Chris Miller        

IBM Lotus Traveler in High Availability mode does a lot of work behind the scenes. It uses Master Monitor servers, load algorithms and server bias to help distribute user device load.
What is the Master Monitor   Continue Reading here" What is the IBM Notes Traveler Load Balancing algorithm" »

for this posting



On Thursday, April 14th, 2016   by Chris Miller        

Q: Chris,
Here is the issue we are facing.  We deployed Traveler and it grew quickly. We now see delays and even hangs in HTTP.  IBM has said to adjust the HTTP threads and send a ton of links and info.  Is there an easy way to figure out the best number?
Continue Reading here" From the Inbox: Number of Lotus Traveler HTTP Threads" »

for this posting



On Wednesday, March 2nd, 2016   by Chris Miller        

IBM has released IBM Traveler 9.0.1.9 and has some new enhancement and of course many fixes. Here is what is new

Ghosted calendar events on iOS and Android devices

Events that have not yet been accepted now display as "Ghosted" on the calendar view on iOS and Android devices. You can select these entries from the calendar to work with them.

Exporting IBM Verse contacts to the device Contacts app on iOS devices

You can now export your Verse contacts to the Contacts app on your iOS device, and interact them natively like all your regular contacts. This option is disabled by default, and must be enabled by your system administrator.

Support for personal groups for IBM Verse on Android and iOS devices

When composing a new mail or creating a new event you can now add Personal Groups as recipients/invitees. When the mail/event is sent, Personal Groups are expanded so that the mail/event will be sent to each group member.

Performing enterprise database maintenance

You can now perform database maintenance using the IBM Traveler server. This can be done using the new tell command DBMaint. This includes functionality to schedule automatic database maintenance on a configurable interval.

Windows Mobile Phone 10 devices

Support has been added for Windows Mobile Phone 10 devices.

More information can be found here.

for this posting



On Monday, January 18th, 2016   by Chris Miller        

With the release of IBM Lotus Traveler 9.0.1.8 there is a bunch of fixes and enhancements but also a new tool.  It is called the Traveler Database Maintenance Tool (DBMaint).

Running this command performs an online reorganization of the IBM Traveler table's indexes. It will also run statistics on all indexes in the IBM Traveler database. If IBM Traveler is stand alone, then it will set the configuration parameter NTS_DEFRAG_ONCE to one. This will cause the server to perform maintenance on the standalone database on the next start up.

You can read more about the enhancements and the tool on my SocialBizUg article.  Make sure you subscribe to the monthly newsletter (at the bottom) or the RSS feed.

for this posting



On Wednesday, November 4th, 2015   by Chris Miller        

IBM has announced enhancements coming to IBM Connections Cloud for May 2015.  Here are some of the updates.

• Upload an email file attachment to the cloud
• Let others know when you're out of the office
• See the report-to structure for mail recipients
• Switch between IBM Verse and SmartCloud Notes web (iNotes)
• IBM Verse for iPhone
• New push notifications for Lotus Traveler

Each month they continually add featured and functions.  You can read more about the May 2015 enhancements right here.

See the previous IBM Connections Cloud enhancement posts right here (and previous SmartCloud naming ones) on IdoNotes

for this posting



On Thursday, May 14th, 2015   by Chris Miller        

IBM has released IBM Traveler 9.0.1.4 with a few fixes and enhancements.  Here is a brief outline and the links to the update and documentation

• Support for IBM Verse (there seems to be some issues however)
• Marking IBM Verse contacts as favorites
• Attendee status displays for meeting chair
• The At-Glance widget displays when receiving new mail from "Important to me" contacts
• Actions menu on Android clients
• Support for Redhat Enterprise Linux Server 7

You can see more details at the Knowledge Center and get the new update here with release documentation

for this posting



On Monday, May 4th, 2015   by Chris Miller        

If you get the Notes Traveler: SEVERE Error parsing ActiveSync message error on your IBM Lotus Traveler server console for Android users, the fix is quite simple.

To remove this error from appearing on the Traveler server's console, the specified users will need to not use the device's native mail application to sync their mailfile, instead make use of the IBM Notes Traveler application/client downloaded directly from the server via the Traveler Server's URL or from the Google Play store.

I wish it would just block other client types but the actual Traveler app or allowed types (like Sametime)

for this posting



On Friday, August 15th, 2014   by Chris Miller        

I upgraded my Blackberry Z10 to OS 10.2.1 to get my hands on a ton of new features. IBM Lotus Traveler now shows as an account type when adding email, calendar and todo.



I was surprised at the number of new features, not just fixes, that are available in this release. http://crackberry.com/whats-new-blackberry-os-1021
See my posting comparing the Blackberrry Z10 and Q10 devices. See more updates and hands-on with the BlackBerry 10 devices on BlackBerry Today.

for this posting



On Tuesday, July 22nd, 2014   by Chris Miller        

The IBM Mobile Design Team wants to know how you go about getting in contact with your colleagues on your mobile device.

 Please take this 10 minute survey: https://www-950.ibm.com/survey/oid/wsb.dll/s/ag589 and tell us what information is important for you to see when looking up a person, how you like to organize your personal and business contacts, if you use IBM NotesTraveler Lookup, and more!

for this posting



On Wednesday, June 25th, 2014   by Chris Miller        

Do you have IBM Lotus Traveler users that do not want constant push of their email to their iOS devices? How do you set this to manual?
Continue Reading here" I Only Want Email on My iPhone from Traveler When I Say So" »

for this posting



On Monday, April 28th, 2014   by Chris Miller        

I have written quite a bit about BlackBerry Z10 devices and some about using it with Lotus Traveler, IBM has released the following information on issue and the fixes
Issues:   Continue Reading here" Upgrade of Notes Traveler servers recommended to address issues with BlackBerry 10.2.1 devices" »

for this posting



On Friday, February 7th, 2014   by Chris Miller        

Project Hawthorn was a huge announcement from IBM about using Microsoft Outlook 2013 and IBM Domino servers. I took some additional notes at MWLUG 2013 and wanted to share them as I promised in the previous posting.


This is based on what I could quickly write down based on what Scott Souder, Program Director, Messaging and Collaboration Solutions, IBM,  was saying.  Then I had to read my own writing which made it worse while writing slides at the same time.  So here you go:

• This is not IMAP or POP3
• You will use Domino 9.x.x and Traveler 9.x.x or higher.  No Domino 8.x support for the server or Traveler
• It is 64-bit Domino and 64-Bit Traveler on Windows 64-bit.  No other OS announced yet for the server side
• The Microsoft add-in for Outlook leverages Domino REST services
• There will be tons of capabilities for message fidelity, calendaring, out of office and more
• Windows only (I presume Windows 7 on since it is Outlook 2013)
• It uses ost files and not pst files locally on the client machine

As you can see the list of features for Microsoft Outlook 2013 against IBM Domino is impressive. I think he mentioned encryption but that might have been a question to myself in my notes.

Make sure to read the previous posting Project Hawthorn - Microsoft Outlook 2013 support for IBM Domino

for this posting



On Tuesday, August 27th, 2013   by Chris Miller        

It has always been hard to track the growing list of technotes, fixpacks, hotfixes and SPR's that IBM Lotus collaboration software has.  Over the years I have made my own tools:

• Lotus Support Mega Feed sidebar widget
• Lotus Tech Documents feed on Twitter using Yahoo Pipes
• Blogger and technical search widget right from inside your client
• SNAPPS and IdoNotes enhanced search plug-in for Lotus Notes

So as you see it has evolved over the years as the material to collect grows and the capabilities grow the list of fixes have too.  So I will be adding the Notes/Domino Fix List full RSS feed to some of the above to give you timely information when fixes and being addressed and in what version

Let me know what other tools you need or sources added and I will make sure I get them included to help you find the information quicker.  Ok everything but IBM PartnerWorld.  No one can help you there.

for this posting



On Thursday, May 23rd, 2013   by Chris Miller        

The webcast with Gabriella Davis, Paul Mooney and myself on What's New in IBM Domino, Notes & Traveler 9.0 replay is now on YouTube and available at Consultant In Your Pocket.

Also announcing What's New in IBM Domino Designer 9.0 on April 11 2013 with Paul Calhoun and Kathy Brown.  Registration is open now.

for this posting



On Monday, April 1st, 2013   by Chris Miller        

Join Scott Souder and Louis Richardson of IBM as they keynote BLUG (Benelux Lotus User Group) 2013 in Leuven, Belgium.

Scott Souder covers IBM Notes and Domino Social Edition, Lotus Traveler and more.
Louis Richardson discusses creativity crisis

This is an outstanding keynote worth paying close attention to all the details

************
View the list of all the IamLUG 2013 sessions and then make sure you register now while there are still seats. You can also register for this TackItOn session from the IamLUG website
**************

note: sorry for the angle as the full  tripod did not make it in time.

for this posting



On Friday, March 29th, 2013   by Chris Miller        

Seats are still available for What's New in Notes, Domino, Traveler & XWork Server 9.0 webcast on March 29th 2013 at 10am CST.

From the Consultant In Your Pocket blog posting.

We are pleased to announce the What's New In IBM Notes & Domino Social Edition, Traveler and XWorks 9.0 webcast from Consultant In Your Pocket.  This webcast will feature a panel of IBM business partners giving their opinions on enhancements, features and more.  

Confirmed panelists are already Paul Mooney, Gabriella Davis and Mat Newman moderated by Chris Miller.

You can register for the event, for free, right here and join us live to ask questions and get our insight into the hottest capabilities coming.

for this posting



On Monday, March 25th, 2013   by Chris Miller        

Consultant In Your Pocket is having What's New in IBM Notes & Domino 9.0 Social Edition, Traveler and XWorks server on March 29th at 10am CST as announced in this CIYP blog posting.

We are pleased to announce the What's New In IBM Notes & Domino Social Edition, Traveler and XWorks 9.0 webcast from Consultant In Your Pocket.  This webcast will feature a panel of IBM business partners giving their opinions on enhancements, features and more.  

Confirmed panelists are already Paul Mooney, Gabriella Davis and Mat Newman moderated by Chris Miller.

You can register for the event, for free, right here and join us live to ask questions and get our insight into the hottest capabilities coming.

for this posting



On Thursday, March 14th, 2013   by Chris Miller        

This month I talk about the end of an era via the closing of the Lotus Notes based Business Partner forum.  A unique database for over 15 years that allowed partners and IBM to interact directly.  From there I move into:

• IBM X-Push Error in Lotus Traveler
• Sametime Configuration Validator
• Updated security certificates for iOS
• ID recovery failures

Related posts:
I post all the Sys Admin Tips links each and every month

Visit the Connectria website today and find out why we offer the best in Lotus Software hosting and management.

for this posting



On Thursday, August 23rd, 2012   by Chris Miller        

According to CNET, IBM is poking around looking at RIM enterprise services as a possible acquisition in this article.  While not the entire company, this type of capability could greatly enhance the Lotus Traveler offering.

Research In Motion has been approached by IBM to discuss a possible sale of the BlackBerry maker's enterprise-services division, a new report claims.

Imagine a network offering secure email services to devices for Lotus Traveler? A network that already expands globally and could contain some of the data center assets required to run it? This could be a huge move into the mobility space IBM is carefully going after with numerous resources and directives.

Thoughts?

for this posting



On Friday, August 10th, 2012   by Chris Miller        

With the release of Lotus Traveler 8.5.3 Upgrade Pack 1 and the High Availability option due soon, we have the full replay available of the webcast from June 21st with Gabriella Davis, Paul Mooney and myself.

We run through the new Android interface, new web management, high availability deployment and more features.

You can visit the Consultant In Your Pocket site to get the slides and more information on our webcast sponsor GSX Groupware Solutions and their excellent Lotus Traveler monitoring product.

for this posting



On Monday, June 25th, 2012   by Chris Miller        

Sign up now for the "What's New in Lotus Traveler and High Availability" webcast taking place on June 21st at 10am CST

Join Paul Mooney, Gabriella Davis and Chris Miller as they cover:

• the service pool ability
• new Android tablet interface
• new web based administration
• client manager
• notes.ini changes
• better link handling
• Scheduled sync settings
• Filter limits
• and so much more!

So get over and register for this free webcast

for this posting



On Tuesday, June 19th, 2012   by Chris Miller        

On June 21st at 10am CST, join this free webcast on What's New in Lotus Traveler with the panel of Paul Mooney, Gabriella Davis and Chris Miller as they bring you the highlights of the new Lotus Traveler release including the High Availability options.

We will discuss:

• the service pool ability
• new Android tablet interface
• new web based administration
• client manager
• notes.ini changes
• better link handling
• Scheduled sync settings
• Filter limits
• and so much more!

So get over and register for this free webcast taking place June 21st at 10am CST.  Space is limited and you can always ask live questions to the panel.

for this posting



On Thursday, June 7th, 2012   by Chris Miller        

You can read the entire newsletter for the May 2012 Sys Admin Tips to read my editorial on exceptional web experiences.  From there we go into articles on:

• GAMLN Questions (read my 10 part series starting here)
• Groups Are Being Removed When Sending Mail
• Controlling Automatic Showing of Remote Images
• Lotus Traveler on the BlackBerry Playbook Update

Watch the new webcast replay with Kathy Brown and Jess Stratton from Consultant In Your Pocket as we kick off the spring season titled Collaboration Party of One

Subscribe to the IdoNotes newsletter on the right to get notified as registration opens and for some free whitepapers.

for this posting



On Wednesday, May 30th, 2012   by Chris Miller        

I ran across a Research in Motion whitepaper about saving costs by moving from BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) to BES Express.  It then had me thinking that with the huge BYOD  movement and growth of Lotus Traveler this would be perfect for everyone to read so I am able to get you the whitepaper here. We are gaining lots of  requests around managing both BlackBerry Enterprise Server for those slowly removing them from the infrastructure and also growth in Lotus Traveler hosting and device management.  With the whitepaper from RIM, it shows how moving to BES Express for smaller userbase sizes can save money and even shows some example cost savings.

It now makes sense for most organizations to create a dual BlackBerry® environment and move at least some users to BlackBerry® Enterprise Server Express--a free, slimmed-down version of its larger cousin. The extra effort is minimal, the essential features and security are nearly identical, and the benefits are impossible to ignore. This paper looks at why and how to get this done.

So what does this mean to BYOD and existing BlackBerry implementations? You can start thinking about Lotus Traveler implementations while saving money and with the enhanced device support in each release of Traveler you don't have to worry as much about controlling corporate data on employee owned devices.

Don't forget that last week I got you a free ebook copy of Cloud for Dummies by IBM that is still available for a few more days.

for this posting



On Monday, May 14th, 2012   by Chris Miller        

AusLUG 2012 kicked off in Melbourne, Australia with Mat Newman introducing Ed Brill as the keynote speaker in this video replay.  Ed covered strategy and futures before handing it over to Stuart for live demos and Ted Stanton with more insight.  This keynote runs just at an hour and thirty minutes.

Visit AusLUG to get more information on sessions and register for their Lotus Connections community.

Also make sure to watch the keynote from Chris Crummey at BLUG 2012 in Antwerp, Belgium from the week before,  Spiked Studio is happy to have produced both videos for replay.  Make sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel to stay up to date on all the videos as they get released.

for this posting



On Wednesday, April 4th, 2012   by Chris Miller        

After numerous emails about the best way to load Lotus Traveler on the BlackBerry Playbook and much dispute of what worked, I went ahead and tackled it for you in this video.

I was unable to hit and load the Lotus Traveler server via the Playbook by using the servlet/traveler web interface or going via ActiveSync.  Some of you have emailed and commented  success and a lot depends on versions of servers, policies and more it seems.

So take make it easy for you I created a signed .bar file that you can sideload onto your BlackBerry Playbook if you must have Traveler working and want to use the Android player built into OS 2.0.  It just works!

Here is the signed Lotus Traveler.bar file from Spiked Studio.  This must be sideloaded onto your Playbook while developer mode is enabled (no rooting it is just a switch in preferences). I used DDPBInstaller to do it, you can find that free on the web.

for this posting



On Monday, March 5th, 2012   by Chris Miller        

The IBM Pulse conference has been around a while and it seems IBM Collaboration Services (ICS) will be there in a large amount this year talking mobility.  To aid in getting information out to the masses, and after they saw how Lotusphere works apparently, IBM Pulse 2012 will stream the keynote from Kevin Cavanaugh.
Continue Reading here" IBM Pulse 2012 - set to stream keynotes for first time" »

for this posting



On Tuesday, February 7th, 2012   by Chris Miller        

Lotus has updated some documentation for different OS levels and required server versioning for Lotus Traveler:

Android 4.0 and Apple iOS 5 Support:
For 8.5.3.x: Please apply Traveler 8.5.3.1 PLUS the Android client build 8.5.3.1 Build 20111207_1606​ found on the Recommended Maintenance page.

For 8.5.2.x: Please apply Traveler 8.5.2.4 HF1 found on the Recommended Maintenance page.

Devices under evaluation for possible future support:
As mentioned in this IBM press release, IBM intends to support Microsoft Windows Phone in a future release of IBM Lotus Notes Traveler.  IBM intends to support several devices such as the Nokia Lumia line and some from HTC.

For our support statement regarding Kindle Fire or Barnes & Noble Nook Android device support, please reference this technote.

for this posting



On Thursday, February 2nd, 2012   by Chris Miller        

I have been sitting on this after hearing about Endpoint Manager for Mobile Devices at Lotusphere, waiting for the official press releases and beta announcements.  Here is the announcement of the Tivoli branded software and places to find more information.

Unify management of mobile devices and traditional endpoints

With the ever-growing number of smartphone options and the recent explosion of tablet computers, IT departments must find an efficient and secure way to enable employees’ use of mobile devices in the work place. Services such as application management and security controls have been delivered by IT organizations for years, but mobile device platforms have unique management needs that disrupt the traditional paradigm. However, rather than implement a separate infrastructure solely for mobile devices, organizations could benefit from a single solution that effectively accounts for these unique needs while providing unified endpoint management. Now, with IBM Endpoint Manager for Mobile Devices, currently in Beta, enterprises can leverage the BigFix infrastructure to secure and manage traditional endpoints as well as Apple iOS, Google Android, Symbian, and Microsoft Windows Phone devices.

Continue Reading here"  IBM Endpoint Manager for Mobile Devices launches into beta plus news" »

for this posting



On Tuesday, January 31st, 2012   by Chris Miller        

In the January 2012 edition of Sys Admin Tips I cover OpenSocial and Social Business in the editorial section and the following articles:

• From the Idonotes mailbox: Citrix performance and Notes Standard client
• OpenSocial as an administrator
• Lotus Traveler device ids and names of devices
• From the IdoNotes mailbox: A failed Sametime 8.5.2 IF1 upgrade attempt

Look for a bunch of new webcasts coming along from Consultant In Your Pocket as we kick off the spring season

for this posting



On Monday, January 30th, 2012   by Chris Miller        

As I headed to bed and was making notes for a blog post tomorrow, this article from ZDNET came across my feeds right at midnight (I think too early honestly) about some announcements I will split into posts.

IBM also highlighted the beta of Lotus Notes and Domino, Social Edition as well as plans to support Microsoft Windows Phone devices for its upcoming Lotus Notes Traveler software.

Continue Reading here" IBM to announce Windows Mobile support for Lotus Traveler at Lotusphere 2012 (via ZDNET) #ls12" »

for this posting



On Sunday, January 15th, 2012   by Chris Miller        

In this Nov 2011 edition I discuss disaster planning in the editorial section and the following:

* From the IdoNotes Mailbox: Update on Words with Buttons Disappearing
* Sametime Security Vulnerability Announced
* Quick Tip: Upgrade Domino or Traveler First
* From the IdoNotes Mailbox : Lotus Traveler Issue - Help!

Do not forget to watch the "What's New in Lotus, Domino, Traveler & IBM XWork Server 8.5.3" webcast that was on October 4th from Consultant In Your Pocket.  

for this posting



On Thursday, November 17th, 2011   by Chris Miller        

We are happy to announce that the full recording of the "What's New in 8.5.3 Notes, Domino, Traveler & IBM XWork Server" from Consultant in Your Pocket is online and ready for streaming.

Look for details surrounding IBM XWork Server, the entitlement for IBM Lotus Connections and mobility discussions around iOS, Android and Symbian.

• 8.5.3 system requirements from Mitch Cohen
• Lotus Connections entitlement area from Ed Brill
• Mobile client screenshots from Inside Lotus Blog
  
  
  Brought to you by Connectria, you leader in IBM software and hardware hosting.

for this posting



On Wednesday, October 5th, 2011   by Chris Miller        

We are pleased to announce the addition of the announcement of the IBM XWork Server to the What's New in Notes, Domino, Traveler & IBM XWork Server in 8.5.3 webcast from Consultant In Your Pocket.  This webcast will feature a panel of IBM business partners giving their opinions on enhancements, features and more.   Plus tons of news on the IBM XWork Server.

We have also added Marie Scott from Virginia Commonwealth University to the panel!

Registration for the webcast is open!     It will be held Oct 4, 2011 at 10am CST.


You can stream any previous webcast at the Consultant In Your Pocket site.  Recent webcasts include:

• What's New in Sametime 8.5.2
• DDM & DCT : What a Team
• Social Business & Online UX Lab

for this posting



On Wednesday, September 28th, 2011   by Chris Miller        

We are pleased to announce the What's New in Notes, Domino & Traveler 8.5.3 webcast from Consultant In Your Pocket.  This webcast will feature a panel of IBM business partners giving their opinions on enhancements, features and more.  


Registration for the webcast is open!     It will be held Oct 4, 2011 at 10am CST.


You can stream any previous webcast at the Consultant In Your Pocket site.  Recent webcasts include:

• What's New in Sametime 8.5.2
• DDM & DCT : What a Team
• Social Business & Online UX Lab

for this posting



On Tuesday, September 13th, 2011   by Chris Miller        

Lotus is looking for volunteers to submit for a futures usability study.  It runs this and next week.  Details below!

The Lotus User Experience Research team is conducting user research the week of August 22nd (extending to the week of Aug 29th as needed) and is looking for participants.

You will be asked to attend a 60-90 minute online session (connection details to follow) where strategic design direction, encompassing multiple IBM products, will be shown and discussed.

We are looking for a diverse audience to represent a rich set of perspectives.

NOTE: This is not a usability assessment of current products nor a commitment to implement what is shown. This is directional research but your feedback will be used to shape the future direction of the products you use.

If interested, please tell us a little about yourself and available days and times using the brief survey [https://www-950.ibm.com/survey/oid/wsb.dll/s/ag3e3]. Someone will contact you if there is a day/time match.

Thank you for your time!

Regards,

Brian

Brian S. Utesch, Ph.D.
STSM, Lotus User Experience Research (UXR) Lead
IBM Software Group, WPLC, Lotus User Experience Group
butesch@us.ibm.com

for this posting



On Wednesday, August 24th, 2011   by Chris Miller        

I forgot to mention that the July 2011 edition had come out covering the IBM Champion program and the following:

* From the Editor: Chris' 32.5000 SOS
* From the IdoNotes Mailbox: Performance Problem!
* IBM Collaboration Solutions
* Quick Tip: All-in-one Admin Agent Troubleshooting Tool
* From the IdoNotes Mailbox: Lotus Traveler and Android


************

You can head over now to watch the IamLUG 2011 keynote in streaming HD!  The keynote was amazing, given by Brian Cheng of IBM.

Edited, produced and brought to you by Spiked Studio Productions.  Your niche podcast network

for this posting



On Wednesday, August 10th, 2011   by Chris Miller        

Yesterday I posted on the announcement made in the UKLUG keynote address by Ted Stanton on the sunsetting of brands (not products) in the IBM naming world.  Earlier in the year I had written an article for publication that I am providing following this news coming true.

In the first week of February 2011, the annual Lotusphere conference by IBM was held in Orlando, FL. Each year a new theme is launched to drive the flow around the conference as new products are announced and futures discussed. The theme for 2011 from IBM/Lotus was Social Business

IBM/Lotus entered the realm of social business about two years ago by placing social networking into the enterprise with Lotus Connections. They soon became self proclaimed, and known to some, as an industry leader in this space.  With the recent release of Connections 3.0, they have made a strong statement.

However, the stigma of the name Lotus hangs heavy. It carries with it 20 years of weight from Lotus Notes and the nagging thought of the old 1-2-3 anytime you say Lotus.  So how would IBM break away, while moving forward the implementations of such products as Connections, Portal and and freshly remodeled and painted Notes?  Removing the Lotus moniker is a first step in that transition.

In no way am I hinting or saying that the actual products under the Lotus banner would be retired.  Simply the Lotus portion of the name itself. They have begun this movement years ago by placing IBM at the head of each product name. Many have been cross branded for some time, such as IBM Lotus Sametime.  Removing the Lotus from the middle is not a trivial task. Nor should IBM treat this decision lightly.

Back at Lotusphere, Social Business was pushed into everyone's minds as soon as the Opening General Session kicked off. while many still sit at companies globally wondering how this affects their email and applications based on Lotus Notes, even the sales reps are being told to push this initiative. The link for Social Business does take you to a Lotus branded URL, but one of the main links announces the IBM Social Collaboration Platform and the just completed IBM Social Business Jam

This new initiative focuses around social analytics, tracking, enhanced customer and web experiences and platforms to deploy these solutions.  All based on a collection of IBM software properties.  From this alone is makes perfect sense for IBM to bring these all together as one brand face and name, much like Cognos was brought into the IBM banner.

Since Lotusphere both the products Connections and Sametime have had the Lotus name removed from the product marketing.  While we do still the the name Lotus in the actual installed product in some places, new efforts will not show it when making future announcements and marketing.

IBM held massive press events last year around Project Northstar.  Their first move of taking software like Websphere Portal and making it the foundation for the IBM Customer Experience Suite.    I blogged extensively on Project Northstar  and during the launch.  While much of the press was there, the splash was not made.

Where does this leave Lotus in the new IBM picture?  As a name that held strength in the enterprise messaging and application platform space.  As a name that still haunts many people as a horrid experience because they were stuck on older versions or never experienced the full customer experience.  As a name to soon be retired, it's jersey hung in the banners and all the awards placed high on the IBM trophy case as an acquired, assimilated and merged product line in the IBM behemoth.  Goodbye Lotus brand name. Hello IBM collaboration.

for this posting



On Tuesday, May 24th, 2011   by Chris Miller        

During the keynote today from Ted Stanton (his bio from UKLUG):

Ted Stanton is a World Wide Executive Consultant for IBM's Software Solutions Group. Ted is committed to maintaining high customer satisfaction while helping customers align software solutions with their strategic business goals. Ted’s strong technical background includes over twenty IBM product certifications allowing him to proactively work across technical teams and line of business to build solutions and articulate the business value, ROI, and transformation required for success

He confirmed that over the next two years that IBM will be retiring many of it's brand names by the end of 2012.  Products (think Sametime, Connections and more) will not be going away at all. Brands like Lotus, Websphere, Tivoli and DB2 will be folded in.

We have already seen this with IBM Connections and now IBM Sametime just last week.  Many were questioning and looking for a statement from IBM.  I think we have some answers they were looking for.  This is an overhaul of direction and branding to make IBM seen more as a single package, instead of multiple requirements.  For example installing Lotus Sametime was including Websphere Application Server, DB2 Enterprise and possible Tivoli Directory Integrator.  With the change you will install IBM Sametime that includes an IBM Application Server, IBM Data Enterprise server and IBM Directory Integrator.

Earlier this year I wrote and article for another online publication which I will post in later today in a follow up article.

for this posting



On Monday, May 23rd, 2011   by Chris Miller        

IamLUG 2011 opened registration and already has a slew of people registering.  I would suggest if you want to attend the third year of the North American Lotus User Group gathering, register soon for the vent taking place August 1-2, 2011.  Then stay for the bonus day.

The team there has put on an awesome event each year, always seeming to add surprises and new features.  I am told there is some new things again this year.

TackItOn is also back after huge success last year.  On August 3rd, the day after, you can attend a full day training event for only $495,  With some more coming, this year you can attend:

• XPages Jumpstart - by TLCC
• XPages 201 - by Matt White
• Lotus Traveler installation and administration - by Paul Mooney and Teamstudio

Imagine two days of FREE sessions, networking and learning.  Then followed by a technical training day on some of the newest technology by the best in those areas for only $495.

Head over to IamLUG and get registered for 2011.  The team there can't wait to see you come for the first time or be a repeat attendee!

for this posting



On Monday, April 25th, 2011   by Chris Miller        

Paul Mooney takes time out of his schedule to talk about:

• Lotus Traveler seminar he is presenting at cities globally with Teamstudio
• UKLUG
• IamLUG
• Notes Net closing
• Symantec Vision
• AUSLUG
• PlanetLotus oddities

You can also watch this video in HD on the IdoNotes YouTube and keep up with all of the Spiked Studio shows.

Catch the newly launched BlackBerry Today!

for this posting



On Thursday, April 21st, 2011   by Chris Miller        

IBM pushed out Fix Pack 2 for IBM Lotus Traveler 8.5.2 to allow support for Android 3.0 devices and tablets.

Please note, Lotus Notes Traveler has NOT yet been enhanced to exploit Android OS 3.0, or the large screen size of some tablet devices running Android OS 3.0

You can get the update at IBM Fix Central

for this posting



On Tuesday, April 5th, 2011   by Chris Miller        

Forrester has launched two recent reports and ReadWriteWeb Enterprise wrote a nice summary including Connectria in the article.  We pride ourselves in over ten years of Lotus Software hybrid or outsourced hosting and remote management.  

Diversified hosting and telecoms, such as AT&T, Connectria, ....

Forrester doesn't offer any specific recommendations about any particular company. Instead, it encourages decision makers to consider their organization's needs and existing partnerships. The firm also recommends considering hybrid models.

You could also watch a current Consultant In Your Pocket event (free no registration needed but signing up for the newsletter encouraged) on Seeing Shapes in the Cloud.


Visit  the Connectria website today and find out why we offer the best in Lotus Software hosting and management.

for this posting



On Tuesday, March 29th, 2011   by Chris Miller        

Day #3. A daily posting for a work week of the best and worst of 2010 in the Lotus world from my eyes.

Best - Lotus Traveler
A downright amazing offering from Lotus.  They got the message from enterprises.  They went after it.  They owned it.  While this does eliminate some business partners making mobile products for mail, in my opinion, Lotus had to offer this to expand mail, calendar and contacts usage to mobile devices, for free.

While I do carry a Blackberry for numerous other application integration reasons.  (including the native Sametime application missing on Android), if I only wanted mail this would be my choice.  Not just because Lotus made it, but the feature and integration set is there for Apple, Windows and now Android.

Reviews from bloggers, the Android Community and industry have been nothing but positive.  Companies are deploying more mobile devices.  Management is done from the native Domino administration tools.   What are you waiting for? Deploy a Lotus Traveler server.


Worst  - Symphony PRESENTATIONS
Let me start by saying it seems I have good success with Documents (never have a reason to do Spreadsheets).  But my personal feelings on Presentations are disheartening.  I struggled with it more than once, over different versions.  Help files point to menu items that do not exist.  Text wobbles as you make changes.  Features were just not easy to find as I would expect.  I was not able to sit down and start working like in some other packages.

This is an area that would need improvement before I see enterprises making the switch.  Documents and spreadsheets are a core, but you rely on the entire package.  I recall the days of Freelance, from SmartSuite, which I think still actually is in use.  Lotus could have taken much of the technology, trials and lessons learned when growing that product to bring out in Symphony.  I know development resources stopped long ago, but the intellectual capital is still there.  Superuser.com had a good comment on Lotus Symphony:

The most important difference between Lotus Symphony and OpenOffice that really matters, would be the fact that Symphony is, while based on OpenOffice code, still closed-source, whereas OO is entirely open source.

Engine-wise, it should not differ too much from OO since Symphony is a derivative fork from the OO project under IBM's heading. For now, underpinnings should still be the same, however it is not too impossible to expect that Symphony will start having major internal differences as time goes by, and IBM starts deviating Symphony from OO more in order to suit their own objectives better

Companies need and want a trusted alternative, yet feel compelled to use Office.  Google has the same problem making inroads in this area of corporate productivity.  I do like how Lotus revived the name from long ago, to continue again in competing.

********Related Posts*******
See the best & worst from Lotus 2010 day #5 of 5
See the best & worst from Lotus 2010 day #4 of 5
See the best & worst from Lotus 2010 day #3 of 5
See the best & worst from Lotus 2010 day #2 of 5
See the best & worst from Lotus 2010 day #1 of 5

for this posting



On Wednesday, January 5th, 2011   by Chris Miller        

I was busy writing this months Sys Admin Tips newsletter section and Traveler was a topic.  When reading through some documentation, I ran across this little bit of news:

When will the Android devices be supported?
Version: 8.5.2
Resolution:  These devices are NOT currently supported with Traveler 8.5.2, however a subset of Android devices will be supported when Fix Pack 1 is release, which is scheduled for late this year/early next year.  Android Tablets will not be supported with this client.

So all of you rushing out for the Samsung Galaxy and other tablets, just sit back a few and wait.  I bet we will be able to force it to work, but not under official support.

for this posting



On Thursday, December 2nd, 2010   by Chris Miller