IBM/Lotus

#IBMChampion / Community / IBM/Lotus / Notes/Domino / Sametime / Verse

ICON UK – Webinar about IBM’s Domino 10 and HCL partnership

On November 9 at 15.00 BST (16.00 CET, 10am EST), ICON UK will host a special edition of their "Around The Table" webinar series focusing on the recently announced strategic partnership between IBM and HCL. The partnership, which covers the Notes, Domino, Verse and Sametime product families, will deliver a multi-year roadmap for the products, and Notes/Domino 10 has already been announced for a 2018 release. The webinar is free. You can read more about it at https://iconuk.org/iconuk.nsf/events.html, where you also can register.

1 Comment
November 8, 2017
#IBMChampion / Community / IBM/Lotus

Nominate your Champion(s)!

It this time of the year again: nominations for IBM Champions! Do you know someone in the community that deserves the title of IBM Champion? Someone who demonstrates both expertise and extraordinary support and advocacy for IBM products, solutions and communities. Perhaps someone who arranges user conferences, create videos to show different concepts, blog and share code. Or someone who speaks at conferences and thus promotes IBM products. Nominate that  person. Or if you are that person, nominate yourself! You are the one that knows the best what you have done. Nominations are open for another week, until November 13, and the URL is https://developer.ibm.com/champions/nominate/. Finally, here is a video where Libby Ingrassia, IBM Champion Program Manager, explains what the IBM Champion program is, who the Champions are and how to nominate. https://youtu.be/pK9g3hrK6lc

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November 6, 2017
#IBMChampion / App Modernization / IBM/Lotus / Notes/Domino / Sametime / Verse

Who wants to live forever? IBM Notes and Domino!

We have heard people claiming for years that Notes and Domino is dead. Today IBM announced a move that hopefully should put those statements to a stop. IBM is partnering with HCL Technologies on the future development of IBM Notes and Domino, as well as SameTime, Verse, Traveler and the other associated products. The products will still belong to IBM, and they continue to manage the product strategy, marketing and licensing using the current offering management teams. The existing IBM development teams will be moving under HCL, where the actual development will happen. From a customer standpoint nothing will change, except for an increase in investment and development. Support will still go through IBM, using the same PMS system as today. But it will allow IBM to get more developers and resources towards the development of new versions, using the finite budget they after all  have. It is a commitment to a sustained long-term roadmap and increased engineering ability. The big news is that IBM is committing to releasing Notes and Domino 10 in 2018, and also announced that there is no end-of-live date for Domino. Not even an "at least until..." date like before. IBM are even discussing the next version after Domino 10. What can we expect to see in Domino 10? Inhi Suh, General Manager for IBM Collaboration Solutions, said that application modernization is one of the big focus points. IBM will hold several "jams", sessions where customers and business partners can give input on what they want to see in upcoming version. You can already register  for the first one, called Domino 2025. Inhi says that not all functions will be in Domino 10, that is not even possible. But there is an increased commitment to the platform, and I expect that we will see many new and exiting features. In addition, IBM will focus more on small and medium size businesses, not just large organizations. Domino is a great platform even for smaller organizations, so this is a welcome change in strategy. So what do I think about this announcement? It is very exciting. Domino is a powerful and competent web application platform, and with some modernization, like support for HTTP2, support for Javascript everywhere (in the client as well as on the server), improvements to Lotusscript, and a modernization of the client user interface, the product could be truly amazing. Anyone who knows their Notes and Domino history knows that the original product, Lotus Notes, was actually not developed by Lotus. It was Iris Associates who created it, under a contract with Lotus Software. many of the developers eventually went from Iris to Lotus, and then to IBM, as IBM took over Lotus. I truly hope that the amazing developers who have been working on the products for decades will be able to move over to HCL and their expertise will be utilized. In my mind that Is crucial for the future success of the products. If you are a Domino user today, you should…

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October 25, 2017
Administration / IBM/Lotus / Notes/Domino

Rebuilding my Domino infrastucture

Recently I did some long overdue changes to my Domino infrastucture. Many years ago, when I initially setup my Domino server, I put it in the domain /Martinsson, since my domain at that time was martinsson.com (as well as martinsson.net). The server was just for practice and fun initially, but I ended up doing more and more. In 2013, when my wife Christina and I started a small business, I added additional internet domains to the server. Our business Demand Better Solutions strated getting some traction, and I changed my email address from karl-henry@martinsson.com to karl-henry@demandbettersolutions.com. But I kept having issues with the outgoing email. Often people did not get my emails since they ended up in their spam folder. I figured that it had something to do with the domain It was time to bite the bullet and do something. I decided earlier this year that I would setup a server from scratch, on a new hosting service. I arranged hosting with Prominic, a company specializing in high quality Domino hosting. The account was setup in no time and the Domino server was ready to be configured. My new Domino domain would from now on be /DBS. I am not a stranger to installing and configuring Domino servers, but I decided have a real administrator set up it up for me, to get everything perfect..This way I would hopefully also learn something. Another reason I wanted some help had to do with setting up cross-certifications with my old server in the old domain. My plan was as follows: Set up the new server Cross-certify the two servers and admin accounts Replicate over all databases from the old server to the new Update the ACL on all databases and remove references to the old server Delete the old server and all data files Install a second Domino server in the new /DBS domain Set up replication between the two servers (on different hosts) I was lucky enough to get help from one of the best, Lifetime IBM Champion Gabriella Davis from The Turtle Partnership. If you need high quality admin help or advice, with Domino or IBM Connections, Gab is outsanding. Gab helped me set everything up on the new server, I replicated everything, fixed the ACL settings and deleted the old server. The build of the secondary new server went off without any issues, which is not surprising when you consider the stability and maturity of the Domino server platform. I updated all DNS settings, replicated all databases to the second server, and I was ready to rock'n'roll. Everything worked well for a while, until I noticed that some email services still categorized a number of my emails (but not all of them) as spam. I did some research and realized that I never changed the SPF record for my domain to point to the correct mail server. SPF is a email validation system, it works similar to a DNS lookup. When a mail from my domain arrives at…

1 Comment
October 24, 2017
#IBMChampion / Cloud / IBM/Lotus / Watson

IBM Watson Workspace is available – and it is free

Yesterday IBM formally launched Watson Workspace as a general availability product. Anyone can now sign up for the free version, previously you needed an invitation. But the interesting part is the enterprise version Workspace Essentials, with features for security and control needed in that kind of environment. There you can also create and manage guest accounts, and you get 20 GB storage per user, compared with 1 GB for the free version. Another difference is the access to support. The free version uses online forums while Workspace Essentials has support and offers SLA. The cost for Workspace Essentials is $6 per user and month, somewhat less for large number of users. There are a number of ways you can use Watson Workspace. Access through a browser (except Internet Explorer) or on your phone (Android, iOS). There are also native clients, both for Mac  and Windows, built using Electron, just like Slack. The desktop app is fast and the user interface is nice and clean. So what makes IBM Watson Workspace different from other group messaging software like Slack or Microsoft Teams? The answer is Watson and cognative technology. I have been using Watson Workspace for several months, and one of the features I like the most is called Moments, the ability to get a summary of all the messages I missed while I was away so I can catch up quicker. It has been working really well for me. Watson analyzes the messages, group them together by subject and decides what the most important parts are, and display that to me. I can then expand and see more if I like. Just like in Slack you can add apps to Watson Workspace. The number of apps available now at the launch is very limited, but I would expect many more to be available in the future. Among the apps available are IFTTT and a connection to Slack. In Workspace Essentials there are also apps for IBM Connections and Microsoft Outlook email. As you expect there is file and image sharing as well as presence indicators. But there is also one (or two, depending on how you see it) missing function. As of now you can't edit or delete a message. This is however something IBM says is at the top of the list for the next iteration, in the near future. Watson Workspace has a public API, and if you are a developer you can write your own bots or other tools that integrates with the software. You use Watson Work Services for this. So will I replace Slack with Watson Workspace? Not fully, as I use Slack to communicate with a number of people today. But I will continue to run Watson Workspace, and probably expand my use. The Moment function is addicting, I really miss it when I use Slack and need to catch up on perhaps hundreds of messages in some channels. Well done, IBM.    

3 Comments
September 27, 2017
#IBMChampion / Community / IBM/Lotus / jQuery / Lotusscript / MWLUG / Notes/Domino / Programming / Web Development

My MWLUG presentation: Elementary!

MWLUG 2017 - Elementary! Yesterday I presented at MWLUG, and I want to share my presentation with both the ones attending and anyone who was not able to be there. I am posting two version, one with just the slides, and one with speaker notes, where I tried to capture the content, if not the exact verbiage of the session. I hope to be able to post the demo database with the code later this week or early next week.  

1 Comment
August 9, 2017
#IBMChampion / Community / IBM/Lotus / Javascript / jQuery / Lotusscript / MWLUG / Notes/Domino / Programming / Uncategorized / Web Development

My presentation at MWLUG

Tomorrow, August 8, you are welcome to attend my presentation "Elementary!" at MWLUG 2017. In about 45 minutes I will show how to easily incorporate Watson functionality in your own applications, both on the web and in your Notes client applications. I will be using Node-RED and IBM BlueMix to do this, and I think many will be surprised how easy it is, and how little code is needed. For example I will implement translation from English to Spanish with two (2) lines of server side code. To call this from the web you just need another handful of lines. I hope to see you tomorrow at 5pm!

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August 8, 2017
#IBMChampion / Community / IBM/Lotus / MWLUG / Notes/Domino

Will I see you at MWLUG?

It is less than 2 weeks left to MWLUG 2017, an outstanding Conference that I will be attending for the third year. This will also be the third year I will be speaking, and this time it will be a brand new presentation. My session, AD103, will be on Tuesday, August 8 at 5pm. I hear that there are still a couple of openings left. If you have attended a previous MWLUG conference you are entitled to 25% off the registration fee of $100. But even at $100 this is a great deal, with over 50 sessions and much more. So what are you waiting for? Register, and I will see you in two weeks in Alexandria, VA!

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July 26, 2017
#IBMChampion / Community / IBM/Lotus / MWLUG / Programming

A few openings left for MWLUG 2017 

There are a a few openings available for MWLUG in a couple of weeks. The conference is taking place August 8-10 in Alexandria, VA. It is shaping up to be a great experience, with over 50 sessions, two free workshops  as well as social events and two round table discussions with IBM on the future of development. Among the many great presenters you will find 20 IBM Champions, as well as several IBMers. The early bird registration has expired, but if you are a previous attendee, you get $25 off the regular price of $100. If you haven't registered yet, don't miss out on this great conference! I hope to see you at MWLUG. My session Elementary - Incorporating BlueMix, Node-RED and Watson in Domino applications will be Tuesday, August 8 at 5pm.

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July 17, 2017
#IBMChampion / Community / IBM/Lotus / MWLUG

MWLUG 2017 – Be There!

This year's MWLUG conference will take place in Alexandria, VA. During the three day conference more than 50 sessions and two free workshops will be offered. All this for just $75. This year the conference starts a day earlier than usual, on a Tuesday. But everything you are used to from the previous years will be there. Keynotes, sessions, workshops, breakfast and lunch, receptions, networking events, access to experts, and much more. A new even for this year is Linuxfest, known from Lotusphere/IBM Connect. It is again hosted by Bill Malchisky together with a (as of now) secret guest speaker. You can register for MWLUG 2017 here.

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July 6, 2017
#IBMChampion / Community / IBM/Lotus / MWLUG / Notes/Domino

More time for your MWLUG abstract submission

Richard Moy, organizer of MWLUG, has extended the deadline for submission of abstract submission another week, until Friday, June 2. So if you haven't gotten around to submit an abstract yet, you have a few more days to come up with a good subject to present at this years MWLUG conference, taking place on August 8-10 in Washington, DC. Registration is also open. Don't miss out on a great conference!  

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May 28, 2017
#IBMChampion / Community / IBM/Lotus / MWLUG / Notes/Domino / Sametime / Verse

MWLUG Submssion Deadline

You have just over 3 days left to submit a session abstract for MWLUG 2017. The deadline is on Friday, May 26 at 5pm Central time. If you don't want to speak, registration is also open to this excellent conference. This year it takes place August 8-10 at Hilton Mark Center in Alexandria, VA. Expect a packed schedule with great sessions and speakers. This is one of the must-attend conferences in the US for anyone working with the ICS (IBM Collaborative Software) family of products.

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May 24, 2017
#IBMChampion / Community / Connect / IBM/Lotus / Lotusphere

IBM Connect – My thoughts and the future

There has been radio silence on this blog since right before IBM Connect in the end of February. I intended to write a recap of IBM Connect after I got back from the conference, but I have just been very busy. I haven't even had time to post the code from my presentation, but it will be up here shortly. There has already been several good overviews of IBM Connect, but I want to share how I experienced it, and how the first conference away from Orlando was. It was both good and bad. The bad part was just some minor things. Like everyone else I found San Francisco expensive, with a lot of homeless people. The venue also lacked some of the natural meeting spots we had in Orlando, when many of us were staying at the same hotel where the conference took place. The restrooms at the Moscone Center could also use a makeover. But none of these were things IBM really could do much about. What they could have done better would have been to server a warm breakfast and lunch, at least a couple of days. The food in Orlando was great, and at last years conference it was even outstanding, in my opinion. So the breakfasts of cereal and pastries and sandwiches for lunch was a bit of a disappointment. The conference itself was good. I enjoyed most of the sessions I attended, I learned about future enhancements to the Notes and Domino platform and ecosystem and I got to talk to a lot of people. I also met many of my friends in the community, but there however many faces missing. For the last few years more and more of the long-time Lotusphere/Connect attendees have moved away from the ICS platform into other technologies. It is just a natural progression. We all learn new things, try new technologies and broaden our horizons. I have done that myself, for the last several years I have moved more and more into pure web development, using tools like jQuery and Bootstrap to build front-ends to data often (but not always) located on a Domino server. But I have also been looking into other technologies. Lately I have been working with NetSuite, an ERP system recently acquired by Oracle. NetSuite is using Javascript both on the server and for the browser, so the skills I have aquired during my time as a Domino deverloper enabled me to quickly start working with this platform. Another area where I have been spending a lot of time is more traditional web design using Javascript, as well as frameworks and libraries like jQuery and Bootstrap. These tools can be integrated into Domino applications, and after you learn them it is not hard to branch out and use them with a different backend. One of the more exciting things that I brought back from Connect was the fact that Docker is a technology to watch. I attended a workshop that unfortunately had some technical problems,…

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May 6, 2017
#IBMChampion / Connect / IBM/Lotus / Lotusphere

IBM Connect coming up – Save $$$ on the conference fee!

IBM Connect 2017 starts in exactly one month, and the early bird special ends tomorrow. But I can still save you some money. Reach out to me or any other IBM Champion, and we can give you a special promotion code to use during the registration to save you $100 off the conference fee. If you use the code before the early bird rate expires tomorrow evening (Jan 20) you get $300 off! So contact me  (or any other Champion) and we can will give you the code. You can get hold of me on Twitter as @texasswede and of course through email texasswede@gmail.com. If you haven't registered yet, it is time to do that. The block of rooms at the special conference rate will only be available a few more days. Nearby hotels are also filling up it seems, but you can still score some good deals. If you go to Connect, don't miss me co-presenting  The Great Code Givaway 11: It's Back! with my fellow IBM Champion and friend Rob Novak. Our session is currently scheduled for Wednesday February 22 at 2pm in Moscone West, Level 2, Room 2006. I hope to see you in San Francisco in a month!  

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January 20, 2017
#IBMChampion / Connect / IBM/Lotus / Javascript / jQuery / Lotusscript / Notes/Domino / Programming / Web Development

IBM Connect 2017 – I will be speaking in San Francisco

I will be speaking at IBM Connect in San Francisco now in February. Rob Novak has resurrected "The Great Code Giveaway" and asked me to present it together with him. Who would turn down that opportunity? So some time between February 21 and 23 you can see Rob and me on stage at Moscone West. The exact time and location has not been announced yet. I hope to see you in San Francisco and that you will find our presentation and code useful!

1 Comment
January 3, 2017
#IBMChampion / Community / Connections / IBM/Lotus

IBM Champions for 2017 announced

A few hours ago IBM announced the 2017 IBM Champions for ICS during the Dominopoint conference in Italy. This year 123 were picked, including 44 new Champions. An IBM Champion is a non-IBMer who evangelize IBM solutions and share their knowledge at conferences, on blogs, in forums, and in other ways. Congratulations to everyone picked, and a special welcome to the new Champions! I was fortunate enough to be picked for a fourth year. It is a huge honor. Thank you Amanda, Libby and of course IBM. On a related note, Amanda Bauman last week described how she and the IBM team used IBM Connections as a tool to reduce the time needed by the selection committee from 6 weeks to just 3. This is interesting reading, as it shows how Connections can be used for collaboration all over the world and save a lot of time. This time, I pulled all of the unique nominees into an Ideation Blog in a dedicated IBM Champion selection community on Connections Cloud. Each nominee had their own entry in the Ideation blog, complete with all of the nomination data received for that nominee. Including twitter handles, blog links, YouTube, and a listing from various people about their contributions. Over 70 IBMers were invited to review, validate contributions, and post their comments to the Ideation Blog. Where an IBMer was listed as a reference, that IBMer was invited to vote, comment, and support your nomination. Connections is a really powerful tool, and I wish I could have convinced my old workplace to start using it. I pushed for it for years, but it was never adopted, for different reasons.t is a

2 Comments
December 14, 2016
#IBMChampion / Community / Connect / IBM/Lotus / Lotusphere

IBM Connect 2017 – It’s that time of the year!

Registration for IBM Connect 2017 is open. The conference, in the past known and beloved as Lotusphere, has changed some. It takes place a month later than normaland has moved from Orlando where it did take place for the last 20+ years. The new location is the Moscone Center in San Francisco and the dates are February 20-23, 2017. Another change to the format is that the conference start Monday evening instead of Sunday. Otherwise the agenda looks very similar to what we got used to in the past. The list of session has not been published yet, the final selection of speakers will be made later this month. But I don't doubt there will be plenty of great sessions woth attending. I hope to be able to go, this is a great conference not only for learning but also for networking and socializing with other professionals who work with the IBM Collaborative and Watson products. I hope to see you in San Francisco in February!  

0 Comments
December 5, 2016

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