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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

Backstory: I posted an entry about how I would have LOVED to see “Lotus Notes/Domino” support listed (by Apple) with the announcements of new iPhone features. I get questioned (a lot) from end-users (and for that matter, others who read this blog) about when that support is coming. — Ed Brill left a comment to that post which made me realize something VERY important: I made it sound like I was blaming IBM/Lotus. I thought correcting that was more important than burring a “comment” response to the post – thus what you’re about to read…

One of THE MOST IMPRESSIVE things that I learned at Lotusphere 2009 didn’t come from a session or presenter… it came from someone who I kept noticing appeared in multiple sessions. I introduced myself to the person only to find out they were from Apple and attending the event as part of the partnership that IBM/Apple have, and will build upon for the future.

That’s a big deal.

IBM and Apple are very different companies. Suits (or at least biz caz) vs. Jeans. PC (-bias) vs. Mac. B2B vs. B2C. — At the core, you have one company (IBM) that needs to produce roadmaps of their software offerings so enterprises can plan ahead. The other  (Apple) wants to keep as many secrets as possible until the very end as part of their marketing/hype strategy.

And in the middle – you have the overlap issues; like getting the iPhone and Notes to work together. Which I learned, isn’t as much of a technical complication as it is a plain complication. (Ed talked briefly about this concept as well during … whatever the Mac-love-fest BOF event was.)

Leaving Lotusphere, I had an appreciation for how much effort both parties need to put into working together in light of some fundamental differences. I also (to Ed’s comment/point) gained a respect for the fact that its not ONE party’s “problem” for why there isn’t iPhone support … its more complicated.

So… back to my original blog post; what I meant to say was: It would have been GREAT to see “Lotus Notes/Domino” support in the Apple keynote presentation – and as I remind people to wait because “a product is coming” I need to also be careful to point out that its not the fault of one of the two parties … its more complicated than that.

Thanks, Ed, for keeping me honest with that! 

Tags: Apple / Mac, iphone, lotus

For YEARS I’ve wanted something that allows me to see my work calendar, my home calendar, my wife’s calendar, my kid’s calendar and … well… the schedule of the Denver Broncos, on one screen. With the combination of Notes 8.5 and Apple’s Me.com (formerly MobileMe) service, I can.

First, open Apple’s iCal application and right-click on the calendar(s) you want to subscribe to. Select “Publish” and make note (either copy/paste or use the “email” option) of the locations of your published calendar.

When the calendar is published, you’ll se a “broadcast” icon appear letting you know its available. In the “Publish…” dialog box, you may also want to select some of the options available. For example, I leave the defaults and select “Publish changes automatically” and “Publish To Do items” but do not “Publish alarms” (I don’t need to be alerted to when their appointments will occur, I just need to see them on the schedule).

Back in Lotus Notes, open your calendar and select “Show Calendars” from the navigation on the left. Use the “Add a Calendar…” feature to enter the location of your .ics feed. Give the calendar a name (can’t use hyphens for some reason) and select any custom icons or colors to make it stand out. I use the same color scheme as I’ve got set up in Apple’s iCal to keep the instant corellation of “who’s calendar is what color” straight in my head.

The new calendar will appear automatically on your Lotus Notes calendar. To toggle on/off, just use the appropriate check mark.

Pretty easy stuff and extremely handy!

Tags: Apple / Mac, broncos, calendars, ical, mac, me.com, mobileme, notes

Update: I attended a session this afternoon which provided the components of the OGS which I thought were missing. The two together have prompted me to change my opinion here. I now have a better understanding of why the OGS was structured the way it was (although they probably could have lifted 5 minutes of content about the direction of Notes/Domino from the INV102 session). I suggest reading that entry first, and then coming back to this one with the understanding that I’ve eased up a bit on my original thoughts.  -KH 1.19.2008 @ 2:45PM EST

The Lotusphere 2009 Opening General Session just finished and, as much as I honestly hate to say this, I can sum it up with one word: disappointing.

Normally, I have 8-12 pages of notes after this session; I want to redo my schedule selection because I’m so excited about new announcements; and I’m just so completely excited and enthusiastic that I start to “get” why people wear those “I bleed yellow” t-shirts. This year? Not so much.

I think Lotus was really trying to shift the OGS from being a demo session “lite” (which we all actually like) and be something that tells the story about their product portfolio. They also talked very little about the direction of Notes/Domino. Infact, hardly anything was mentioned about the Domino server at all.

Some of the highlights:

• 12,236 new Notes customers since the launch of version 8 (impressive!)
• 2% more attendance at Lotusphere this year vs. last (take THAT recession!)
• “Bluehouse” is now “LotusLive Engage” – gone is the cool logo. Instead, it now has both a very Microsoft name and font logo.
• “Alloy” is the new name for Project Atlantic – a sort of joint venture between Notes and SAP
• LinkedIn appeared throughout various slides
• Sametime looks like its getting some BIG improvements! Zero footprint. Great telephony integration. Slick interface. Looks great – can’t wait to use it! My team and I actually decided we need further evaluate this and potentially revamp some of our Cisco strategy.
• “Stuff’ (connections, LotusLive, etc.) works on the iPhone (’cause it has a browser)
• BlackBerry, BlackBerry, BlackBerry, BlackBerry, BlackBerry. (Lotus wants you to say that four times every time you THINK about the iPhone. It was really quite frustrating – the amount of focus they put on the BB and lack of mention of anything helpful for the iPhone.)
• Quickr for Domino will get ECM integration in the next release
• WebSphere – this section compelled people to leave, yet again. I’m really surprised at how many people get up and leave when this starts.
• Integration – its clear that Lotus/IBM have spent A LOT of time getting all of their apps to work together well. Connections, Quickr, LotusLive Engage, Sametime – all of it works together well and will continue to do so in the future.

One other item that’s worth noting is the use of Twitter. The “#LS09″ flag allowed people to tweet realtime throughout the event. I can’t imagine being a presenter and getting instant feedback like that. When its good feedback, I’m sure it helps the energy build – when its not, its got to make things that much worse.

Overall, the feedback I’ve been hearing from people has been surprisingly split. IBM/Lotus employees and business partners seem to be saying that it was the best OGS in a long time. Nearly all of the other people I’ve talked to who are customers completely disagree. I’m hearing people complain about the lack of new announcements for the Notes Client, Domino and Administrator. I’m hearing positive things about Sametime, but a mixed interest in Connections and disappointment in improvements for Quickr. Even the Mac crowd seems to be subdued … most likely largely due to the fact that they now have a great Notes client (and can shut up about wanting one – myself included, btw) and the disappointment about NOT hearing an announcement about an iPhone PIM application (and the repetition of “BlackBerry” throughout the morning didn’t help.)

So there you have it — I’m anxious to hear what others thought as the week goes on. So far (yesterday and the one I’m in now), the sessions have been outstanding. I’d also offer that I had my hopes up for the OGS since the decision was made to announce 8.5 at MacWorld … I assumed Lotus had more surprises up their sleve for their own conference.

Tags: Apple / Mac, iphone, lotusphere, ls09, mac, notes, ogs, quickr, sametime

I don’t get very error messages on my Mac – which is great! Oddly enough, I’ve observed that when I do get error messages its usually caused by Adobe (there seems to be a new Adobe update or problem each time I open one of their products) and Microsoft. However, I’m still scratching my head on what this one was supposed to mean:

I guess I share something in common with “Microsoft Software Installation,” I don’t understand that either!

Tags: Apple / Mac, error messages, mac, microsoft

From Gizmodo: iPhone surpassed RIM (Blackberry) in sales. RIM sold 6.1 million, iPhone accounted for 6.9 million (for the quarter).

Significance? Ever since I’ve started my – ok, I’ll say it “rant” – about the importance of the iPhone in business and the need for a native Lotus Notes solution that matches what Exchange can do on the iPhone, I’ve recieved many comments and even more emails from people who are quick to point out that Blackberry devices are the “business” standard. The inherit comment there is that more attention should be put into that device instead of the iPhone.

Now, the sales data above does NOT include a breakdown of percentage of purchases for business use versus personal, although both companies have a significant amount of both. I get that. But it does reflect a trend and impact of the device in the market in general.

Just wanted to provide yet another reason why SOMEONE should be working on resolving the iPhone v. Notes problem (and do it on a level that’s comparable with the iPhone’s capabilities with Exchange and/or matches what Blackberry devices do today).

I’m just sayin’…

Tags: Apple / Mac, iphone, notes, rim

Sir Paul Mooney proposed that perhaps it was time to rethink the Lotus Notes user interface. He provided suggestions and others have as well. I wanted to weigh in on the idea…

I actually think the chicklets are great. Infact, I’m not the only one who thinks its a good idea. There’s one other company that has a device which has been applauded as a phenomenal device that features a similar interface. This one has a square icon representing a unique application (just like Notes), the ability to move to different groups (or tabs, like in Notes) where more application icons can be stored and the ability to move the application icons themselves from one screen/tab to another (just like Notes). Perhaps you haven’t seen the device I’m talking about:

Now… if Notes wants to make their icons look more cool like the iPhone, I’m all for it. But I think its somewhat appropriate that Lotus Notes (which was originally partially based on UI concepts from Apple) has kept this interface despite attempts to make it more contemporary in R5, 6, 7 and now 8 … and Apple chose it for one of their products.

And in my book, when Apple has an interface idea – its probably a great one!

Tags: Apple / Mac, interface, iphone, lotus, notes, ui

I’m standing in one of my most favorite, and yet least favorite, spots: the Apple store.

I love being in this place except when it’s like it is today: in front of the Genius Bar waiting to find out why my Mac refuses to work.

While waiting, I’m struck with a few thoughts:

• Nearly any area of the store can be instantly turned into a training center. At the moment, there are 6 classes going on where people are learning everything from video editing with their own camcorder to Mac basics. The guy behind me appears to be learning how to bookmark his favorite business websites. Man, there’s money to be made in training isn’t there?
• The new Mac laptops are nice. They all finally look like a unified family. I’m not crazy about the glossy screen on the 15″ but the design and trackpad are amazing. How Apple continues to innovate “the mouse” stuns me. If you haven’t used it first hand, stop in a store sometime.
• I don’t know what I would do without my iPhone. Waiting here I’ve caught up on email, scheduled a meeting, checked yesterday’s performance metrics, caught up on my RSS feeds, played a game and now blogged. All from the same device. I’ve almost forgotten that I’ve been waiting for a half hour. Almost.

Tags: Apple / Mac, iphone, lotus, mac