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Everyone else seems to be posting things that reflect on the last year – so I decided to do the same. Below are the top 10 moments/posts/thoughts that I feel are more noteworthy from this blog. Enjoy.

10. Lotus announces Sametime 8.5 before the end of 2009 (despite me being SURE they’d wait to Lotusphere)

9. Disk savings from DAOS was easy to implement and quite beneficial on disk space usage!

8. Began using Google Voice a utility that’s not all “there” yet but potentially a game-changer for managing phone calls & voicemails.

7. Notes turns 20

6. Realized the using an iPhone is more like integrating something into your life than getting a new phone.

5. Realized that people don’t “search” any more, they “Google.”

4. My alter-ego starred in a video all about “conferences at Disney World” which featured Lotusphere 2009.

3. After much debate (and frustration caused largely by SnowLeopard) I abandoned a Mac in favor of a PC.

2. Notes (Traveler) support for the iPhone was released (and it rocks!)

1. I got fed up with hearing things like “notes is a tarnished brand” and one simple thing to try to make my voice heard for a moment by being featured on theInfoBoom.com along with a companion piece on my blog.

Tags: 2009, daos, google, iphone, lotusphere, mac, pc, sametime, traveler

A few weeks ago I posted an entry asking (begging?) GM to consider an iPhone app that would allow me to start my car from my iPhone. I don’t want it because its cool (well, that’s part of it) but because their basic and advanced remotes have horrible range … and I live in MN, where its cold and the last thing I want to walk within 25 feet of my car, start it, then go back inside to wait for it to warm.

Moving on … this week I noticed a post about an iPhone app Mercedes is working on as a additional remote for their cars. That’s perfect considering my other car is a C-class. Here’s the down-side of this app: no remote start. It simple mimics the functionality you have on your existing key fob. Let’s take a look at the steps needed to start your car for a moment (as I illustrate my point to this entry):

With current key/fob:

1. Remove remote from pocket
2. Press button – car opens

With proposed iPhone app:

1. Remove iPhone from pocket
2. Press button to activate iPhone
3. Slide finger to unlock iPhone
4. Swipe to screen containing your MB remote application
5. Press icon to start app
6. Wait a moment
7. Press button to open car – car opens (I’m just going to assume that it does it as quickly as well – which I somehow don’t think will be true.)

So there you go, GM. Simply hurry up and build the app I talked about and you’ll have a GREAT new feature Mercedes doesn’t even have! Again, I’m available for beta testing. 

Tags: cars, iphone, remotes

I have to admit… once Turkey Day passes I mentally tell myself “Ok, that’s it… Lotus isn’t going to release any new software until Lotusphere.” I mean: why would they?

And yet this year, they did.

Lotus Sametime 8.5 is schedule to be released next week and it promises to be a BIG upgrade. At the top of my list of favorite new features is the zero-footprint install. That’s been the biggest pain in getting people to use Sametime in our organization (they just don’t “get” why they ask for Sametime and get Java errors).

Of course #2 on the list is the pictured iPhone client. I’m anxious to see how that works! I did a usability lab on it last year at Lotusphere and can already tell they addressed some of the issues I had with it. Well done, Lotus!

A bunch of great links are out about the new version, here’s my roundup:

• What’s new in Sametime 8.5
• Sametime 8.5 Features/Benefits (PDF)
• Lotusphere 2010 Sametime Sessions
• Sametime 8.5. How-To Video

One additional note: the YouTube video above is GREAT. Not only is it a great way to show how the product works but its something I can pass out to other users when we launch it. This is precisely the kind of thing that’s extremely helpful to have (from IBM/Lotus) for our team!

Tags: iphone, lotus, sametime, training, video

A few weeks ago, I posted an entry about a conference call of IBM customers (some Notes customers, some not) where one customer on the call said that they felt “Lotus Notes was a tarnished brand.” Many of you ran to the ‘comments’ button to leave your thoughts on that comment – thank you!

Hearing that comment couldn’t have come at a better time. I was struggling to come up with a topic for an article I was writing for theinfoboom.com and this prompted me to have a clear topic to talk about. In the required “300 words or less” I focused on some of the best real-world examples for how & why our company continues to use Lotus Notes in an attempt to help demonstrate that it is FAR from a tarnished brand; rather a thriving product!

Please take a moment to check out this article and leave a comment. In addition, I’ll be hosting a hour on-line chat session Thursday December 10th at 8am central – please join in on that as well if you can!

Your participation will not only help foster some good discussion, but also help me make a point about the power of getting these types of messages out in the IT community at large, specifically to companies who have dismissed Notes based on some very old misconceptions.

Tags: awesomeness, notes

WELCOME to those of you following the link from infoBOOM!

Lotus technologies are the “secret sauce” to the IT dishes our company serves up. And NO, Lotus Notes isn’t just email, there’s so much more! Here are some real-world examples of how and why it is such a powerful component of how we deliver outstanding IT systems…

Mobility & Flexibility
The entire Lotus Notes client can run off a USB memory stick! Simply plug in the USB stick into any computer and an icon appears on the desktop allowing the user to access the full Lotus Notes client experience without installing any software to that computer! Our users can now access Lotus Notes at home or from another computer if they ever have a hardware failure on their primary machine. For users who simply need email access, each email file includes an “iNotes” version which can be accessed via the web. The web interface is nearly identical to their Notes client, so there’s no learning curve!

Operating system agnostic
We have a mix of Windows XP, Vista, 7, Linux and even Mac users in our organization. ALL of these users are able to have the exact same email and application experience by using the Lotus Notes client. The only differences between these operating systems are found in core components (title bars, scroll bars, etc.).

iPhone
Apple’s wonder-phone is closing in quickly on RIM’s BlackBerry devices. With Lotus’ Traveler utility running on your Lotus Domino server your users can use a variety of mobile devices (Windows Mobile, Symbian and many more) including the iPhone! Traveler integrates directly into the iPhone’s mail, calendar and contacts applications and the result is a fast, easy and secure way to access your information … when you’re not playing games, of course.

Getting business done!
Have an ERP or legacy system you need to connect Notes to? No problem. The Lotus Enterprise Integrator (LEI)  is a low-cost solution that is easy to use. Simply point it to your data, establish the type of data link and BOOM your systems are integrated giving Notes a powerful connection to your other key business systems.

Application Development – Easy and Free
Development in Lotus Notes is easy and free with the recent announcement of no additional cost for the Lotus Designer client. Just about anyone can easily design a Notes application in a short period of time – its that easy. However, don’t think that means its “limited” – its not. With support for JavaScript, Java, Lotuscript, XML and much more, Lotus Notes is as powerful as you need it to be!

Cost Cutting
There are many different types of Lotus licensing available making it a cost-effective product for just about anyone. Small/Medium organizations might want to look into Lotus Foundations an all-in-one server solution that is an integrated email, VPN, firewall and file/print solution that’s self-healing, easy to setup and even backed-up all within the one device. Think of it as an “IT department in a box!”

Powerful Web Tools
Notes has progressively become a better web-friendly system. The addition of Xpages allows developers to build powerful, web 2.0 applications within the Notes Designer. There’s even built-in Ajax functionality alongside tools that support CSS, XML, etc. (etc. is not a web standard – didn’t want you to think you had something new to learn).

What’s more, the developer community for Notes is building their own cool applications – many of which you can download for free. The ext.nd project is based on ExtJS and gives you an easy jump-start to web enabling databases with a very contemporary, intuitive user interface that instantly gives users lots of dynamic functionality on the web. There’s also plenty of applications to download from OpenNTF.org, a community of web developers who produce fantastic Notes apps (many web-enabled) for free download.

Project Management & Collaboration
Lotus Quickr offers a web based project management & collaboration system. The result is an easy-to-use, highly configurable utility for managing project teams. Quickr “places” (project sites in Quickr) allow users to control access/security, store files in a library, create/manage gantt charts, calendars and even write their own custom forms.

Quickr also includes “Connectors” – software integration that works with Windows Explorer, Microsoft Office, Lotus Notes and many more. Connectors allow you to check in/out documents from a Quickr place without having to leave the software you’ll use to view/edit the document.

Like much of the Lotus software there’s a strong community around Quickr – and that community is so passionate about the power of the software that they provide free stuff! Quickrtemplates.com offers a number of free Quickr place types (customized Quickr site types for specific uses, like wiki’s, contact management and corporate communications) that will let you quickly download, install and launch great Quickr functionality in your organization.

Lotus software offers so much more than I’m able to type out – or you’re willing to read. The bottom line is this: people who hear “Lotus” and think “Lotus Notes – that old email system” are missing out. Lotus software offers some amazing software and has a community around it that makes the software even more powerful. With systems like Notes, Quickr, etc. you’ll be able to easily, quickly, and cost-effectively make a dramatic change in your IT application landscape. Before you know it, you’ll suddenly realize why its the secret sauce behind powerful applications.

As Ed Brill points out, today Lotus Notes turns 20! I didn’t start using Notes until it was on version 3.something but I feel like I’ve been in on the sort of “ground floor” of Notes for some time now. I’ve used it at several different companies including an IBM business partner consulting firm.

The things I’ve been able to do with Notes over the course of my professional career have been quite amazing. The best part is that MANY (read: nearly all) of the applications I personally developed (back when I wasn’t “management” and actually knew how to develop well) are still in use today. That’s impressive when you consider they were developed in 4.5, 4.6, R5, etc. and running (in most cases) under Notes 8.5.1 today!

I firmly believe that Lotus Notes has been the secret sauce to many of the successes I’ve been a part of in a wide range of IT projects. I also get just as frustrated today as I did “back in the day” when people who don’t use Notes ask if its still around.

So this week’s birthday makes an article that I wrote for theinfoBOOM.com (posting Dec. 8, 2009) perfect timing to help explain why Lotus Notes is still stronger than ever as it turns into its 20’s.

Tags: happy_birthday, notes

Dear GM,

I recently purchased a new Buick Enclave from you and LOVE it! I’ve owned many (MANY!) cars and this one easily makes it into my “top 3″ favorite cars of all time. You really did an outstanding job on the vehicle. Oh, and you’ll be happy to note that this vehicle replaced a Lexus RX, which we opted to not re-purchase in lieu of getting the Enclave. So your ad campaign targeting the Buick brand against Lexus is working (and in my estimation, accurate).

I have only two complaints about the vehicle:
1. The side-view mirrors are far too small for a vehicle that big
2. The range of the auto-start (even the “enhanced” one with the key fab larger than a Motorola Razr cell phone) sucks. A lot.

I’m not sure if you know this or not, but Viper has built a great iPhone app that allows people to start up their cars (among other things) by using their iPhone. Its a great app and I’m quite confident its translating into some nice sales.

That got me to thinking… why don’t YOU do it? You already have the infrastructure in place in the form of the OnStar system which can remotely do all sorts of stuff to a GM vehicle. Why not build an iPhone app that allows us, the owners of those cars, to remotely start/stop the vehicles? You could charge for the app (I suggest “free” but if you’d like to make some money, I’d pay as much as $29.99 for the app) and require an OnStar service contract to be in place (of which, I’m on the fence about anyway – this would throw me over that fence).

Beyond being a forward thinking product, this would also solve the problem of how poorly the range is on your key fabs, including the advanced one which I have purchased for the $200+ price and yet seen only a 3 foot range improvement (exaggeration – but not by a whole lot).

If you’re looking for someone to help test it, I humbly offer my services.

Sincerely,

Me.

Tags: buick, cars, gm, great ideas, iphone

Earlier tonight I finally got around to completing a survey from IBM on user interface. I found it funny that I marked this as a favorite on my iPhone’s Twitter app (EchoFon) a couple of weeks ago because it was easy to mark it as a favorite, but forgot about going back to Twitter to DO the survey because “favorites” aren’t called out clearly on Twitter – thus proving that yes, user interface does have a significant impact on use of an application.

I then went into my home email account to find two emails from people who tried to comment on my last post and had problems doing so – both later said the blog design didn’t clearly show where/how to comment (again proving, interface is important — and prompting the design change you see now).

So yes, interface matters.

I was on a conference call today with other IT executives when I heard one say (summarizing) “… the name ‘Lotus’ needs to go – its a tarnished brand that conjures up images of ‘1-2-3′ and ‘Lotus Notes’…” he went on to suggest that Lotus software isn’t relevant or even worth talking about in IT departments.

OUCH!!!

First – I don’t agree with him at all! Second – it still bugs me that I didn’t speak up to defend Lotus, however it wasn’t the purpose of the call and would have gotten us way off track; so out of respect for the meeting chairperson, I shut my mouth.

But it got me thinking about how many other IT professionals are out there who think the same thing. And that inspired me with the topic I had been searching for on an upcoming piece I’m doing for infoBOOM! all about why this comment is not at all true! Stay tuned (until about Dec. 8th).

Tags: infoboom, lotus, ouch

It is with a most humble attitude that I need to make this announcement: I just ordered a new laptop – and its not a Mac.

(Dominokeys.com would like to take this moment to remind you that for all medical emergencies we recommend using 911 or your cities local emergency services phone number.)

Yes. I’ve been a Mac fan for years. I’ve harped on the lack of Lotus support for the Mac. I’ve praised Lotus for a solid Mac Notes client. And now, I’ve gone back to a PC.

Simply put: there are too many business applications I need to run that require me to “live” in Parallels (virtualized Windows environment). If that’s where I’m spending my time, then why not just RUN Windows?! Our VPN, Cisco IP soft-phone, Quickr Connectors, System i emulation – and a list of other tools all require Windows. Yes, I could go around and hunt down Mac counterparts to those tools but it almost always results in more work for my Admins or the purchase of another software package (the System i emulator alone was over $100!).

At the end of the day – I need to get BUSINESS done. I’m not abandoning Mac altogether – I still have an iMac and MacBook at home. And I may even keep my MacBookPro around for presentations, videos and such. But as the primary machine, I’m kind of looking forward to the simplicity of Windows.

How smart of a decision will that be? I’m sure you’ll read about it here over the next few months.

Tags: Apple / Mac, bizness, lotus, mac, pc, windows