RezAir

Take It Again, Sam

2009-11-27T10:42:00.006-05:00

IBM and Prometric have teamed up to offer a program that allows certification test-takers to quickly retake a failed test at "no additional cost" as soon as the next day. Now, here is the catch. There are indeed no additional costs, but there are costs for the branded vouchers.

In the United States, a Lotus voucher is $230, as are Rational, Tivoli, and WebSphere/XML/SOA vouchers.

So, basically, the vouchers are not gifts, but insurance policies within a brand.

For more information, visit Prometric's Take it Again website.

Announcing IBM Lotus Notes and IBM Lotus Domino 8.5.1

2009-10-06T15:00:00.000-04:00

IBM Lotus Notes and Lotus Domino 8.5.1 include many features and enhancements that improve usability for both the end user and developers
Electronic release on October 12, 2009

IBM Lotus Notes and Domino 8.5.1 now includes many new features and
enhancements.

The first major change expands on options for building or expanding on Domino
applications. Domino Designer will now be freely accessible in IBM developerWorks®
for no charge. This expansion in access brings Domino's RAD tool to a broader
community of developers aimed at increasing the solutions that are available for the
Domino platform.

The second major change for this release is a repackaging of Domino client solutions
in order to simplify the purchasing options to better align with how people work vs.
what they need to complete their work. The Domino client options are delivered as
a client access license (CAL), where access to the Domino platform is put into two
categories: Enterprise CAL and Messaging CAL.

The third major change for this release includes a vast array of features for
accessing data across the form factors (desktop, mobile and Web). This release
includes many features and enhancements that improve the usability of the
solutions for both the end user (Lotus Notes, Lotus iNotes, and Lotus Notes Traveler)
and developers (Domino Designer).

Lotus Notes

Expanded Quickr integration
Introduces Protector integration
More tools to increase productivity through innovations in usability
Increased extensibility through XPages and widgets

Lotus Notes Traveler

Introduces enhanced security features for Nokia S60 devices
Adds Apple iPhone support

Lotus iNotes

Auto refresh and inbox unread count
Expanded Quickr features
Additional policy support
Introduces greater calendaring and scheduling features including new support for Sametime Unyte

Domino Designer

XPages are supported in the Notes client.
XPage performance and scalability enhancements.
XPage active content filtering.
Dojo updated to 1.3.2.
Improved ability to use Dojo in XPages.
Designer performance enhancements.
New LotusScript® and JavaTM editors.
Working sets usability enhancements.
Domino Designer extensibility APIs.
New design element for building iWidgets.
Composite application enhancements for Notes and Symphony applications.
Composite application support for XPages.
Provide Java APIs for Notes User Interface classes.

Lotus Enterprise Integrator

Windows® 2008 - 32 bit and 64 bit
ODBC 5.3.2 (Open Database Connectivity)

Fix Pack 1 for Lotus Notes and Domino 8.5

2009-09-16T10:00:00.001-04:00

IBM has released the first fix packs for Lotus Notes and Domino 8.5.

More details and download links are available from IBM at http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?rs=463&uid=swg24023874.

Introducing Lotus Foundations

2009-06-30T10:00:00.002-04:00

IBM Lotus® Foundations Start is a complete infrastructure and collaboration solution for businesses with 5-500 employees with limited or no on-house IT resources. Complete with all the essential software needed to power a small business, Lotus Foundations Start also enables you to run a variety of business applications. A departure from traditional small business solutions, Lotus Foundations is designed to simplify the IT experience. It can be launched in under 30 minutes and leverages self-managing and self-healing capabilities that minimize the need for human intervention, freeing you up to focus on running your business.

Email and Collaboration
The award winning Lotus Notes and Domino provide advanced email, calendaring, and contact management as well as rich web features.

Office Productivity
The IBM Lotus® Symphony suite enables users to create, edit and share word processing documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Symphony supports the OpenDocument Format (ODF) and is designed for mixed environments.

Backup and Recovery
Lotus Foundations includes a low-touch backup facility that enables you to confidently make backup copies of your information. This easy to use system allows everyone to manage their backups in an automated or manual fashion.

Security
Lotus Foundations includes security services designed to protect your important information so that you can stay focused on business with minimal disruption. These security services provide rich mobile access to your workers while at the same time helping to stop threats from reaching your network. With automatic updates, Lotus Foundations' anti-spam and anti-virus tools provide enterprise wide protection. Plus, with built in VPN technology, your network is even more secure from unauthorized visitors.

Ease of use
Lotus Foundations is a self-governing system that automates many critical tasks and provides proactive system checks, so the need for in-house IT staff is reduced or eliminated. Lotus Foundations is self-configuring, self-managing, self-protecting, and self-healing features. The system automates configuration, adjusts itself according to workload demands, anticipates and defends against security breaches, and detects, diagnoses, and repairs potential issues.

Interoperability
Your team members know how they work best. To do their jobs effectively, they need to be free to use the tools to which they are accustomed. Because those tools come from a variety of places, IBM® Lotus® Foundations is flexible and works with your existing IT infrastructure.

For more information, please visit IBM's Lotus Foundations site.

EGL - Enterprise Generation Language

2009-06-17T10:00:00.000-04:00

This week I am taking a course on using EGL with Rational Business Developer and thought I might tell you a little about EGL.

EGL, which stands for Enterprise Generation Language, was developed by IBM as a high level, platform-independent business programming language. Basically, EGL is abstracted a level above programming languages like Java and COBOL. The generator and compiler work together to actually write the required source code (e.g. Java, JavaScript, Ajax, COBOL, SOAP, etc.) in all the required languages for the specified runtime environment(s). Thus, the developer works in EGL and doesn't worry as much about the underlying languages. This can and will radically simplify development.

I am definitely the kind of person who shies away from code generators, so I assure you that this is different. Rather than generating code, you are writing code which in turn generates the appropriate code for the runtime environment. This means you write once, but generate as needed and allow the EGL compiler to handle the specifics of each environment.

Just as COBOL and FORTRAN reduced the use of Assembly Language, EGL will reduce the need to code for every platform and network.

EGL achieves platform independence by compiling EGL program specifications into the languages that provide support for the desired runtime platform.

How a tactical HATS solution became a strategic asset - A Customer Story

2009-06-01T09:30:00.010-04:00

My esteemed colleague and friend Kenny Smith is presenting at the Rational Software Conference this week in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

Kenny's presentation is titled "How a tactical HATS solution became a strategic asset - A Customer Story" and deals with how he and his team brought value and cost-savings to TSYS, a powerhouse in the financial industry.

Kenny's presentation is this Wednesday morning, June 3, at 11:15 am.

Kenny is the owner of Strongback Consulting, a leader in many IBM products. We've worked together over the years and his ability to synthesize new technologies into new solutions is amazing. He's also a dynamic and humble public speaker.

If you're at the Rational Software Conference, I encourage you to attend his presentation.

The following is a synopsis of his presentation.

Learn how one customer stemmed revenue loss, and is now reaching into new accounts using Host Access Transformation Services (HATS) to transform their 3270 green screen application to a modern, easy to use Web application. HATS gives you the tools needed to extend your 3270 and 5250 applications to the Web, portlets, rich clients, browsers on mobile devices, or as Web services without changing the underlying green screen application code. This session will include an introduction to HATS followed by a case study on how Total System Services, Inc. (TSYS), a provider of electronic payment services, extended their 3270 credit card processing application to the Web quickly, with low development costs, reduced training time, and high end user satisfaction.

Good Guys

2009-05-28T09:30:00.006-04:00

This past week I was visiting a client overseas. I have done only a small amount of work for this client as my role has been to advise and do limited research. I am quite comfortable doing this, as each client has different requirements and levels of experience. This client is exceptionally experienced and just needed some pointers and ideas.

During my visit, my client took the time to show me how each area of my work contributed to their latest product release. I was flattered and appreciative that a client, especially one in the software development market themselves, would be so generous with their time and share how my work directly aided them in delivering their product. This is way beyond what I could expect.

This meeting said two things to me. First, that my work, however limited, added real value. More importantly, it said something about this client. Their actions speak to the kind of people they are. Although they did the heavy lifting, they were mindful of each participant in the development process, including me. Usually I am the project leader; thanking everyone for their contributions. This time I was being thanked. It is nice to collaborate with such fine people.

The client's name is Mainsoft, a leading provider of interoperability software products for Windows and open systems. My work focused on their SharePoint Integrator product, which integrates Lotus Notes and Sharepoint. Among their many rich and varied integration offerings are products integrating Rational and Websphere with .NET and Sharepoint environments.

Automatically Limiting Agents to the Administration Server

2009-05-08T09:00:00.007-04:00

In the old days, when we migrated an application from development to production, we would always have to change the server on which scheduled agents were set to run.

Usually, agents were set to run on the development server and then updated after posting into production. This process could be time consuming every time a design update was performed. Even worse, an agent's server name change would be forgotten and then the agent wouldn't run.

The additions of LotusScript and an Administration Server in ACL's (I think both were added in R4.x) were major helps in simplifying the roll-out process.

By setting all scheduled agents to run on all servers and then using LotusScript to check if the application is on the Administration Server, you can greatly reduce the workload, especially in places were there are not dedicated Domino administrators.

Here's the basic code:

Sub Initialize
  If isOnAdminServer() Then
      ' only run on the Administration Server
      agent code
  End If
End Sub

Function isOnAdminServer() As Boolean
  DIM Session as New NotesSession
  DIM tmpDB as NotesDatabase
  Dim AdminServer As String 
  set tmpDB = Session.CurrentDatabase
  AdminServer = NameConvert("Canonical" _
     , tmpDB.ACL.AdministrationServer)
  isOnAdminServer = (tmpDB.Server = AdminServer)
End Function

The isOnAdminServer() function is generally stored in a script library for re-use. In fact, it's best to store most agent code in script libraries; doing so makes it easier to deploy updates and reduces the need to have the server sign agents every time after an update.

Playing with Fire?

2009-04-29T09:30:00.003-04:00

Today I am installing Internet Explorer 8 for 64-bit Vista systems. It was just released yesterday. We'll see how it goes! I usually wait a bit to try these new releases of IE, but felt like being bold this morning.

I found the 64-bit version of IE 7.x to be nothing but trouble, so I've used the accompanying standard version. Many web sites just wouldn't work with the 64-bit version of IE 7.x, especially those using SSL. Maybe IE 8.x will be better prepared to work with Vista and SSL.

Thank Goodness for Open Source

2009-04-16T09:00:00.006-04:00

Recently a client has been having a lot of trouble using FTP to transfer files. Over the years, it has gotten harder and harder to use Internet Explorer, Windows Explorer, and Mozilla to FTP files. For folks who need a GUI interface to FTP files this can be a serious issue.

While I believe that most software ought to be paid for, FTP has been around so long it's about as ubiquitous as aspirin. Thus, I believe that features and options ought to be increasing for end users, not decreasing. Since FTPing is now as generic as Xeroxing*, I figured an Open Source solution was the best approach.

A quick search on Google brought me to FileZilla. I don't know how good it is (so I'm not making recommendations yet), but it immediately seemed to be fairly simple to use for end users. We'll see how the client likes it and if it serves their needs.

Of course, for Mozilla Firefox, there is also FireFTP. We're suggesting this to the client as well for their Firefox users.

* both Xerox and Aspirin began life as trademarked names, but are now generically used too

The Big Picture

2009-04-13T10:00:00.019-04:00

Sometimes when consulting firms join a project, we are a small cog in the overall project. Sometimes we know the big picture, and sometimes we don't or can't.

We don't always need to know the entire picture, but we do need to understand how our work fits into the bigger picture. Often, further inquiries will reveal that no one knows the big picture, because there isn't one; this is a recipe for failure and cost-overruns.

The most important thing to do when engaging as a component or sub-contractor is to treat the project as if you have ownership beyond your immediate scope. If things don't make sense, tactfully raise issues. Your client will appreciate it. It is best to inform clients that a project will be more complicated and larger than anticipated early on than to deliver what they requested and wait for problems to emerge. In other words, think ahead and help and encourage your client to do that too!

Working as a consultant involves much more than technical knowledge. Besides skills and experience, I believe the major difference between a consultant and a contractor is not the hourly rate, but the degree to which the consultant takes ownership of his work and the level of concern he shows for his client.

It is easy to do exactly what a client asks for; this often makes them immediately happy. Long-term client happiness, however, is built on a total job well done. If there are potential problems or shortfalls on the horizon, you must alert the client and advocate the required steps for accomplishing their desired goals. As an expert, you must not just do what is asked piecemeal, but validate that your work really helps to accomplish the ultimate goals of the project.

Finding Duplicate Attachments

2009-04-06T10:00:00.058-04:00

I have a client who has a system with a large number of duplicate attachments in a database - over 5GB. We are planning to upgrade the client to Domino 8.5.1 or above and take advantage of Domino Attachment and Object Service (DAOS), but while we wait for its release we are using a scheduled agent to help us identify duplicate attachments.

The Duplicate Attachments agent runs Daily at the start of the business day. A configuration document actually determines which days of the week it runs. This code scans all the attachments in a database and identifies potential duplicates. Please note that the code below is not all of the code, just the main code which requires the logic for collecting and reporting on duplicates. Supporting code is not included, but there is a wealth of code below.

Class DuplicateAttachments
Public DupeKey As String
Public Count As Double
Public DocUNIDs List As String 
Public FileName As String 
Public FileSize As Double
Public FileModified As Variant 
 
Sub New (tmpDupeKey As String, Doc As NotesDocument _
    , tmpFileName As String, tmpFileSize As Variant _
    , tmpFileModified As Variant)
  DupeKey = tmpDupeKey
  FileName = tmpFileName
  FileSize = Cdbl(tmpFileSize)
  FileModified = Cdat(Format(tmpFileModified))
  Count = 0
  If Not Doc Is Nothing Then Call AddDoc(Doc)
End Sub 
 
Sub AddDoc (Doc As NotesDocument)
  DocUNIDs(Doc.UniversalID) = Doc.UniversalID
  Count = Count + 1
End Sub

Function getPotentialDupeSpace() As Double
  getPotentialDupeSpace = (Count -1) * FileSize
End Function
 
End Class


Sub AttachmentsReport()
Dim Session As New NotesSession
Dim Col As NotesDocumentCollection, Doc As NotesDocument
Dim MailDoc As NotesDocument _
  , MailBody As NotesRichTextItem _
  , MailBodyHeader As NotesRichTextItem _
  , MailIdx As Integer
Dim MailIssues List As String, isMail As Boolean _
  , isIssue As Boolean, isMailLast As Boolean
Dim Scanned List As Double
Dim tmpVal As String, tmpString As String _
  , tmpKey As String
Dim AttachmentNames As Variant _
  , AttachmentLengths As Variant _
  , AttachmentModifiedTimes As Variant 
Dim AttachmentsNameSizeDate List As DuplicateAttachments _
  , AttachmentsNameSize List As DuplicateAttachments
Dim Idx As Integer, IdxMax As Integer _
  , DupeInfo As DuplicateAttachments
Dim MailDupeAttachmentRpt As Boolean _
  , SendToDupeAttachmentRpt As Variant
Dim totalPotentialDupeSpace As Double
 
On Error Goto ErrorHandler
Call LogOpen("Attachments Report")
Set Doc = GetConfigDocument()
Forall tmpDay In Doc.DaysDupeAttachmentRpt
  If tmpDay = Format(Today, "ddd") Then
    MailDupeAttachmentRpt = True
    SendToDupeAttachmentRpt = Doc.SendToDupeAttachmentRpt
    Exit Forall
  End If
End Forall
If Not MailDupeAttachmentRpt Then Exit Sub
Set Doc = Nothing

Call LogAction("Start") 
' Initialize Issues E-Mail
isMail = False
Gosub InitializeMailDoc
 
' Scan All Documents
Set Col = DB.AllDocuments
Set Doc = Col.GetFirstDocument
Scanned("Documents") = 0
Do While Not Doc Is Nothing
  If Not isDocOK(Doc) Then Goto NextDoc
  Scanned("Documents") = Scanned("Documents") + 1
  AttachmentNames = Evaluate("@AttachmentNames", Doc)
  IdxMax = Ubound(AttachmentNames)
  If AttachmentNames(0) = "" And IdxMax = 0 _
    Then Goto NextDoc
  AttachmentLengths = Evaluate("@AttachmentLengths", Doc)
  AttachmentModifiedTimes = _
    Evaluate("@AttachmentModifiedTimes", Doc)
  For Idx = 0 To IdxMax
    Scanned("Attachments") = Scanned("Attachments") + 1
    tmpKey = AttachmentNames(Idx) & "*" _
      & Format(AttachmentLengths(Idx))
    x = AttachmentModifiedTimes(Idx)
    If Iselement(AttachmentsNameSize(tmpKey)) Then
      Call AttachmentsNameSize(tmpKey).AddDoc(Doc)
    Else
      Set AttachmentsNameSize(tmpKey) = _
        New DuplicateAttachments(tmpKey, Doc _
          , AttachmentNames(Idx), AttachmentLengths(Idx) _
          , AttachmentModifiedTimes(Idx))
    End If
    tmpKey = tmpKey & "*" _
      & Format(AttachmentModifiedTimes(Idx))
    If Iselement(AttachmentsNameSizeDate(tmpKey)) Then
      Call AttachmentsNameSizeDate(tmpKey).AddDoc(Doc)
    Else
      Set AttachmentsNameSizeDate(tmpKey) = _
        New DuplicateAttachments(tmpKey, Doc _
          , AttachmentNames(Idx) _
          , AttachmentLengths(Idx) _
          , AttachmentModifiedTimes(Idx))
    End If
  Next
NextDoc :
  Set Doc = Col.GetNextDocument(Doc)
Loop
Set Col = Nothing

Forall tmpScanned In Scanned
  Call LogAction("Scanned " &  _
      Format(tmpScanned, "#,##0") & " " _
      & Lcase(Listtag(tmpScanned)))
End Forall
isMailLast  = False
Forall tmpDupeInfo In AttachmentsNameSizeDate
  If tmpDupeInfo.Count > 1 Then
    Set DupeInfo = tmpDupeInfo
    Gosub AppendIssuesToMail
  End If
End Forall
isMailLast = True
Gosub SendMailDoc

' END Data Collection
Call LogAction("Complete")
Call LogClose()
Exit Sub 

AppendIssuestoMail :
 isIssue = False
 Forall DocUNID In DupeInfo.DocUNIDs
 If Not isIssue Then
   Call MailBody.AddNewLine(1)
   Call MailBody.AddNewLine(1, False)
   Call MailBody.AppendStyle(RTSDarkBlue)
   Call MailBody.AppendText(DupeInfo.FileName)
   Call MailBody.AppendStyle(RTSNormal)
   tmpString = " (" _
     & getByteSpaceText(DupeInfo.FileSize) _
     & ", modified " & Format(DupeInfo.FileModified) _
     & ")"
   Call MailBody.AppendText(tmpString)
   Call MailBody.AddNewline(1, False)
   Call MailBody.AddTab(1)
   totalPotentialDupeSpace = totalPotentialDupeSpace _
     + DupeInfo.getPotentialDupeSpace()
   tmpString = "Potential Duplicate Space: " _
     & getByteSpaceText( _
       DupeInfo.getPotentialDupeSpace())
   Call MailBody.AppendText(tmpString)
   isIssue = True
   isMail = True
 End If
 Set Doc = DB.GetDocumentByUnid(DocUNID)
 Call MailBody.AddNewLine(1, False)
 Call MailBody.AddTab(1)
 Call MailBody.AppendDocLink(Doc, Doc.Form(0))
 Call MailBody.AppendText(GetDocLabel(Doc, True, True) _
   & " (created " & Format(Doc.Created) _
   & ", modified " & Format(Doc.LastModified) _
   & ")")
 End Forall
 If MailDoc.Size > 1572864 Then
   ' send if document is over 1.5 MB
   If MailIdx = 0 Then MailIdx = MailIdx + 1
   Gosub SendMailDoc
 End If
 Return

SendMailDoc :
 If isMail Then
   Set MailBodyHeader = MailDoc.CreateRichTextItem("Body")
   Call MailBodyHeader.AppendText("The following attachments in ")
   Call MailBodyHeader.AppendDocLink(DB, DB.Title)
   Call MailBodyHeader.AppendText(DB.Title)
   Call MailBodyHeader.AppendText( _
     " may be duplicated in multiple documents.  " _
     & "Please review the documents and attachments")
   Call MailBodyHeader.AppendText(" below and remove " _
     & "or move the attachments to reduce the overall " _
     & "size of the database.")
   If isMailLast Then
     Call MailBodyHeader.AddNewline(2)
     Call MailBodyHeader.AppendText("Potential Duplicate Space: " _
       & getByteSpaceText(totalPotentialDupeSpace))
     End If
   Call MailBodyHeader.AppendRTItem(MailBody)
   Call MailBodyHeader.AddNewline(2)
   Set MailBody = Nothing
   Call MailDoc.RemoveItem("Body2")
   Call MailDoc.ReplaceItemValue("Form", "Memo")
   tmpString = "Duplicate Attachments Report"
   If MailIdx > 0 Then tmpString = tmpString & " - Part " _
     & Format(Mailidx)
   Call MailDoc.ReplaceItemValue("Subject", tmpString)
   Call MailDoc.ReplaceItemValue("Principal", DB.Title)
   Call MailDoc.ReplaceItemValue("ReplyTo", SendToDupeAttachmentRpt(0))
   Call MailDoc.ReplaceItemValue("ExpireDate", Today + 7)
   Call MailDoc.ReplaceItemValue("$NoPurge", Today + 7)
   Call MailDoc.Send(False, SendToDupeAttachmentRpt)
   Set MailDoc = Nothing
   tmpString = "Sent Duplicate Attachments E-Mail"
   If MailIdx > 0 Then tmpString = tmpString & _
     " - Part " & Format(Mailidx)
   Call LogAction(tmpString)
   MailIdx = MailIdx + 1
   Gosub InitializeMailDoc
 End If
 Return 

InitializeMailDoc :
 isMail = False
 Set MailDoc = DB.CreateDocument
 Set MailBody = MailDoc.CreateRichTextItem("Body2")
 Return

ErrorHandler :
 Call PrintErr("AttachmentsReport()")
 Call LogError("AttachmentsReport()")
 End

End Sub

Automatically Synchronizing Contacts with Mail Files on Lotus Notes Release 7.x

2009-04-02T13:00:00.002-04:00

The following code helps you automatically synchronize the contacts stored in your mail file* with your local address book. While this is more automated in Lotus Notes 8 and above, this code works in prior releases quite well. Here are the directions:

Open the Mail template or your mail file in Domino Designer
Open Other, Database Resources
In Database Resources, open the Database Script
Add the following code to the (Options) section
Use "AddressBookSync"
Add the following code to the Postopen() subroutine (add a line right above the End Sub line and then paste the code)
Call iNotes_DoSync(D_CONTACTS, False)
Add the following code to the Queryclose() subroutine (add a line right above the End Sub line and then paste the code)
Call iNotes_DoSync(D_CONTACTS, False)
Save and close the Database Script
Test the new code on your mail file (or a few selected mail files if you changed the template) - please be sure to completely close your mail file in the Lotus Notes client and Domino Designer before testing

Please note that sometimes duplicates occur and that sometimes data updates fail to synchronize. This is not an issue with the script, but a problem with Lotus' synchronization routine.

* for iNotes, web mail, Domino Web Access, Blackberry synchronization, etc.

Introducing $NoPurge

2009-02-02T10:00:00.000-05:00

Sometimes Lotus Notes users want to keep just the most recent database documents in their local replicas. This is quite easy to accomplish using the "Remove documents not modified..." replication setting¹. However, when using this setting may have some unintended consequences if proper forthought was not done during development.

If a limited replica has configuration documents (e.g. control data, profile documents) which must always be available, these may not be in the local replica if modified before the cut-off date. For instance, if you set the replication cut-off to 30 days, only those configuration documents modified in the last 30 days will be in the local replica.

There are two ways to resolve this issue. One is to have an agent constantly update the configuration documents. This works, but adds unnecessary workload to the server and increases replication times.

The second, and better option, is to use a $NoPurge field. This handy field allows you to keep documents in a local replica either forever or to a certain date.

$NoPurge is a text field which is generally set as Computed. To keep documents forever in the local replica, simply set $NoPurge to "". This is the best way to use $NoPurge for configuration documents.

To keep documents to a certain date in the local replica, set $NoPurge to a string containing a date (e.g. "01/01/2009"). This is best for documents like events and appointments, which need to be in the local replica until a certain date.

¹ This option is accessible via the Space Savers tab of the Replication Settings dialog box - the Replication Settings dialog are accessible via the Database Properties dialog box

IBM Bluehouse

2009-01-15T12:00:00.000-05:00

According to IBM, "Bluehouse is the place where businesses come to get work done. Whether you need to prepare for tomorrow's meeting, are ready to host one today or want to collect feedback from yesterday's call - Bluehouse can help."

I have begun testing it and it seems to be an offering combining aspects of Quickr and Sametime. Bluehouse allows users to:

Host an online sales or project meeting - anyone can join
Network with potential clients and business partners outside the firewall
Upload files and share files with others
Start a group project
Create surveys
Turn feedback into dynamic charts or graphs

I have already hosted some online meetings with customers and have found it very helpful!

Air New Zealand Flies Jet Partly on Vegetable Oil

2009-01-02T12:17:00.000-05:00

Associated Press, December 30, 2008

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - A passenger jet powered in part by vegetable oil successfully completed a two-hour flight Tuesday to test a biofuel that could lower airplane emissions and cut costs, Air New Zealand said.

One engine of a Boeing 747-400 airplane was powered by a 50-50 blend of oil from jatropha plants and standard A1 jet fuel.

While Air New Zealand couldn’t say whether the blend would be cheaper than standard jet fuel since jatropha is not yet produced on a commercial scale, the company expects the blend to be “cost competitive”.

Biofuels were once regarded as impractical for aviation because most freeze at the low temperatures encountered at cruising altitudes. But tests show jatropha, whose seeds yield an oil already used to produce fuels like biodiesel, has an even lower freezing point than jet fuel.

The flight was the first to use jatropha as part of a biofuel mix.

For the full article, please visit http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28433079/.

Delta debuts Wi-Fi network

2008-12-15T14:04:00.001-05:00

from http://birmingham.bizjournals.com/birmingham/stories/2008/12/15/daily3.html

Delta Air Lines Inc.’s onboard broadband Wi-Fi access will launch on Tuesday on six planes.

The Atlanta-based airline (NYSE: DAL) will launch the “Gogo” system on Dec. 16 -- the first of more than 300 Delta domestic mainline aircraft that will soon feature Wi-Fi access. Inflight Internet will be available on five MD-88 aircraft flying Delta Shuttle routes between New York's LaGuardia Airport and Boston's Logan and Washington, D.C.'s Reagan airports plus one Boeing 757 flying throughout Delta's domestic system, with service spreading to other Delta routes as additional aircraft are introduced.

The “Gogo” system lets customers traveling with Wi-Fi enabled devices, such as laptops, smartphones and PDAs, to access the Internet, corporate VPNs, corporate and personal e-mail accounts, as well as SMS texting and instant messaging services.

Gogo will be available for a flat fee of $9.95 on flights of three hours or less, and $12.95 on flights of more than three hours. Delta passengers on the Gogo-equipped MD-88 Shuttle aircraft will get free access to Gogo during a Dec. 16 - 31 promotional period.

“Next year when Gogo is available on our entire domestic mainline fleet, our customers will have access to the most extensive Wi-Fi network in the sky, making the time they spend with us on board even more productive and entertaining,'' said Tim Mapes, Delta senior vice president of marketing, in a news release.

Mainsoft's Integrator tool enables easy access to SharePoint for Notes users

2008-12-02T10:16:00.000-05:00

December 1, 2008 (Computerworld)
by Eric Lai

from www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9121918

Microsoft Corp.'s SharePoint collaboration server software is, by many accounts, a huge hit, providing that seemingly irresistible formula of solid technology for free or at a low price.

Paired with Microsoft Office, SharePoint's document collaboration capabilities have proved so irresistible that Microsoft is touting SharePoint, not Exchange e-mail server, in order to lure IBM Lotus Notes users over to the Microsoft stack.

But despite Microsoft's claims to the contrary, migrations from Notes/Domino over to Outlook/Exchange/SharePoint have been slowing for the past five years, according to analyst David Ferris of Ferris Research.

"Everyone still says that their strategic direction is to migrate to Microsoft. But as a practical matter, those who could easily do it would have already done it," Ferris said. For users still on Notes, porting to Microsoft today "would be too expensive and too disruptive," he added.

The economic downturn and the resulting belt-tightening doesn't help, either.

Enter Silicon Valley software vendor Mainsoft Corp. The Milpitas, Calif., company was formerly a maker of development tools that allowed programmers experienced in IBM's Java EE environment to easily port their apps to Microsoft's .Net Framework.

But spotting an opportunity, Mainsoft released in May its SharePoint Integrator for Lotus Notes.

"There are lots of people offering to help you migrate. Nobody before us seriously considered a coexistence strategy," said Yaacov Cohen, CEO of Mainsoft.

The software lets users of Lotus Notes Versions 6.5 through 8 drag and drop Office documents to SharePoint and back. It's simple, but users such as Nader Chahine, a manager at Manhattan Home Finance in Manhattan Beach, Calif., praise SharePoint Integrator.

"Without the Integrator, we may have bailed on SharePoint altogether," he said. "My team was rebelling against using SharePoint because attaching and detaching documents from SharePoint to Notes was such a nightmare."

Manhattan pays $125 per user license for Integrator, plus 20% of the total annually for maintenance, said Chahine, who calls it "really reasonable."

For more information, please visit Mainsoft at www.mainsoft.com.

Delta/NWA risks losing loyalty!

2008-11-06T08:27:00.000-05:00

Delta Airlines announced yesterday that it will soon begin charging $15 for the first checked bag and $25 for the second bag.

I appreciate Delta's financial position, but I think it would be better to charge consistent fares which can support their business. Having wildly fluctuating fares and then nickle and diming us on everything is not my idea of a well run business.

If our new Congress is smart, they will nationalize the railroads (including the tracks, which were given to the railroads by the government in the first place) and implement a first rate rail system in this country.

411

2008-10-29T11:00:00.000-04:00

Last week my friends at Strongback Consulting asked Gear Up Technologies (my company) to collaborate on a Tivoli Directory Integrator (TDI) project.

Strongback Consulting's principal and I have worked together on these kinds of projects in the past and I look forward to working on this with him. Strongback is an acknowledged leader in the IBM arena and I am very glad to have a relationship with them.

What I know so far is that TDI will be communicating with Domino. As Domino has a robust LDAP and rich programming language, I am eager to see how TDI adds benefit to our client. Perhaps there are aspects or the source or target data for which TDI is better? Perhaps the customer prefers to abstract the directory integration from Domino?

I don't know much yet nor if we will even get the gig, but it is always exciting to partner with peers and work with multiple IBM products at once.

PS: Check out the Strongback Consulting blog

25 or 6 to 4

2008-10-29T10:25:00.000-04:00

I am not sure what to write about today, so I thought I might start with an appropriate title, "25 or 6 to 4" from the 2nd Chicago album. I am neither "waiting for the break of day" nor "sitting cross-legged on the floor", but I am "searching for something to say".

Some view blogging as an extension of ego. When you mainly write about yourself, you can talk about your day or your life or whatever else you want to talk about.

I view blogging as an information exchange. Thus, since I don't blog for my own satisfaction alone, I try to find relevant things to say that will benefit others. I read others' blogs to learn from them and perhaps others read my blog to learn something from me. It's all about sharing to me.

What is shared does not have to be useful or even job related, but I try not to be frivolous. You will likely never see celebrity gossip on this site, nor are you likely to hear about my experience at the supermarket.

In order not to be totally useless in this post, I will share that I read that the FAA is hiring air traffic controllers. The minimum requirement is age 18 with a high school diploma.

When I first read this, I was shocked by the requirements. Then, after I thought about it and read an interesting article in "Airways", it made sense.

An air traffic controller is a special breed of person who must keep a mental picture of many moving objects in three dimensions, with or without the aid of technology. These individuals must possess extremely good multi-tasking skills. Thus, what the FAA is really looking for, are specific individuals with these skills. If you possess these skills, then the high school diploma is a formality and if properly disciplined then your age is irrelevant.

IBM Offering Lotus Videos on YouTube

2008-10-21T11:06:00.001-04:00

IBM is offering Lotus videos on the tcoustenoble YouTube channel. The channel says that it offers a "selection of short videos featuring IBM Lotus momentum around email, collaboration, desktop evolution, mobility, Web 2.0, unified communications & collaboration, social software, portal, business mashups, composite applications...and much more!"

Most of the posted videos are a year or more old, but some of the linked favorites are more recent. IBM is touting this channel, so perhaps new content is forthcoming.

As a commercial aviation aficionado, I encourage you to check out the video below.

Airline travel to become luxury good -- analyst

2008-09-25T14:13:00.000-04:00

from http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080925/airlines_analyst_note.html?.v=1

High oil prices will spur airlines to restructure, become profitable, Stifel analyst says

NEW YORK (AP) -- High fuel prices are helping make airline travel a "mid-priced luxury good" and could help the carriers by prodding them into restructuring, an industry analyst says.
Stifel Nicolaus & Co. analyst Hunter K. Keay said Thursday that many airlines will be profitable in 2009 and all airlines he covers will be profitable the year after, assuming oil prices of $115 per barrel by 2010.

Keay said that U.S. airlines prudently responded to high fuel prices by aggressively cutting capacity, dropping marginal routes, and retiring older, fuel-guzzling planes without placing big orders for new ones.

The result, he said, has been better pricing power even though traffic growth as been modest or nonexistent. And there's room for growth in ancillary revenue, he said.

Keay said the recent decline in oil prices -- to about $105 per barrel Thursday after peaking at $147 in July -- has given airlines breathing room on the liquidity front. He also said it's unlikely capacity will return because of a lack of capital to fund new ventures, including startup airlines, and "a newfound discipline of surviving carriers."

"High fuel prices drive unprecedented discipline," he wrote in a note to clients. "We believe airlines are now more likely to pursue sustainable profitability at the expense of market share, unlike they have done in the past."

Handy Code: Limiting String Length for Display

2008-09-16T11:31:00.001-04:00

This bit of Lotusscript code I wrote around 2000 is great for tables, doclinks, etc.

Function LimitString (tmpString As String, tmpLimit As Integer,
                     suppressElipsis As Boolean)
%REM
 Creator: Marc Resnick
 Purpose: Limits a string to fixed number of characters
          and adds an ellipsis (. . .) if necessary
 Details: If tmpString is longer than tmpLimit, searching
          from right to left from the limiting position
          (tmpLimit - 4), a natural break in the string is
          found punctuation, space) and the leftmost characters
          are returned with an ellipsis . . .) appended
%END REM

 Dim tmpInteger As Integer
 Dim tmpStringOriginal As String
 If Len(tmpString) <= tmpLimit Then
   LimitString = tmpString
 Else
   tmpStringOriginal = tmpString
   If Not suppressElipsis Then tmpString _
    = Left(tmpString, tmpLimit - 4)
   For tmpInteger = Len(tmpString) To 1 Step -1
      Select Case Right(Left(tmpString, tmpInteger),1)
         Case " ", ".", ",", ";", ":", "-"
            tmpString = Left(tmpString, tmpInteger -1)
            If Not suppressElipsis Then tmpString = tmpString & ". . ."
            Exit For
      End Select
   Next
   If tmpString = "" Then
      If suppressElipsis Then
         tmpString = Left(tmpStringOriginal, tmpLimit)
      Else
         tmpString = Left(tmpStringOriginal, tmpLimit - 5)
         LimitString = tmpString + ". . ."
      End If
   Else
      LimitString = tmpString
   End If
 End If
End Function

Handy Code: Returning a sorted NotesDocumentCollection

2008-09-12T10:53:00.001-04:00

Ever notice that a NotesDocumentCollection garnered via NotesView.GetAllDocumentsByKey is not sorted? Well, this handy Lotusscript code helps you grab a sorted collection from the view.

Function GetSortedNotesDocCol (SearchView As NotesView, SearchKey) As NotesDocumentCollection
%REM
Creator: Marc Resnick
Purpose: Gets a NotesDocumentCollection sorted in view order
Details: Returns a NotesDocumentCollection sorted in view order
NotesDocumentCollection's are usually unsorted
%END REM

Dim SearchCol As NotesDocumentCollection, SearchDoc As NotesDocument
Dim SearchVCol As NotesViewEntryCollection, SearchVEnt As NotesViewEntry

Set SearchCol = SearchView.GetAllDocumentsByKey("", True) ' Creates a blank collection
Set SearchVCol = SearchView.getAllEntriesByKey(SearchKey, True)
Set SearchVEnt = SearchVCol.GetFirstEntry
Do While Not SearchVEnt Is Nothing
Set SearchDoc = SearchVEnt.Document
Call SearchCol.AddDocument(SearchDoc)
Set SearchVEnt = SearchVCol.GetNextEntry(SearchVEnt)
Loop
Set GetSortedNotesDocCol = SearchCol
End Function

Microsoft has been granted a patent on 'Page Up' and 'Page Down' keystrokes

2008-09-02T09:26:00.000-04:00

By David Meyer ZDNet.co.uk, News.com
Posted on ZDNet News: Aug 29, 2008
http://news.zdnet.com/2424-9595_22-218626.html

The software giant applied for the patent in 2005, and was granted it on August 19, 2008. US patent number 7,415,666 describes "a method and system in a document viewer for scrolling a substantially exact increment in a document, such as one page, regardless of whether the zoom is such that some, all or one page is currently being viewed".

The patent's listed 'inventors' are Timothy Sellers, Heather Grantham and Joshua Dersch. However, Page Up and Page Down keyboard buttons have been in existence for at least quarter of a century, as evidenced by this image of a 1981 IBM PC keyboard [see above].

"For example, if a user is viewing a page starting in a viewing area from the middle of that page and ending at the bottom, a Page Down command will cause the next page to be shown in the viewing area starting at the middle of the next page and ending at the bottom of the next page. Similar behavior occurs when there is more than one column of pages being displayed in a row," states the summary.

Microsoft has a long history of applying for, and being granted patents for, inventions that many argue--and can sometimes demonstrate--were based on earlier work carried out by others, or based on a common, self-evident idea.

One example is the company's patent on a mouse wheel that can scroll up and down; another is its patent on double-clicking buttons. The company received its 5,000th patent from the US Patent and Trademark Office in March 2006, and is currently approaching the 10,000 mark.

Notes 8.0.2 is now Gold

2008-08-29T09:55:00.000-04:00

Lotus has released Notes 8.0.2 and Lotus reports that it offers a "faster experience for users over prior Lotus Notes 8 releases, launching more than twice as fast as the Lotus Notes 8.0.1 client, and using approximately 20% less memory."

To learn about all of the enhancements, please see Lotus' document Performance improvements from Notes 8.0.1 to 8.0.2.

Promotion

2008-08-27T14:27:00.001-04:00

Now that I've created Gear Up Technologies and had some work come my way, the necessity of promoting my company and my work has come to the fore. My friends are taking good care of me and some "out-of-the-blue" opportunities are in the works, but I'd like to be in the driver's seat on some stuff rather than just waiting for deals to come my way. I need to promote Gear Up Technologies and attract business.

Selling myself was always easy once I was in front of a prospective customer, but finding prospects is something new to me. To make new clients, I need to gear up and make a plan. I like to think I am good at networking, but this is a whole new realm for me.

Luckily, my friends are generally busy and are not competitors, as we have complimentary skill sets and have worked together off-and-on for many years. This is good because it helps me avoid getting into a tug-of-war for business with those who've taken care of me. I can also see myself sharing business with them when their skills are more appropriate or I become too busy.

My first steps will be to let people in the business know I am out here and research who is doing work in my areas of focus. This may involve getting back into the fold of user groups. It will definitely involve reconnecting with professional contacts who I've not chatted with in a while.

I am excited about what I've accomplished thus far and look forward to learning and accomplishing more.

... v1, v2, rotate, Gear Up!!!

2008-08-20T09:15:00.000-04:00

Last week I created Gear Up Technologies, a consulting company dedicated to high quality services in the IBM software arena!

My professional friends encouraged me to form a company for the ease of doing business. They gave me helpful advice on laws, taxes, technology, et cetera. They were all wonderful in guiding me to get going.

One of my guides has been Kenny Smith, CEO of Strongback Consulting. Besides Kenny and his CFO offering me direct advice, I've been referencing Kenny's excellent Resources for Freelancers. I know Kenny's recommendations are based on what has been good for his business. Besides knowing Kenny for years, this gives me the added confidence to follow his advice.

There is still a lot to do with Gear Up. I need to get my website completed, make business cards, get the word out, and above all get some business.

RezAir flight 1 is cleared for take-off!

New Laptop

2008-08-11T10:39:00.000-04:00

This past week I ordered a new Lenovo ThinkPad. Although I made a cursory look at other brands, the ThinkPad has all the power, features and ruggedness that I want. There are many laptop brands out there, but I have never found a product easier to use, more powerful, or more rugged than ThinkPads.

When I put together my order, I was thrilled to find that Lenovo was running a sale and that it was also a tax-free weekend in my state. This was a nice little bonus!

I was about to put my order in to Lenovo when I decided to check out a corporateperks.com sub-site I belong to. Imagine my surprise when I found that Lenovo was their featured partner of the month and I could order my new ThinkPad at near cost!

So, thanks to my affiliation, I was able to get my new ThinkPad at almost 50% off of their normal price!

Buying directly from Lenovo made me feel better about the authenticity of the product, extended warranty, accident protection, etc. Speaking of accident protection, I made sure to order that in addition to the extended warranty.

Buying a new laptop or desktop always presents many choices to deliberate on: operating system, CPU, RAM, accessories, etc. This ThinkPad was no exception.

After consulting with others in my field, I decided on Windows Vista Business 64 instead of Windows XP. Although I know XP is still supported by more development tools than Vista, Vista is the future (at least for now) and the 64-bit operating system will allow me to take full advantage of the 4GB RAM I am installing.

I've also decided to forgo Microsoft Office for the first time ever and give Open Office a try.

There were many other choices to make, but the OS and business suite were the two most difficult to make.

My Own Independence Day

2008-08-06T10:39:00.000-04:00

July 4th was my own Independence Day! After 7 years working for the OHC family, I went out on my own.

I was originally looking for a new job and company doing something a little different, but thanks to good friends, the work came in without me even looking for it. So, I've decided to pursue freelance work.

My friends taking care of me reinforced my core beliefs in putting people first. I've known all of these folks many, many years. All are highly talented people and all are also people-persons! This is SO important in consulting.

I am not sure what my company name will be, but I am refocused on IBM technologies again.

Getting to know U

2008-03-06T16:40:00.000-05:00

As a long-time software architect and occasional application administrator, I have occasionally been involved with the physical aspects of the environments I work with. Mostly my involvement was making sure that servers were reliable, had enough processors, RAM and disk space, that these were backed up regularly, and that the servers were physically secure.

As of January, I have become involved in data center planning, rationalization, and migrations. I have entered this role via my experience with distributed applications and application architect.

I have already learned some new things. Most of these are old hat to hardware folks, but to me, these are new things.

First, I've learned about rack units. Wikipedia says "A rack unit is a unit of measure used to describe the height of a server, network switch or other similar device mounted in a server rack. One rack unit is 44.45 mm (1.75 in) high and is commonly designated as '1U'; similarly, 2 rack units are '2U' and so on. The size of a piece of rack mounted equipment is usually described as a number in 'U'" and most racks are 42 U high.

Second, I've learned about NEMA and NEMA Connectors. NEMA stands for the National Electrical Manufacturers Association, a US industry group which has set electrical standards since 1926. Given US prominence in the world, NEMA sets standards for the United States and other countries.

NEMA connectors are simply the outlets and plugs used to connect a device to electricity. The standard three pronged plugs and outlets found in most US households are also known as a NEMA 5–15 plug and receptacle. The NEMA code indicates the power and shape of the plug and receptacle.

I am glad I got to know U!

I expect that I will be learning many new things in the future!

The National Museum of Commercial Aviation

2008-02-15T13:31:00.000-05:00

It's astounding, but did you know that an industry with nearly 100 years of history, that captured the world's attention as airlines were birthed, merged and died, and has grown to become the preferred mode of transportation does not have a dedicated national museum?

The National Museum of Commercial Aviation, located near Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, intends to be the premiere museum of commercial aviation in the country, if not the world.

Please visit their website at http://nationalaviationmuseum.com/ and their blog at nationalaviationmuseum.blogspot.com/.

Please consider joining the museum and help to preserve and promote the heritage of commercial aviation.

Hypersonic jet could reach Australia in under five hours

2008-02-10T09:48:00.000-05:00

British engineers unveiled plans Tuesday for a hypersonic jet which could fly from Europe to Australia in less than five hours.

The A2 plane, designed by engineering company Reaction Engines based in Oxfordshire, southern England, could carry 300 passengers at a top speed of almost 4,000 mph (6,400 kmh), five times the speed of sound.

The LAPCAT (Long-Term Advanced Propulsion Concepts and Technologies) project, backed by the European Space Agency, could see the plane operating within 25 years, the firm's boss Alan Bond told the Guardian daily.

"The A2 is designed to leave Brussels international airport, fly quietly and subsonically out into the north Atlantic at mach 0.9 before reaching mach 5 across the North Pole and heading over the Pacific to Australia," he said.

The plane, which at 143 metres (469 feet) long would be about twice the size of the biggest current jets, could fly non-stop for up to 12,500 miles (20,000 km).

It operates on liquid hydrogen, which is more ecologically friendly as it gives off water and nitrous oxide instead of carbon emissions.

Passengers would have to put up with having no windows, due to problems with heat produced at high speeds. Instead designers may put flat screen televisions where the windows would be, giving the impression of seeing outside.

Fares would be comparable with current first class tickets on standard flights, of around 3,500 pounds (4,700 euros, 6,900 dollars).

The flight time from Brussels to Australia would be four hours and 40 minutes. "It sounds incredible by today's standards but I don't see why future generations can't make day trips to Australasia," he said.

"Our work shows that it is possible technically; now it's up to the world to decide if it wants it."

For more information, visit .the story on Yahoo News.

United Adds $25 Fee for 2nd Bag

2008-02-04T14:10:00.000-05:00

United to Charge Non-Frequent Fliers $25 to Check 2nd Suitcase
CHICAGO (AP) -- United Airlines will begin charging passengers $25 to check in a second piece of luggage for domestic travel if they are not part of its most-frequent-flier programs, the airline said Monday.

The charge will generate more than $100 million in revenue and cost savings each year, UAL Corp. said. The change takes effect May 5 and applies to tickets purchased on or after Monday.

Travelers would have to log at least 25,000 miles in a year on United to ensure they can check their second bag for free.

Airlines want to charge more for not only checked baggage but assigned seats and other services. Investors have urged airlines to pass on the higher costs of fuel to passengers through ticket-price increases or similar surcharges.

United's customer research showed a quarter of its customers check a second bag, Chief Revenue Officer John Tague said in a statement. The new policy will allow customers with many bags to continue bringing them for a fee and "enables us to offer competitive fares to everyone," Tague said.

Customers who have "Premier" status or higher within United's Mileage Plus program, or "Silver" status or higher within its Star Alliance program still will be able to check in a second bag for free. The new charge applies to those who purchase nonrefundable domestic economy tickets.

United will charge all customers $100 per bag for up to four additional bags. Previous charges ranged from $85 to $125 per bag. The cost to check items that require special handling because they are large, overweight or fragile will now be either $100 or $200, depending on the item.

New fees apply to trips within the U.S. and or those that include Canada, San Juan, Puerto Rico and St. Thomas. Customers whose itineraries include other international flights still will be able to check the second bag for free. The cost to check more than two bags, or items that are overweight or require special handling, on such trips will vary by destination.

UAL shares fell $2.38, or 5.8 percent, to $38.76 in morning trading.

Another Government Giveaway

2008-01-02T10:12:00.000-05:00

Millions of $40 government coupons become available Tuesday to help low-tech television owners buy special converter boxes for older TVs that might not work after the switch to digital broadcasting.

Beginning Feb. 18, 2009, anyone who does not own a digital set and still gets their programming via over-the-air antennas will no longer receive a picture.

That's the day the television industry completes its transition from old-style analog broadcasting to digital.

The converter boxes are expected to cost between $50 and $70 and will be available at most major electronics retail stores. Starting Tuesday, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration will begin accepting requests for two $40 coupons per household to be used toward the purchase of the boxes.

Viewers who have satellite or cable service will not need a box.

To request a coupon, consumers can apply online at http://www.dtv2009.gov/ starting Tuesday. The government also has set up a 24-hour hotline to take requests, 1-888-DTV-2009 (1-888-388-2009).

Sadly, this seems like an easy program to abuse. Just get the coupon, buy the converter, then sell it on EBay for slightly less than paid. Thus, another government giveaway.

Airline glitches top cause of delays

2007-12-27T15:02:00.000-05:00

USA Today reports that Flight delays caused by airline glitches are now creating longer passenger slowdowns than congestion in the skies.

The data call into question a long-held notion about air travel delays — that bad weather and heavy air traffic cause the bulk of the waits that passengers endure. The newspaper's analysis shows that airline problems, such as pilot shortages, taking too long to refuel and mechanical breakdowns, are as much at the root of delays as anything else.

see the whole article in USA Today

Book argues that Bell stole phone idea

2007-12-26T16:33:00.000-05:00

A new book claims to have definitive evidence of a long-suspected technological crime — that Alexander Graham Bell stole ideas for the telephone from a rival, Elisha Gray.

In "The Telephone Gambit: Chasing Alexander Graham Bell's Secret," journalist Seth Shulman argues that Bell — aided by aggressive lawyers and a corrupt patent examiner — got an improper peek at patent documents Gray had filed, and that Bell was erroneously credited with filing first.

Shulman believes the smoking gun is Bell's lab notebook, which was restricted by Bell's family until 1976, then digitized and made widely available in 1999.

The notebook details the false starts Bell encountered as he and assistant Thomas Watson tried transmitting sound electromagnetically over a wire. Then, after a 12-day gap in 1876 — when Bell went to Washington to sort out patent questions about his work — he suddenly began trying another kind of voice transmitter. That method was the one that proved successful.

read the whole story in Yahoo! News

buy the book from Amazon

Equifinality

2007-12-10T11:12:00.001-05:00

When I was a student, I worked for an awesome professor of Educational Leadership named Bob Stakenas. Dr. Stakenas took me under his wing and taught me all sorts of things that were applicable to the larger world. One of the important things I learned was the principle of equifinality.

Equifinality means that we can and often do start from different places and take different paths to reach the same goal.

This is a very powerful concept!

When applied to business processes, equifinality means that what works for one person may not work well for another. In other words, there are often many ways to do the same thing.

Dr. Stakenas, who studied the great W. Edwards Deming, felt that although education is not exactly a business, successful business processes and analyses could be incorporated to achieve greater success.

I have been mindful of equifinality in my career and personal life. Templates and assembly lines are great for factories, but not the answer for every situation. We are all different and so are our customers.

For instance, I have a developer friend who is very extroverted, which is unusual in my profession. This extroversion has served him well with clients, but he is quite different from the norm of our colleagues. Most of us find success in quieter ways whereas he, with his more social ways, is also very successful with his relationships and results.

Under the principle of equifinality, my friend is doing as he ought to, as are the rest of us. We start with differing approaches and aptitudes, and we each work hard to deliver and please. That is what equifinality is all about.

Kitchen Computer

2007-12-04T14:49:00.001-05:00

Here's a cool blast from the past, the Nieman Marcus Kitchen Computer.

Any husband who bought this for his wife was probably in the dog house with her before her two week programming course ended.

Flight attendant retires after 50 years

2007-11-29T11:11:00.000-05:00

She rubbed elbows with Sinatra and once lost her skirt in-flight in her career as a flight attendant.

Nicknamed the "Queen of Aloha," Aloha Airlines Flight Attendant Patti Smart retires Friday after more than a half-century on the job she started when she was 18 years old.

See the article in Yahoo! News.

Google rolls out mobile phone locator

2007-11-28T16:39:00.000-05:00

Internet search leader Google Inc. is testing technology that will find the location of people using its mobile mapping service, even if the phone making the connection isn't equipped with a GPS receiver.

See the article in Yahoo! News.

Booking Fun

2007-11-12T10:31:00.000-05:00

I have been working on a trip to Israel and I noticed that a reasonably priced trip stops in Paris.

As Israel is such a long way away, a few days in Europe might be very nice. Going to Israel for a few days could be exhausting, so the choice is to stay longer in Israel or perhaps make a stop-over coming or going.

The rates via Paris (quick plane change) were around $1000 roundtrip. However, building in Paris as a stopover increased the price to over $1300. Interestingly, if I booked two separate roundtrips using the exact same flights, the price dropped to around $1200.

None of this surprised me, but it does demonstrate that the online booking services require a lot of analysis to get the best deal. Even though I am pretty travel savvy, if I could save a bundle effortlessly, I would gladly pay a travel agent to find a deal.

Domino Tip: Agent Logging

2007-11-10T17:23:00.001-05:00

Agent Logging has been around since at least Lotus Notes / Domino 4.x, but many folks still don't use it. It's great not only in de-cluttering the Notes log (log.nsf), but is also awesome for debugging and posting the success or failure of an agent.

To help me quickly deploy and use agent logging in applications, I have developed set of a easy to implement and use design elements: a Lotusscript Library, a Domino Form, and a Domino view.

Agent Entry Domino Form
Form Name: (Agent Log Entry)Log Entry (based on Domino Agent Log template)

Log Entries Domino View
View Name: Agent ActivityAgent Log

Agent Logging Lotusscript
The following is to be stored in a script library.

Dim AgentLog As NotesLog, AgentLogLastPost As Long

Sub LogOpen (tmpProgName As String)
 Dim Session As New NotesSession
 Dim tmpServer As String, tmpDBPath As String
 Set AgentLog = New NotesLog(tmpProgName)
 If Session.IsOnServer Then
  tmpServer = ""
 Else
  tmpServer = Session.CurrentDatabase.Server
 End If
 tmpDBPath = Session.CurrentDatabase.FilePath
 Call AgentLog.OpenNotesLog(tmpServer, tmpDBPath)
End Sub


Sub LogAction (ActionMessage As String)
%REM
        Creator: Marc Resnick
        Date Created: Spring 2006
        Purpose:   Posts an action to the agent log
        Triggers: Various
        Dependencies: None
        Details:        Posts an action to the agent log (if the agent log is open)
                                delays until timer advances to ensure sequential listing in Agent Log view
%END REM
 Dim tmpString As String
 If AgentLog Is Nothing Then Exit Sub
 While AgentLogLastPost = Fix(100*Timer())
                ' delay ensures sequential display in agent log view
  Sleep .01
 Wend
 Call AgentLog.LogAction(ActionMessage)
 AgentLogLastPost = Fix(100*Timer())
End Sub


Sub LogErrorCustom(CodeName As String)
%REM
        Creator: Marc Resnick
        Date Created: Spring 2006
        Purpose:   Posts an error to the agent log for a named section of code with a custom error code
        Triggers: Various
        Dependencies: None
        Details:        Posts an error to the agent log (if the agent log is open)
                        for a named section of code (CodeName)
%END REM
 Dim tmpString As String, ErrorCode As Integer
 If AgentLog Is Nothing Then Exit Sub
 While AgentLogLastPost = Fix(100*Timer())
                ' delay ensures sequential display in agent log view
  Sleep .01
 Wend
 ErrorCode = Err()
 tmpString = "Error " & Cstr(ErrorCode) & " on line " & Cstr(Erl()) & " in " & CodeName & ": "  & Error$(ErrorCode)
 Call AgentLog.LogError(ErrorCode, tmpString)
 AgentLogLastPost = Fix(100*Timer())
End Sub

Sub LogClose()
 Call AgentLog.Close
 Set AgentLog = Nothing
End Sub

Configuring with Files

2007-06-24T23:56:00.000-04:00

These past couple of weeks I have been working to integrate SameTime, QuickPlace, Tivoli Directory Server (TDS), and WebSphere Portal together. To say the least, it has been a challenge. I have plenty of experience with the Domino products, but not so much with Tivoli and WebSphere. In working on the integration, I was surprised by how much I had to configure without a UI. I expected this with Websphere and TDS, but not with Domino. As I've said before, the more things progress, the more things go back to the past. Although QuickPlace has a UI for configuration, almost all configuration is done by editing qpconfig.xml in Notepad. At least with Domino I can use a console to set values in the Notes.ini. With TDS, I build instruction files and then import these. In TDS, I can do some configuration via a UI, but it requires instantiating a Websphere application. With Portal, much of the configuration is done with build files and scripts.

Notes and Domino release 8 Beta 3 now available!!!

2007-05-30T14:58:00.000-04:00

Lotus Notes 8 Beta 3 is now available for all platforms, including the Linux desktop. According to Ed Brill, this is the final beta, which means we are probably about 60 days from gold status. You can download it here.

Ed Brill says "This is the third, and last, public beta planned for the Notes/Domino 8 cycle. It is a 'production' build, which means that the debug code that was in prior betas is gone. You should see much better performance -- the early comments here and in the beta forum seem to confirm this -- and a lot of fit-and-finish work."

You can view all of Ed's comments on his blog.

Remember Our Troops

2007-05-24T10:17:00.000-04:00

This Monday, May 28, is Memorial Day in the USA. This is a day to remember all of our troops: fallen, served, and serving. An excellent way to help show our appreciation of these brave folks is to donate to the USO.

Since 1941, the USO has been there for our troops in war and in peace. As someone who travels often, I have seen many young soldiers (men and women) benefiting from USO centers in airports. While I can buy young persons in uniform Starbucks and dinners, I can't offer them a place to rest, a shower, Internet access, nor a private phone to call their family. The USO does these and so many more things for our folks in uniform.

While enjoying your freedom to BBQ and relax this weekend, please consider giving to the USO.

Missouri Floods and My Own Mini-emergency

2007-05-17T14:15:00.000-04:00

Last week I went to Missouri to begin installing Rapid Response v2. As you can imagine, I picked an interesting time to go. With the floods going on, I watched folks managing a crisis first-hand. Knowing how hard everyone (law enforcement, National Guard, the military, other first responders and civilian emergency management employees) was working, I was extra patient with all of my requests. It was also neat to see them using an earlier release of this component to monitor and manage the situation.

The night before I left for Missouri, my laptop decided to have its own mini-emergency. Late in the day I had a problem shutting down my laptop. When I tried to reboot it, it kept throwing hive errors and wouldn't boot up. I tried booting in every variety of safe-mode, but nothing worked. I tried restoring my last know good configuration. That too failed. Ultimately, I used an XP boot disk to reach my hard drive and then ran chkdsk. This solved the problem, but it took me hours to get to this point and then hours more for chkdsk to run. If things didn't look right at 7am the next day, I would be rushing to the office before my afternoon flight to St. Louis. Luckily, it all worked out!

One highlight of my trip was flying on a Beech 1900D to Columbia, MO. I hadn't flown on one of these little nineteen-seaters since 1992. It was great to fly at 6,000 feet weaving in and out of the clouds. My view of the landscape and clouds was wonderful! On the way back, it was awesome checking in and clearing security only 30 minutes before my flight departed!

Success Story

2007-04-27T11:17:00.000-04:00

I am happy to announce that a project my friend Jerry Glover and I worked on last year is being highlighted as a customer success story on my company's website. Jerry and I architected and developed G'CCO, Georgia Central Credit Union's online coin and currency ordering system. For more details, check out the success story.

Lotusphere Comes to You

2007-04-27T11:05:00.000-04:00

Optimus Solutions, the company I've called home for nearly six years, is hosting a series of Lotusphere Comes To You events this summer.

I am thrilled to share that we'll be having Ed Brill deliver our keynote in Chicago on June 19, Bob Bry in Atlanta on June 12, and Kim Artlip in Tampa on June 14. This is really exciting news!

For more information and registration, check out Optimus' Lotusphere Comes To You page.

I myself won't be presenting this year, as I was previously slated elsewhere. I know our speakers and my colleagues will do a great job! These are always fun events!

Going to California

2007-04-06T10:32:00.000-04:00

I am now working with a cool product called Rapid Response Virtual EOC^TM. Using Websphere Portal, Rapid Response integrates emergency management software with QuickPlace and SameTime to create a complete environment for monitoring, managing, and responding to disasters and emergencies.

This month I am going to Los Angeles, California to learn about the Emergency Management software presently used by Rapid Response. Besides technical training, I am looking forward to seeing the Queen Mary, the Getty Museum, and some of the aviation history in the area.

Booking from Boston

2007-03-28T10:23:00.001-04:00

Last week I tried to book a flight from Boston in April. Orbitz, CheapTickets, and Travelocity all showed a total price of around $124 on AirTran. However, every attempt to book this rate failed. Every time after I had submitted all of my information and had clicked on Purchase, I was informed that seats were no longer available. This definitely was a computer glitch, perhaps originating from AirTran, but none seemed to fix it. AirTran's own site showed a total fare of $149, but I wanted the $124.

In the old days, if you advertised a price and didn't deliver, it was the company's problem; nowadays it is the consumer's problem. I called Orbitz and was told by several people with very poor English that it just couldn't be done. Anyhow, I finally did book a return trip, but not from Boston nor on AirTran. It cost me more, but was more convenient for the slight price increase above $149.

End of the Line?

2007-03-27T09:35:00.000-04:00

I began working with computers back in high-school. Since that time, I've seen many products come and go. Some great products have gone, but for the most part progress has been good.

I've used the industry leading products VisiCalc, dBASE, WordStar, and Havard Graphics. Two of these products still exist under their own name, but the others don't. All were victims of the marketplace.

I've recently been working with a customer to create new Domino applications which interact with their legacy non-relational ISAM files. These flat ISAM files are being maintained by a collection of COBOL procedures.

It's funny, but I remember being told over a decade ago that flat files and COBOL were gone, gone, gone. Of course, I didn't believe it then, and I don't believe it now. The reason is simple. While technology marches along, people and businesses continue to use what works. It would be helpful to me for my client to abandon COBOL and ISAM, but perhaps not to them. They've built their business on this technology and it has served them well. My client knows that eventually they must replace their COBOL with more modern code and their ISAM files with DB2 -- just not yet.

Since 1993, my major focus has been Lotus Notes and Domino. I have heard many times over the years that Notes is on the way out. Thankfully, it wasn't and it isn't. Unlike dBASE and VisiCalc, Lotus users, developers and architects comprise a loyal evangelical community. IBM, since its acquisition of Lotus in 1995, has invested in keeping the product fresh and competitive. Sometimes marketing has taken the front-seat (I had an IBM rep who always said that WebSphere products would replace Domino), but the technology has always been good and the product multi-faceted.

I recently heard a consultant tell me that Domino was a dying product, that Java and SharePoint, and all the rest would be replacing it. Interestingly, I am much busier doing Domino work lately than Java work; many of my Java only colleagues are sitting around waiting for client work.

The point I am trying to make, I guess, is that being well rounded, working hard, and ignoring all the prognosticators is the best way to go! You will use many great products along the way. Some will stick around, and some won't. You'll also encounter some products which seem to have no future or which may appear obsolete, which hang on. Of course, you'll also encounter products like Lotus Notes/Domino and Internet Explorer which keep up and continue to grow with the marketplace.

Thoughts on Daylight Savings Time

2007-03-20T17:37:00.001-04:00

Recently the tech industry had a mini-repeat of Y2K by way of the revised Daylight Savings Time (DST) law in the US. By an Act of Congress, DST has begun earlier than previously scheduled. This has thrown an array of computer applications and data into a state of disarray.

Personally, I am no fan of the ever lengthening DST. However, my hesitance aside, I found it interesting that patches and fixes from Microsoft and IBM were so late in coming. Congress gave advance notice, but somehow few appeared to worry until we were a month out from setting our clocks ahead.

Like the Y2K bug, I feel this was completely avoidable. Yes, at one time Y2K was a legitimate issue, but if a high-schooler in the 80's could figure out that 2 character years were going to be a problem, then certainly our folks in the tech industry could have solved the Y2K problem before 2000 approached. In my opinion the Y2K issue was a case of passing the buck. In some ways, I feel the DST issue is the same. Our nation is not the only one to revise DST dates, yet handling it seemed to be a difficult situation requiring numerous patches at the OS and application layers.

I am not an expert on computer BIOS nor on the underlying design of how dates are stored in various applications, but I suspect there was a better way and I imagine someone had already thought of it. Thinking ahead doesn't always pay us money, but it sure saves our successors from future headaches and makes us good stewards of our technology environments.

Thanks for your consideration.

Welcome to RezAir

2007-03-20T16:43:00.000-04:00

Thanks for visiting. I am going to post stuff about technology and travel and other random musings.

I am a tech professional who loves travel and commercial aviation. If I had the aptitude, I would be a commercial airline pilot. As a boy, I dreamt of whisking passengers from city to city in a glorious Boeing or Douglas jet. I also dreamt of being a professional traveler, someone who flew frequently traveling to many places. Using airline timetables as a guide, I used to plot out my imaginary trips to far away cities.

As far as technology goes, I think it is a tool to make our lives better. So long as we remember that it is just that, it is wonderful. A pretty sunset can be enjoyed without capturing it with a camera; a concert can be enjoyed without recording it to a cell-phone; a trip to the market can be made without a GPS or Blackberry; and I can spend a day without blogging or logging in to my e-mail.

Happy wanderings!