chris.whisonant@lotus911.com
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The other week I was made aware of something I did not know was possible. It turns out that the reason I never knew it was possible was that it is new with Domino 8. I found this out after attempting the trick on a Domino 7.0.3 server... 
With previous releases of Domino, if you wanted to remove a line from the notes.ini, you had to manually edit the file. But now, with Domino 8, you can type set config Notes_ini_Setting= and this will remove the line completely. In previously releases, the line would still exist but it would just have a null value. Below is a screen capture of me doing this.
You can see that I show config to verify the entry exists. Then I set
it to = null. Then I show config again and get "Invalid value for
command option" (which means the entry does not exist. Finally, I set it back to its original value and show config again to validate that it exists.
Note: If you really want to make sure the entry is gone (and doesn't re-appear or stay enforced), be sure to look through your configuration documents and also remove the entry from the notes.ini section.
Not to be confused with the iPhone 3G (the newly-released hardware that I hope to acquire sometime), the iPhone 2.0 software is now available. I actually loaded mine yesterday after reading of the availability at iPhone Central. Although the 1st Generation iPhones can run this same 2.0 software, there are some extra features that the iPhone 3G will have due to the hardware upgrade. Obviously, it will take advantage of the 3G data networks and it has built-in GPS.
My upgrade to iPhone 2.0 went fairly smoothly. After loading it, I immediately went to the AppStore to get some applications. I was surprised at how many useful, free apps there are! Lifehacker has a list of some of these.
Some of the ones I have loaded are:
- Remote - remotely control your iTunes library over wi-fi. This will be even better if they allow streaming from iTunes through the iPhone! I have noticed some quirks with this when the display shuts off (volume control stops working, play/pause is confused, basically it just stops working!), but closing to the home screen and opening the app brings back the functionality.
- Facebook - works fairly well. I actually really like Facebook's iPhone web app. It actually has more functionality in general. However, the Facebook app allows you to upload photos as well as use Facebook chat
- Twitterific - I am not giving up on this yet. I have been using the Hahlo Twitter web app for a while and really dig it, but I will keep trying to use Twitterific.
- AOL Radio - Lots of streaming radio stations with options to look for local stations. Works well
- eBay - I like this app a lot so far.
- Bank of America - I am not a customer, but kudos to you for doing this. I have considered switching to BoA because of this. My bank tells me to just use Safari because all of the functionality works. Ok...thanks
- Contacts - So this is pre-loaded with the software. You no longer have to go to the Phone application just to see the contacts!
- WeatherBug - I think I will dig this one. I have been using Weather Underground's excellent web app (http://i.wund.com) for a while. I don't like the radar feature with WeatherBug
So there you go. Enjoy the software upgrade if you are not going to be going to the 3G anytime soon. You can also hold the "home" button and press the top button to take a screenshot! Oh yeah, since this is a Lotus blog, here is iNotes:  I also have to mention that I find it funny that when adding a mail server that Microsoft Exchange is listed before Apple's mobile me product as an available mail server!! They must have really got in good with Apple!  
Over the past couple of weeks, I have had some people email/tweet me about connectivity to im.bleedyellow.com. In these cases, port 1533 was being blocked either at a client location or a public place (even in a hospital!). So the first thing I always mention is to try port 80 and voilà we're in business!
So while we are all thinking about it - change those connections on your laptops!
Ed Brill points out that Sprint announces Mobile Email Work; access Lotus Domino or Exchange. This is really great news!I'm really glad to see that Sprint is going to have mobile mail available for Domino with around a dozen devices (including the ubiquitous RAZR). I will be interested to see how this actually works, technically. Sprint touts that this will be a "push" mail solution (See Nathan's post on push mail) and that software updates on the device will be forthcoming.
After going to the press release that Ed linked to, I clicked through a couple of pages and found that Sprint does have some more information about this at their website. Thankfully the press release (the item that will have the most hits!) mentions Lotus Domino because Sprint doesn't have a word about it at their mobile email site (at least not yet). But I did see this at their site - specific mentioning of Exchange:
Sprint worked with Seven Networks to do this. Seven Networks has some info at their website that there is an Enterprise version available to work with Lotus Domino. I'm presuming that this is how Sprint will be licensing this. I know they've been around for a while, but I've never been familiar with their offerings. Perhaps others have some experience.
By the way, in the US, Seven Networks works with Alltel, AT&T, and Sprint. So the big news on Ed's blog is that Sprint actually mentioned Domino. There's nothing really specific that it appears Sprint is doing in this regard other than licensing and marketing their mobile email product running Seven Networks' software.
And while I'm sure the Instinct is a great device, I'm wondering if Apple already has that market cornered with the iPhone - especially whenever it is available on multiple networks. But time will only tell on that.
I just read this over at Kevin Hansen's blog:
This month, an Exchange server will go live in our organization. It
will be connected to Domino to allow us to deliver iPhone services to
our corporate users. We have a number of iPhones requested from our
user community and more are sure to come.
Somehow, I don't believe this is they type of response to John Head's " Call to Action" that was anticipated. Kevin also states that this will be opening the door for more use of Exchange in his company and some likely migrations from Notes mail for certain groups. It was asked at Ed Brill's blog if companies would seriously choose to move to Exchange just to support the iPhone - apparently the answer is yes. As I'm writing this, there are 367 signatures at the iPetition. This represents mobile users in the tens of thousands. Let us hope that more of these companies do not see more pressure to deliver push mail to iPhones. I do believe that IBM is trying to get this all sorted with Apple - and much of it is out of IBM's hands. I have tested and provided some feedback on Lotus iNotes Ultralite. I think it is a good interim solution for those who need access to Domino mail from an iPhone. But, I think we all agree that it does not provide the desired long-term solution we all want for push mail and pim sync. Further, to reiterate what Ed said, none of us really know how the Exchange services are going to work on the iPhone. There has been past debate about whether Exchange Server with Windows Mobile devices actually provides "push" mail. So will the iPhone implementation of this be more of a constant pull than a push? (Not that end-users actually care - they just want instant access to mail...) I do not want to keep this debate going, but with the knowledge now that there are companies considering Exchange implementations to do this, we should keep this in mind.
If you do, then please go sign this petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/iPhoneAndLotus/
And even if you're reading this blog and you're not a Lotus Notes user or even an iPhone user, sign it anyway!!!
Turns out there are many things going on with me this week....
Yesterday I traded my much-loved 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP for a 2006 Toyota Corolla. (gonna miss the 280 lb-ft of torque...but not the 18MPG on Premium fuel)
Here's the dealer photo. My brother has one in red, so now we'll be sporting the Gamecock colors!
Today marks my 1 year anniversary with Lotus 911. This is a superb place to be and I'm enjoying all of the challenges. I think the final line in Scott's introductory email of me to the team here from last year describes this past year well: "If you prick him, he might just bleed yellow too."
This weekend we're planning on going up to SC to visit with family. We're looking forward to two big things on this trip. We'll get to see my wife's mom for the first time since she started chemo last month. She's had some ups and downs with it, but has been doing well lately! Also, my nephew turns 2 tomorrow and will be having his birthday party on Saturday!
OK, back to work...
I've always had "issues" figuring out where to get and install the compat-libstdc package for Ubuntu that's needed to install Lotus Notes with the graphical interface.
So, I've created a deb package (using alien) that can be easily used to install this. Here are the steps:
- Get the deb package from here
- If your browser doesn't prompt you to install it, then save it and then run sudo dpkg -i compat-libstdc++-33_3.2.3-62_i386.deb
- Run sudo ./setup.sh from the extracted Notes install files and you should get the graphical installer
I've heard that there may be an issue installing the deb package. It worked dandily for me - let me know if there is an issue...
First of all, there is an 8.0.1 DWA hotfix available. If you or your customers are experiencing some issues with DWA 8.0.1, you will want to open a PMR with IBM Support in order to see if this hotfix addresses your problems. One of the major problems we found is the caching of attachments with the same name in IE. If you receive two attachments with the same name from different senders, the first one you open is cached until you logout. But there are some other fixes in the hotfix.
Secondly, there is a HF6 available for Quickr 8.1.
RIM has now made it easy to access Profiles and Dogear Lotus Connection services from a BlackBerry.
If you would like to download this directly from your BlackBerry, please visit this page: http://www.bleedyellow.com/bbconn/connections.jad
This is only available for BB OS 4.2.1 and greater. Once you download the application and launch it, you will be prompted to enter your username (email address) and password. Below the password field is a Server button. Click this and just enter https://www.bleedyellow.com. Save that value and then login!
Accessing Profiles and Dogear are actually fairly good starting points for this application. It will be great to access profile information (click-to-call Yellowbleeders...) and we all know that BlackBerry bookmarks don't get saved or restored, so just use Dogear!
For further information about the product, start here: http://na.blackberry.com/eng/services/server/domino/connections.jsp
Further documentation is available from the links below:
BlackBerry Client for IBM Lotus Connections Version 1.0 - Release Notes
BlackBerry Client for IBM Lotus Connections Version 1.0 - Technical Note for Administrators
BlackBerry Client for IBM Lotus Connections Version 1.0 - User Guide (trackball devices)
BlackBerry Client for IBM Lotus Connections Version 1.0 - User Guide (trackwheel devices)
Adding members to places in Quickr 8.1 is a lot simpler (and cooler) than in 8.0. Just go to the members dialog and choose to add a member. You get a nice interface with the Web 2.0 typeahead we're all used to.
While following the install guide for Quickr 8.1 HF2 (which is out now, by the way - along with a separate Connectors HF2), the upgrade did not go so hot. After starting HTTP and running the 3 qptool commands, I was only seeing a white screen in the browser - nothing would render in the window.
I did notice when I started HTTP that I received a "- File modified at operating-system level while cached, please retry open." error. So at this point I decided that something definitely wasn't right. I decided to just quit the server and redo the HF2 "installation" (which "is straightforward, basically copying over existing files or adding new directories and files.". This took care of the problem.
The moral of the story: you may wish to completely end the Domino server instead of just HTTP.
I would like to welcome Ted Hardenburgh to the Lotus911 team!! Ted's here in Kennesaw for a couple of weeks and then back to CA. He's a great addition to our Admin team here!
See his post for additional info.
One of the Domino Server security settings that I rarely see implemented is the option to "Enforce Server Access Settings". In the link, you can see that Ted describes the feature nicely.
With Quickr, you have the ability to grant access to places for people not listed in your directory. However, I have found that there is a "gotcha" when using this Domino security option if you also have the setting to only allow "Users listed in all trusted directories" checked in the Security tab of the Server document. Since the internal "place users" are not in your Domino Directory, they will not be able to log in.
But there is a way around this. With specific place users, they are created in the ACL as me@domain.com/placename/QP/DominoDomain. So this means that along with the "Users listed in all trusted directories" that you should be able to add */QP/DominoDomain to also be allowed to access the server.
Oh, and you'll also have to make sure that LocalDomainServers (or some other server group) has access to the server as well.
We are pleased to announce the availability of Sametime Advanced on BleedYellow.com!!
Check it out for yourself!
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