Blogs

  • Browse Blogs
  • My Blog
  • My Updates

Tags Help

  • View as cloud  | list

Similar Blogs

photo

Portaldomosph...

21 Entries |  David DeWell
Updated 
No Ratings 0     Comments 10
photo

Ben Poole

2 Entries |  Ben Poole
Updated 
No Ratings 0     No Comments 0
photo

TexasSwede

69 Entries |  Karl-Henry Martinsso...
Updated 
No Ratings 0     Comments 61
photo

Yellow is the...

56 Entries |  Tim Tripcony
Updated 
No Ratings 0     Comments 23
photo

Spanky

7 Entries |  Devin Olson
Updated 
No Ratings 0     Comments 2

Dogear Bookmarks

Archive

Random Notes

Blog Authors:  Jim Romaine  

Previous |  Main  | Next

Ask the Developers Session Notes

Jim Romaine  |    |  Tags:  lotusphere2008 ask_the_developers  |  Comments (0)
Did you get to attend the "Ask the Developers Session"? 
Did you miss a question or response? 

Below are my notes from the session. 

(Disclaimer, Disclaimer:  These are not "official" responses, just what I was able to get out of the conference session. )

PreSession Notes
:
This is one of must see sessions at Lotusphere.  It is both fun and educational.  All the developers across the Lotus Platform gather on stage for one last group question and answer session.  The crowd are allowed to ask about any issue old or new and basically able to rant where necessary when issues get old.  There are a few guidelines and the majority of past attendees will enforce them when broken with a chorus of Boos.  The big no-no is multiple questions and even multi-part questions.  However, provided that there is time any one could ask additional questions once they are at the back of the line.

Session Notes:
Being a fast paced session, with topics covering a wide range of areas, some way beyond my area of expertise, below I caught what I was able to gather from the questions and answers, or at least as best as I could understand them.  On rare occassions there were some language difficulties making the issue even more complex than it may have been.  Note on some very rare exceptions, I was able to catch the name of the questioner or the intended recipient of the answer, but do not recall most and have not indicated them in the vast majority of issues.

First off we learned that long-time host / MC of Ask the Developers, Kevin Cavanaugh, was stepping down from the role as he has changed his position.  In his place in the new VP for developers, Bruce.

Item 1:
Actually came from Kevin Cavanaugh, who was violating the rule of IBMers not allowed to ask questions and received the crowd boo (intentionally planned of course), if the LSX toolkits has been fixed?  This item was directed Bob Balaban who pretended to have a prepared speech from IBM legal.  With a bunch of fake legalease / disclaimers, he mentioned that it had been fixed and is planned to ship in 8.5 release or sooner.

Item 2:
Side bar components question, will they be able to honor location documents to detect online status.  Quick answer is yes.  Questioner insisted that it did not properly address proxy server? IBM said it does/should and they are taking offline.

Item 3:
Next question, on IDEAMJAM.  Is IBM paying attention and are the items being reviewed.  Quick answer: they are being followed.  Bruce answered initially then had Math Beth reassert that they are excited about the process and looking to work with Bruce to pull the items into IBM's issue process.  The light-hearted response, I believe from Bob Balaban, perhaps, was that he was upset because it was in direct competition with his blog.

Item 4:
I can not recal the exact question, however part of the response was a description of ongoing improvements being made "...we have been engaged in 8.5 in 8 months, directory space, security space with major overhauls of (the code) that are on the level of release 6 changes and possibly as significant as the release 5 changes.

Item 5:
Q:  Without plugins or quickr, can you make it so that with a simple "file save" command, you can store an attachment to a notes database?  A: They are working on this to put into Notes database, no timetable given.

Item 6:
Q:  Will some Domino Server source be opened to some business partners, so that they would be better able to support?  A: There are "opportunities" to open some of this.  No promises yet, but working on.

Item 7:
Q:  Can a company put in force a home page without homepage.nsf, within the Notes 8 client?  A:  Homepage policy issue they are somewhat aware of this, but will have to take it back and look at a bit closer.

Item 8:
Q: Sametime admin question.  Sametime administration s**ks?  A: They have revamped the client and server sides, but are only beginning to lay the groundwork for admin, so would appear that there are no immediate goals to achieve this.

Item 9:
Q: Notes 8 basic client issue.  Related to slower pc's issue, what is the future of the basic client, as for matching look and feel as standard?  A: They plan to keep the basic until they hear that they do not need it.  Short term, it will be there for a while, but  to not to expect much focus given to it.

Item 10:
Q: Question related to marketing the knowledge of getting started with IBM notes.  A: Authors and publishers have been contacted, or in the process of contacting, to renew the books for Notes 8 and beyond.  The books from "Dummies" are a recent target as they have a larger worldwide audience so will be focusing on this.  Project "Cutie" is developed over Wiki...is an internal project being started for some notes documentation.  It is this faster return on content, to match the speed of the product releases, that is being investigated for alternative means than Red Books.

Item 11:
Q: Transaction logging question...size question?  The specific question was not specific enough to be addressed, something to do with restore and 64MB transaction and locks? (Note, I did not understand the nature of the issue and there was somewhat of a language issue) However a response was given as; A:  The cost of tranaction logging is being reduced by 50% and being target for 8.5,  so that it can be used more.

Item 10B:
A:  A follow up response to the previous question (item 10).  No more redbooks? "Boo!! " from the crowd.. Need more dynamic content.  Product comes out so fast that the red books get obsoleted by the time the products turn over.  Redbooks don't move fast enough (aren't produced quickly), but the content is very valuable and needs to get out in a more "modern" way (hint... Wikis)  "Need agile method of documentation practices"

Item 12:
Q: Sametime client question about being ported to Eclipse?  A:  Taking the requirements back to product management.

Item 13:
Q: Questions on migrating users from Exchange to Notes (crowd cheered) and specific question for calendaring that don't require third party tools.  A:  Nothing currently planned, taking offline, to get better specific requirements for approaches.

Item 14:
Q:  Extended products DB2 / WAS server issues...questions..Make the extension products work on the Notes/ Domino platform?  A: (Note the response seemed complex with several tangents on the topic)   An integration issue. There are no current plans to do this...How do we package the products into a simple to install... Not every in the future will be written into the Domino platform, even though every one in the room would want it to be that way.  They are working on methods to make installations and functions it just as easy as Domino within the other products.

Item 15:
Q:  Integration quickplace/quickr and sametime, question?  A:  Planning on updates to integrating..coming end of year / beginning next.

Item 16:
Q:  Printing questions (boo!!! from the crowd .  "This is Notes why would you want to print...??";)... any future plans for attachment to print from a right click or menu?  A:  Added in 8.01 to contribute to right click and asked the user to create it...Open the attachment in view and send to printer.  A new ini variable was created so that a double click would always open the attachment (instead of presednt the properties/info box)...I believe they mentioned it as: attachment_default_option =1.  Bruce thought the respondent was some sort of "Code Jedi" for having memorized the variable, but it was more of simply having been asked the same question that afternoon.

Item 17:
Q:  Preserve the ability to run a full 8 client on thumb drive.  A:....I missed this response.

Item 18:
Q:  Sametimeunyte question, is Notes planning on integrating into the mail/calendar template.  A:  In 8.01, create a meeting and this is already available...quickly answered didn't quite get all of the details, appeared to have been a non-issue.

Item 19:
Q:  Websphere portal question, which I wasnot able to follow.  A:  ...install issue answer had something to do with not having to do what the questioner provided as the problem.

Item 20:
Q:  On Lotus Foundations,  Not able to use sametime or quickr on same box?  A:  Foundations is not official yet.  Market decisions have not been finalized as to which options to use.

Item 21:
Q:  Notes Client issue.  Contacts and Locations sync'ed?  A:  Notes8 able to sync into mail file.  AA(?) can manage contacts on black berry.  hhhmm not sure I followed.

Item 22:
Q:  Quickr / Sametime Management...Would they be able to merge the admin clients together?  A: Working to get these all towards Eclipse which would then make it easier to accomplish, but not there yet.

Item 23:
Q:  Layers in Notes Client, make them into a fully fledged ui component, so to be able to breakout of frames.  A:  No immediate plans to work on this, but with follow up will address.

Item 24:
Q: With the implementation of XPages in domino 8.5, will there be any implementation of XPages in Notes Client?  A: Notes is currently committed to making it into an awesome web developement environment first.  Then "as soon as Bruce lets them" (a response that started to becom repeated over and again)..."woohoo!! from crowd", the IBM developers want to work on this.

Item 25:
Q:Replication concern, old time issue...replication cut off time...A: Change the cutoff date to  "99999" 5 nines?  IBM's experience however, has been 50-50 that people either want them back or don't want back...  A workaround that was propose by Andre Guirard ( I think ) was to put in code to check how old the replica is and if beyond a certain date don't let the database (local) work [very excellent concept].

Item 26:
Q:  It has been an 8 year wait, can we have a formula debugger?  A:  Not in 8.5.  Its not high on the list.

Item 27:
Q:  NotesExpress for college kids?.(ie free?), to be able to penetrate into smaller markets.  A: This is mainly, a prioritization issue.

Item 28:
Q:  Symbiant (sp?) support for traveler.  A: As soon as Bruce lets them do it...

Item 29:
Q:  Upgrades question they are running Domino 6.  They have customized their templates.  Allow upgrade process to recognize a template changes and prompt the admin performing the upgrade as to whether or not to allow the upgrade to take place.  A:  First was a quick poll of the audience on how big an item it was,  appeared that it wasn't a large support at least from crowd response.  But there is a process being looked at.  Especially a concern on internationalized updates.

Item 30:
Q:  New Sametime update, while there is connection to AOL, Yahoo, Google, but no connection to MSN Messenger?  A: Since the first products listed were SIP based there was no technical issues.  There has been progress made to address the technical process, but the business end is not available/finalized.  This issue is now more of  a "Ask Microsoft to support this" as they are the ones that not fully complying with open standards.

Item 31:
Q:  DXL completeness and round trip fidelity.  A: "As soon as you let us, Bruce" This is high on the list to work on.

Item 32:
Q: Will community involvement with the documentation be avialble in 1st quarter?  A: Don't know exactly the date.  There will be an open wiki environment for documentation.  IBM would really want community to update.  Even have community more involved then they are as they have more exposure to all the diffierent scenarios of problems faced.  Mike Rhodin wanted a more open solution.  Name considered: "Red Wikis".

Item 33:
Q: Sametime gateway question, with foundations focus on 500 people or less companies, will Sametime be on the smaller machines?  A:  Requirements are different.  Really can't be done, as it would mean to re-invent the gateway on Domino.  However, they are looking at appliances and possibly VM Images (?) could be adopted to address.

Item 34:
Q:  Portal question: automated unit tests of portlets? A:  Short answer is that is done in IBM, but it is not easy.  Pretty complex JUnit containers with a framework.  May need to promote the framework eventually used in IBM.

Item 35:
Q: Swift file tool plugin for mailfile, will display 3 of the most likely place to put the message, why isn't it in the product in the Client itselt? A: I missed this response.

Post Session thought:
Since I have tracked these items here ( and I think I did for last year's as well ).  It would be interesting to revisit these just prior to next Lotusphere to see if people in the blogsphere had caught up with the progress on the items. 

Previous |  Main  | Next
Skip to main content link. Accesskey S
IBM Lotus Connections Help Tools About

Tags

A tag is a keyword that is used to categorize an entry. To view the entries with a particular tag, click a tag name or enter a tag in the box.
The tag cloud indicates the frequency of tag use. Popular tags appear darkest. The slider control adjusts how many tags are displayed in the tag cloud.