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’Click to Map’ feature with Sametime and Blackberry - where did it go?

I happened to be poking around Lotus Greenhouse and saw a bookmark from January 2007 (Lotusphere2007) for a press release between Lotus and RIM.  It highlighted the new "Convert to Call" and "Click to Map" that would be possible.
RIM Showcases Unified Communications Breakthrough for Blackberry Users At Lotusphere
RIM is showcasing a new feature called "Click to Map" that will allow users to generate maps on a Blackberry handset within the context of a Lotus Sametime session.  The "Click to Map" feature will launch Blackberry Maps from within the Sametime client software and generate a map that illustrates a colleague's location based on presence information retrieved from Lotus Sametime.


This is a cool feature I would love to see in place.  I know the "Convert to Call" is kind of there, but that seems to not be in place either.  Maybe I missed something in implementation or does this need the Sametime 8 Advanced Server that is not due out till next year some time?  Also, does the map render from the location they type into the client?  I am not sure how that would work either looking at the preferences in the Sametime Connect client for the Blackberry as shown in this screen capture:
Image:’Click to Map’ feature with Sametime and Blackberry - where did it go?

I can't seem to find a menu item for mapping the user in the Business Card or main screen.  Anyone?
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    On Tuesday, December 18th, 2007   by Chris Miller        

Thoughts on the webcast

Some great content and I heard a ton of questions were out there pending.  Look for those in the forum at LotusUserGroup.org website shortly.

Ed Brill
  • Great job as usual.  He is at the point now where Ed probably murmurs competitive things in his sleep.  He got a question on Outlook and how does the GUI compare or how was it enhanced Domino 7.  We all know Hannover addresses this issue even more.  Basically people, Lotus is saying it does what you need since the 6.x days, but looks a little different.  Heck, I don't like some of the UI in Outlook, so why is it so much better?  Let's call it training!
  • Another asked about Domino Access for Microsoft Outlook and enhancements.  DAMO in 7 is using the same template as 6.5.4 uses for now.  Great idea to get that out the door in time with 7.  I imagine when the point releases start coming out, some more fixes for DAMO will  be there.  I also imagine that some new bugs might be found when using the back-end of 7

Rob Ingram, lead Domino Product Manager
Benchmarked improvements was a highlight hit often with Rob.  He did well also.  Here are two screenshots:
Image:Thoughts on the webcast

Image:Thoughts on the webcast
Ok, maybe I am off but they did not hit 30 something percent improvement even according to their own charts???  I will let that one go with the thought that the improvements in performance are definitely there.


Then he made me sit up in my seat.  Finally a new benchmark that addresses what the old ones missed, real world activity!!!!


Mark Jourdain, product manager , Application Development, Domino Designer
Mark did very well also.  Even though he had to cram the last slides in at the end due to time.

Mark got a question on a rumor that LEI would be included with the server for free.  Come on now, they charge like $50K per processor retail for that product.  Per sale.  DECS has been around got some a little better over the years, but I am guessing that you will never see that full type of LEI featureset in the core product for some time.
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    On Wednesday, September 28th, 2005   by Chris Miller        

I attended an IBM CommonStore session today, thoughts on it

It was a simple 2 hour presentation sponsored by an IBM BP who got their 5 minutes of talk and then the IBM Solutions Specialist took over.  In  the room was only about 8 people, 1 of which had Exchange.  The remainder was Domino.  The first hour and fifteen minutes was all about what it could do, some component slides, blah blah blah.  We asked a few questions as it went along, but waiting for the demo was the key.

Ok, so the first part of the demo was Outlook and Exchange.  He was using VMWare to show the servers and clients running all together.  I paid attention but that is not what you are here for.  We took a quick 5 minute break while he loaded the Domino VMWare to show us that.
  • Template modifications are necessary to add the necessary action buttons and menu items.  Not a big deal overall but he stated they stay about 6 months behind major Domino releases so nothing for 7 yet
  • You have the ability to grab just attachments or the whole body to archive off.  You can also specify certain parameters based on date/time/size of message/size of attachments/etc/etc to grab for archiving.
  • You have the choice to leave the small stub in your mailfile and then retrieve from there.  Or remove the stub and use the CommonStore interface to get it back.  This runs from a web browser over SSL (we were told and saw it looking for SSL requests in the background on a console)
  • New icons are used to designate that the message was moved to archive.  I took issue with the icon choice since in Domino 7, that same icon appears in the lower right of your client (between the access icon and IM component) to let you know that messages are signed or encrypted.
  • Signatures on all emails get broken since the document is opened, things deleted, lines added and then it is saved.  So you get the old error that document might have been modified or corrupted since last signed

I could go on for some time just explaining, but if you have an archive policy setting that works with some journaling of all or based on subject/sender then you have a lot of what this does.  Yes there are some features and benefits that revolve around compliancy.

Now another thing should be noted is that they push the idea of Single Copy Object Store heavily in numerous slides and conversation points.  We all know the old versions of SCOS in Domino were not the best, but they touted it like Domino cannot do ti either.  Interestingly enough it was pointed out that with archiving, journaling and SCOS in Domino you have all of what they have in databases that are still searchable.  In reality, unless you have some strict recoding/archiving needs (SEC, HIPPA, S/O) then all you are doing is pushing the mail onto yet another machine that needs backup, maintenance and management.  The product will hit mailboxes on most platforms, but only runs itself on Windows and AIX.  So all of you that invested in iSeries to get away from Windows, break out the old hardware and add tons of disk space.
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    On Thursday, September 22nd, 2005   by Chris Miller        

Connectria in the press

It is a simple press release with a big bang.
Connectria Lands Two Contracts for Remote iSeries Management, Server Outsourcing

Two iSeries shops recently entered deals to move iSeries administration to Connectria, a provider of managed hosting services for iSeries and other platforms. Louis Vuitton, a French manufacturer of luxury consumer goods, will be utilizing Connectria's remote monitoring and management service for batch job processing, alerting of job suspensions or interruptions, PTF and upgrade management, maintenance scheduling, and back ups. Meanwhile, a consumer goods company of another sort, Ecko Unlimited, has also enlisted Connectria for some iSeries assistance. The New York City-based designer of "lifestyle brands" targeted at the hip-hop scene previously relied upon Connectria for basic iSeries administration functions, such as job scheduling, PTF applies, and back-ups, which were performed remotely. Now, Ecko has elected to put its iSeries equipment in Connectria's hands. In addition, Connectria will be hosting Ecko's Lotus Notes and Domino applications in its data centers. Connectria is an IBM business partner based in St. Louis. It charges customers about $2,000 to $3,000 per month for iSeries remote monitoring and administration, following one-time setup charges ranging from $3,500 to $8,500.


We don't seem to make these press releases very often as a lot of companies like to keep it under wraps.  But this one made it through all the proper channels

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    On Wednesday, July 13th, 2005   by Chris Miller