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Ten months ago I ordered a Dell laptop to replace my MacBook Pro at the office. I’ll be honest, at the time I thought I would be so convinced that OSX was a better O/S that 6 months into the decision, I’d want my Mac back.

That’s not the case at all.

Sure, I still run Mac’s at home and I’m not interested in changing that, but as a word device, my 64-bit Windows 7 environment makes everything much easier. Network drives? No problem. Cisco/Sametime integration – check. Quickr connectors? Eh, don’t go there.

So while I once called this move going to “the dark side” I have to admit I’ve only benefited from the change. In fact besides the overwhelming sense of being cool, the only thing I miss from the Mac environment is quick look and expose/spaces.

It was interesting to think about all this on the drive in this morning and then see an article about the Top 10 Reasons Apple is the future of IT. I get the point and I’m open to the idea in our environment but my own personal experiences as a HUGE Mac fan suggest that in our environment (which has lots of IBM, Cisco and Lotus Notes based utilities), its not something that makes as much sense as Win7, XP or even Vista.

Tags: ibm, lotus, mac, windows7

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

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

Living with an iPhone in a Lotus Notes world got significantly easier for me today.

I spotted a Twitter post from Dr. Brill* saying he was reading about this iPhone app. No more than 10 minutes later, it earned a coveted spot on the first menu screen on my iPhone. In short, the app allows you to search your company’s name and address book (domino directory) and retrieve listings for people in your company. Its easy to set up and there’s a “lite” version which allows you to try the app, confirm you can connect (via HTTP or HTTPS) and retrieve someone’s email address — which, by the way, is EXACTLY how the “lite” version of that app should work in order to earn a sale. Well done!

The app even warns you about storing your user name and password on the iPhone (not a requirement, but most people will likely do this out of convenience).

Its a great app! My only suggestion for improvement would be to either allow for names to be retrieved from the address book (like a mass download on launch, with a periodic update every x-days/hours) and/or the ability to store records I’ve searched for already. — Even without that, its a handy app!

* Ed Brill may or may not be an actual doctor. I have no clue.

Tags: apps, iphone, lotus, nab

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

I posted something about having problems with Quickr Personal Places not showing up after the 8.2 upgrade. The team at my office was able to dig up a fix, which I’ve left as a comment on the original post.

Tags: lotus, notes, quickr

We just updated to the latest version of Quickr and WOW is it an improvement. It is noticably faster and its clear that a lot of it has been cleaned up. There’s also a bit more Ajax goodness floating throughout it. Longstoryshort: a strong upgrade for the product.

I’d still LOVE to have the ability to have folders in my personal Quickr place and Mac support. Oh, Mac support… that would be GRAND!

Which brings me to this question: anyone else having problems adding their personal place via Quickr connectors? It looks like you can only add team places, not personal places (which were previously an option to add).

Anyone else found this? Just me? Work arounds?

Meanwhile… this is promising: Pandabear @ Snapps. Its beta so there’s still plenty that I’m sure they’re working on. I’d like to see something different for uploading files (dragging files onto a Panda is fun, but not as business-like as I need it to be) and more functionality added throughout. But its a great concept… especially for those of us who work in a world of multiple OS’s.

Tags: adobe air, lotus, panda, quickr

The presentation below is a great overview of the Quickr product. It covers the need, concept, key features and much more. I especially like how it speaks to the need for a utility like this in organizations that have employees spread across a wide range of experience, age range, etc.

It’s so good that I found myself wishing I would have started to talk about the concept at my company now (since this presentation is available) vs. over a year ago when I actually did begin talking about it.

Tags: lotus, presentations, quickr

Finally!

As recent as last night, I found myself talking with a group of people from Lotusphere about when true iPhone support would come for Notes/Domino users. It is safe to say that by Tuesday, most everyone interested in the topic had heard Ed Brill say something about future support for ActiveSync (and my favorite quote from him was something like ‘… we said we’d support ActiveSync in a future Traveler release… I guess you could use that to connect an iPhone’).

I’m thrilled about this news – even if there is no ETA. Now, I’ve been… eh… let’s say “challenged” … by people at IBM in the past about my strong stance on the need for iPhone support beyond uber-lite. Various persons from IBM that I’ve talked to have often reminded me about the dominance of BlackBerry in the enterprise and the long list of other perfectly good (notice I didn’t say “great”) mobile phones. Those are good points. However, Lotus is doing something incredibly smart with this announcement… something I didn’t expect, think of, or request… they’re adding ActiveSync support to Travler.

My organization uses GOOD for mobile PIM connectivity. We’ve tried lots of other solutions and that’s the one that fit the best. We also have an interest in Traveler, but, while its a very strong product, we stay committed to GOOD because we can’t justify the transition on any feature improvements (infact, we’re still trying to figure out the final answer on wether or not Traveler supports global address books). But this announcement changes that perspective completely.

Beyond the sheer power the iPhone offers through its ease of use and outstanding applications, its use of a full featured (sans flash) web browser means that I can get to nearly any website I need. Including web-faced Domino apps, Quickr, etc. Sure, some optimization would be nice — but doing that development work for ONE platform (iPhone) is much easier. And doing it with a head start (the rendering ability of a full Safari web browser) means it doesn’t take the entire IT staff to deliver mobile applications.

Couple this huge benefit of using the iPhone vs. other devices with the now upcoming Notes support – and the value proposition of using Traveler vs. anything else suddenly is a no-brainer. AND I can transition existing users/devices to Traveler first if needed, then to an iPhone (to help manage cash flow for buying new devices).

Score one for Lotus! This is an exciting announcement and a brilliant plan. Well done!

Tags: domino, iphone, lotus, notes, qucikr, safari