Mar 19

Widget dashboards

Lotus, Notes    Posted by Darren No comments »

Last month on dadams.co.uk we discussed IBM Lotus Notes 8.0.1’s widget and live text capabilities. Yesterday I sat down with my frolleague Chris Freestone to discuss what we are going to cover in our Lotusphere Comes To You session ‘Why mash-ups matter’. We’re going to talk about Notes 8.0.1 widgets, composite applications, and the forthcoming IBM Lotus Mashups product, so we reviewed what we had in terms of widgets and spent a while experimenting. Chris knows a thing or two about application development (see here) so he showed me some widget and live text options I hadn’t looked at yet.

One thing I hadn’t really explored was dashboards. A dashboard comes about from taking the results from a number of widget-based actions and displaying them in one Notes screen. We ran out of time, but Chris inspired me to come up with something…

postcodelivetext.gifOne widget we already had was ‘live postcodes to Google Maps’. This was constructed in two parts… a recogniser for UK postcodes and a wired action. The postcode in a Notes e-mail or appointment (or any document) becomes live, and clicking on the postcode plots the location on a Google Map. Very cool, and fairly easy. I started thinking about other web sites which used postcodes in a query fashion, but I wanted something we could show to business users. Finding the nearest branch of Argos could be useful, but not in this situation. So I decided on finding the nearest NCP car park and looking at the local weather. These were configured as actions and associated with the postcode recogniser.

I kept the Google Map action as the default, but right-clicking on the live postcode brings up the option to place the three items into a dashboard (see the slides embedded here, but view it on the SlideShare web site for a closer look).

SlideShare | View | Upload your own

This afternoon I went to visit John and Robert at IBM Premier Partner LAN 2 LAN for Lotusphere Comes To You planning (they’re co-presenting the session on ‘Putting collaboration into context’). I told John about the Notes 8.0.1 widgets, and within seconds we’d dragged and dropped a set of widgets off my USB stick onto his Notes widget panel. I’m sure John won’t find me telling you he was overawed at the simplicity of adding the widgets and the way they immediately worked… he found an e-mail with a postcode and tried out the dashboard. Then he tried the Google Translate widget (select the text in an e-mail, select the languages, and the translation is carried out before your eyes) - useful because Robert is Swedish (although is English is perfect). After a few “oh wows” John gathered up his laptop and bounded off to show other colleagues in the office with an excited look on his face. Another widget convert, and rightly so.

Mar 03

Lotus Notes 8 top ten

Lotus, Notes    Posted by Darren 6 comments »

notes8logo3.jpgIn the run-up to the release of IBM Lotus Notes 8 I put together a presentation about the client’s top ten features (going up to eleven, Spinal Tap-style). I even included a picture of Nigel Tufnel. Some members of the audience got it, some… had never seen the movie.

So, something I’ve been meaning to do for a while is put together a page on that top ten (eleven). The list has changed a bit since some new features have come in with 8.0.1 (most notably widgets and live text). You can access the page here.

If anyone disagrees with my list, or has an idea for something else to be included, let me know with a comment.

Feb 22

Wonderful widgets

Lotus, Notes    Posted by Darren 10 comments »

Despite the small version number increment, there’s a heap of new stuff in Notes / Domino version 8.0.1 (made available this week). There’s some new compression technology which can see your mail box and other valuable Notes application shrink in size by around 35%. There’s some new stuff in the calendar form, like a dedicated place for conference call information rather than putting it in the subject field… get the picture? You know who you are. Sametime 8 is integrated throughout the client, the Symphony editors are mail-enabled, and there’s the Quickr side-shelf (once Quickr 8.1 is made available later this quarter). On the Domino server there’s free in-the-box mobile e-mail in the form of Traveler.

Notes WidgetsHowever, the big new feature is ‘My Widgets’ - but I should say “features” as My Widgets is a set of capabilities. Here’s what you can do:

  • Add a Notes view, web page, RSS feed or Google Gadget to the Notes sidebar - the cool thing about this is that the sidebar is no longer necessarily the domain of the developer, it’s in the hands of the end user.
  • See recognised ‘live text’ which has associated actions - and create your own recognisers to recognise items which are important to you. More on this later.
  • Associate your own actions with selected text - see below.

widgets2.gifMy frolleague and long-time Lotus stalwart Alan Lepofsky posted (internally to IBM) some examples of widgetising your Notes client, and I only had to look at one before getting the idea. The first thing I did was followed Alan’s example of performing a Wikipedia search on highlighted text from an e-mail. Easy. And following the same process I then created another action for finding a person in IBM’s corporate directory BluePages. And then a highlighted word in dictionary.com - this was all too easy. How about a bit more of a challenge?

So, wouldn’t it be cool if you saw a postcode in an e-mail or calendar appointment, and that postcode was ‘live’ so that clicking on it plotted the location on a Google map? Answer: yes.

Okay, the first thing Notes had to do was recognise the text. UK postcodes (usually) have a format like TW18 3AG. A bit of hunting in Dogear (part of Lotus Connections) produced some info on recogniser formats, and thus a UK postcode requires the following format:

[A-Z]{2}[0-9]{2}[ ]{1}[0-9]{1}[A-Z]{2}

Once this recogniser has been created, Notes will put a green dotted line (default option) under postcodes and any other text it recognises. But now you need an action to go with the recognised postcode. The key to doing this is to grab the format of the URL that Google Maps (UK) will use - so for Lotus Park in Staines it will be:

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=TW18+3AG

widgets3.gifYou then create the widget via the ‘Getting started with widget’s toolbar button and select ‘Web Page’ from the list. Hit ‘Next’ and then select ‘Web page by URL’ and paste in that URL. Hit ‘Next’ again and then select ‘This Web Page’. Hit ‘Next’ again, the web page will display, but carry onto the next stage. Edit the component name, and then you see that one of the input field contains TW18 3AG. Turn on this field with the check box, but remove the postcode from the right-hand side to leave the field blank. At the bottom select ‘ Wire as an action’ and hit ‘Next’. In the next stage you utilise your recogniser by selecting ‘Recognised content’ and then ‘Postcode’ from the drop-down list (you can create a new recogniser at this point). Select where you want to see the results - sidebar panel, new window, floating window or new tab, that’s up to you. Hit ‘Next’ and you’re finished.

Now you can go find a postcode somewhere and try it out. The picture above shows a right-click, but you can set the action going with a single left-click.

Addendum: some UK postcodes have only digit in the first set (e.g. SE1 9PZ), so the recogniser expression needs an ‘or’ operator (|) followed by the other possible expression, as follows:

[A-Z]{2}[0-9]{2}[ ]{1}[0-9]{1}[A-Z]{2}|[A-Z]{2}[0-9]{1}[ ]{1}[0-9]{1}[A-Z]{2}

Feb 03

It’s better to upgrade

Domino, Lotus, Notes    Posted by Darren 4 comments »

I rather like the idea of SlideShare.net - being able to upload an Open Document Format presentation (or PowerPoint, if you must) and sharing it with the world in a slideshow format. However, until tonight I hadn’t got round to uploading anything. Last year I was going to share my ‘Notes 8 Top Ten’ presentation (in Spinal Tap-style, it has eleven features listed) but it never hit the top of the to-do list… it may do soon. Numerous Lotus Notes alumni (Ed Brill included, of course) have shared their content so there’s no shortage of slides.

As we’re having some success against Microsoft Exchange at the moment, I thought I’d post some of the slides I’m using. The basic premise is that Lotus Notes / Domino have been subject to a consistent upgrade-able architecture (with continuous improvements) throughout their history, whereas with Microsoft Exchange… well, it’s not my place to tell you about the Exchange roadmap, so go and ask Microsoft.

Jan 17

Caught on camera again

Lotus, Notes    Posted by Darren 3 comments »

In a post in November last year I mentioned that in addition to the the ZDNet videos I had recorded a video interview for vnunet.com. I was sent a first edit shortly after, but I only recently remembered to chase up on where it was on the vnunet.com site… so you can now view it here.

Darren talks Notes 8This was a much easier format to work with than the ZDNet whiteboards. Compared the utter nightmare I bestowed upon the very patient ZDNet producer (the guy really was a gem), Andrew Charlesworth and I did this in just one take (although we recorded a second to help the editing process). One thing I do realise now is that I couldn’t have a career in broadcasting (always fancied being a chat show host) until I get rid of the errrs and errrms.

Dec 17

Microsoft Outlook message threads

Lotus, Microsoft, Notes    Posted by Darren No comments »

One thing I try to avoid is the fairly pointless feature war between Lotus Notes and Microsoft Outlook… not because I think Notes will lose (far from it) but because it detracts from the true business value of the Notes client (collaboration, security, off-line usage, etc).

However (do you know where this is going?)… one thing sure to spark off at least fifty comments on Ed Brill’s blog is any entry that pitches Notes against Outlook. Whether it’s feature comparisons, usability, look ‘n’ feel or the fact that “everyone likes Outlook and uses it at home” the debate becomes heated.

So, with that in mind, I was interested when Ports informed me of an entry in the Microsoft Outlook Team blog. The article describes how an Outlook 2003 user could configure Outlook so that all messages, even those that were sent by the owner of the inbox, could be seen in threads in the inbox. Now, you’ll note it specifically says “Outlook 2003″ so I’d be interested to know if the same procedure is necessary in Outlook 2007 (answers here please).

The solution to this dilemma is to take all of the messages you sent and throw them back into the inbox folder. They call this the “Ultimate Inbox”. Personally I think this sounds like the ultimate nightmare. Your inbox is for incoming e-mails. Good e-mail management says that you should deal with e-mails, place them in folders, mark them for follow-up, archive them, or delete them. A clean inbox says you’re in control and can focus on your real job. An inbox with hundreds of e-mail means it’s out of control. Why the hell would you want to add more e-mails to your inbox?

Message threadOkay, perhaps I’m spoilt with Notes 8. The message threads in Notes 8 will draw the e-mails together regardless of where they are, whether they’re ones I’ve sent or ones I’ve received and placed in a folder. And it doesn’t matter where you look at the thread - you could start in a sub-folder or the ‘all documents’ view.

Finally, consider the fact that many people say Outlook is easier to use. Then take note of part of the instructions from the Outlook Team’s article:

“This rule makes copies of outgoing messages so you’ll end up with two copies, one in your Inbox and another in your Sent-Items folder. If you have a small mailbox quota you should prevent Outlook from keeping a copy of outgoing messages in the Sent-Items folder, clear Save copies of messages in Sent Items folder in the dialog below (screenshot omitted). Now you have the Ultimate Inbox!”.

The Ultimate Inbox which is potentially storing two copies of every e-mail. Personally I think Notes 8 offers the ultimate inbox. And we haven’t even started on the subject of searching yet.

Nov 27

Extending Notes 8

Lotus, Notes, Sametime    Posted by Darren 7 comments »

Brand Connect plug-inBoth Alan Lepofsky and Ed Brill have posted articles about extending Notes 8 through plug-ins and composite applications… but I thought I’d share this one with you, a great example of something being rolled out within IBM. Chris Freestone of the Lotus Technical Sales team here in the UK has developed a plug-in which provides members of the Financial Services business unit with a quick reference guide to who in Technical Sales (across the five IBM software brands) has expertise in which products.

The data source at the back-end is a good ol’ Domino database, but it could be anything (just a matter of Chris telling the Eclipse plug-in what to read). And you can see from the screenshot here that the names are made live by the wonders of Sametime… double-clicking starts a conversation with the person you’re looking for (even if they’re on a mobile device).

This is version 1.0, and I know that Chris already has some enhancements planned for the next upgrade (actually this should be version 1.0.1 because he did a small tweak to make it automatically collapsed when opened).

So, it’s a great example of quickly and easily extending Notes’ functionality, addresses a business requirement (quickly finding and connecting with people), and also demonstrates integration with other plugged-in solutions (i.e. Sametime). Nice one Chris. Try doing this with Outlook.

Nov 13

Videos-a-plenty

Connections, Lotus, Notes, Symphony    Posted by Darren 1 comment »

First bit of news… I’ve recorded yet another video, this time for VNU. It was an interview-style video, mainly about the Lotus brand and Notes 8, but also touching on other parts of the portfolio. I did it in one take, but we did another so they could get some flexibility in the final edit. A bit quicker than my ZDNet performance.

Brendan on ZDNetSecondly, my frolleague Brendan Tutt is this week’s star of ZDNet talking about social software… specifically, although not mentioned as per the rules, Lotus Connections. Brendan is a modest man, but I think you’ll agree he does a great job, a very polished delivery, on this subject. Click on the piccie to access this masterpiece.

Finally… oh I love this. The power of viral marketing. It’s a bit of a poke at the Redmond giants and an advert for Lotus Symphony all in one. Check out “Tired of Feeding the Machine?” on YouTube. You might be interested to know that there have been over a quarter of a million downloads of Symphony since it was first announced, and those downloads are continuing at a steady rate.

And while I’m at it I might as well mention that I’m now running Notes 8.0.1 (beta 1). A few new things (like e-mailing a Symphony document directly from the toolbar, and the mail quota indicator), it has Sametime 8 built-in (nice) and all-in-all it seems a bit more zippy and responsive than 8.0 (and this is on a old laptop which I’m using while my T60 is being repaired).

Sep 08

A trip to South Africa

Connections, Lotus, Notes, Quickr, Travel    Posted by Darren No comments »

What a week… I arrived at Cape Town on Tuesday morning, in the nick of time to present at the launch event for our three new offerings (Notes 8, Connections and Quickr). That evening I flew to Johannesburg with my colleagues (Ross, Uffe and local-boy Hannes) ready for the next event and a meeting with the press on Wednesday. The Joburg event (in the swanky Melrose Arch development) was crammed to capacity with an audience of around 140 attendees. This was followed by dinner at the Butcher Shop in Nelson Mandela Square (I had ostrich - but not a whole one, and not even a leg). An early flight to Durban started the Thursday agenda, and Friday consisted of some customer visits before a late lunch at the Indigo Moon restaurant in Pretoria.

Reaction to the new products was amazing. I’ve already heard that one company in South Africa has already upgraded to Notes / Domino 8, and an attending CEO has taken the decision to move in Notes / Domino 8 in place of Outlook / Exchange in his company. That speaks volumes. And again, just like some recent events in the UK, I had numerous conversations with people very serious about replacing Microsoft Office with the free integrated productivity editors.

I came to one important conclusion while travelling in and out of South Africa… they really need to sort the airports out before the 2010 World Cup. Okay, they have improved the departure gates at Johannesburg, but the check-in area is still absolute bedlam. They seem to think the best way to reduce unemployment is to give everyone a job at the airport (but not assign them any duties… just let them stand around doing nothing).

Cape Town airport isn’t much better - I arrived at 08:20 in the morning and it was the only flight coming in. I got off the plane and got to the luggage carousel within 15 minutes (great)… but it was a further 40 minutes before my case arrived. Acceptable for a large airport with a lot of flights arriving, but not a small airport handling just one flight.

I travelled out in Premium Economy (or ‘World Traveller Plus’ as British Airways call it). Officially I was eligible for Business Class (over 10 hours, overnight, work on arrival) but I find gaining approval too long-winded and tiresome. So I opted for the easy approval option of World Traveller Plus - this worked well as I had the first row with plenty of leg room. However the return journey promised to be a nightmare, in cattle-class shoved in a tiny seat with no leg room or elbow room for 11 hours. Things promised to get worse - even though I checked in fairly early (after battling for 15 minutes to join the end of the queue) there were no aisle seats left (groan). I requested a seat move if at all possible and carried on. After a cuppa and a mooch round the shops I went to the gate to find that they’d found me an aisle seat, 28J. Economy, but an aisle seat, so an improvement. What I didn’t know until I got to 28J was that this newly-allocated seat was in World Traveller Plus… and, double bonus, was on it’s own next to the emergency exit so I had 7 feet of leg room (more than enough) and no-one beside me. Thank you British Airways.

Aug 18

Lotus Notes & Domino 8 ships

Lotus, Notes    Posted by Darren 2 comments »

Notes & Domino 8 available nowNot much I can say that Ed Brill hasn’t already said himself or posted links to, so you may as well head on over to his web site. Okay, I’ll say this… it’s getting rave reviews, people are loving the Notes 8 client (not just the new user interface but what it means for extensibility, integration and openness), and customers are seeing that the roadmap is not only solid but also innovative. The Domino 8 server represents an upgrade (that’s a true upgrade, not like some other vendor’s idea of what constitutes an ‘upgrade’) which offers immediate business value.

Notes 8Furthermore, I’m seeing a lot of companies interested in the integrated editors - the idea of using something they’re already paying for (i.e. Notes) rather than paying big bucks for Office seems to be very appealing.

For more details on these new offerings, head over to the Notes and Domino pages at the Lotus web site.

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