At Lotusphere2012, IBM made a pretty big announcements around Lotus Symphony. Let's cover them in order of significance, starting with smallest first.

IBM Lotus Symphony 3.0.1 ships



Some great new features like the Speakers View and the one million row support make this a great point release. Not sure if there will be an overlay install for the Notes client but working on that.

IBM LotusLive Symphony morphs into IBM Docs



IBM showed off the newly renamed IBM Docs, now in beta on Greenhouse. If you have used web-based editors like Google Docs and Office 365, this will feel a bit familiar. The integration with IBM Smart Cloud Engage / Connections is impressive. But what really got notice was when they demoed a web editor for creating macros inside the web document editors. The demo was a spreadsheet with a button that inserted data and did formatting. The demo was impressive, but the fact the macro language was javascript was even more so. The timeline for release seems summer for the cloud product with on-premises deployments by the end of the year. Even  John C. Dvorak, who rarely writes about IBM, wrote the The Imminent Word Processing Bloodbath covering Google Docs vs. Microsoft 365 and IBM Docs. He missed a bit of the timeline and did not mention Lotus Symphony at well, but I think he captured the coming web editor battle pretty well.

Lotus Symphony Viewers for both iOS and Android are now available

Both of these have been avialable since December, but they got a lot of attention at the show. I was pleasantly suprized that after I downloaded the Symphony viewers to my iPad, I was able to download and open my Speedgeeking presentation and use that for the 12 5 minute pitches on OpenNTF.org. Impressive.

IBM announces full support for Apache OpenOffice.org ... and the end of Lotus Symphony as we know it



The big news at Lotusphere was that IBM is going to stop developing a stand-alone product known as Lotus Symphony and shift all of the developers to Apache OpenOffice.org. They are working on Apache OpenOffice.org 3.4 and bringing over as much of the Lotus Symphony changes and development back into the core OpenOffice.org code. But the real focus is on Apache OpenOffice.org 4.0, which will get the user interface enhancements that IBM made in the Symphony product. Here is a sample image of what Apache OpenOffice.org might look like:



As you can see, I highlighted the Symphony sidebar and panel selection vertical stripe that has been added to the traditional OpenOffice.org user interface. I am sure this will change quite a bit before the release later this year (or next) but its a hint at what is to come.

What does this mean for Lotus Symphony? We just got 3.0.1 and I believe except for fix packs for bugs and any security issues that come out, we have seen the last version of Symphony. IBM Lotus Notes 8.5.X will still have an embedded version of Lotus Symphony, but no one at IBM would commit to a future version of the product having a bundled productivity editor. The main reason is that Lotus Symphony was built on top of Eclipse.org and Lotus Expeditor, and that framework is not moving forward with Apache OpenOffice.org.

I asked IBM about the future and one of the things they expect is to have an Apache OpenOffice.org IBM Edition in the Apache OpenOffice.org 4.0 timeframe. The IBM edition will include the base product and plug-ins that provide integration to IBM Connections and IBM SmartCloud. It will also be supported by IBM in some fashion, like Lotus Symphony is supported for Notes customers today. The details are not worked out, but IBM's intention is to include the entire Apache OpenOffice.org product in this package and only add to the product via plug-ins.

So what is the impact of this change? A few thoughts ...

1. IBM is going to save a bunch of money by not having to import bug fixes and changes from open source project. They are going to work directly on the code branch. They will have less control of what makes a release, as the community selects features as they are checked in.
2. IBM has hired five of the original StarOffice employees who were at Sun and then were Oracle employees. Having some of the original blood as part of the IBM team is a great thing.
3. The Lotus Symphony embedded edition is pretty much dead man walking. It won't go away until we get a new version of Notes (something like a Notes 9 which no one has announced), but if you are building Eclipse plug-ins that integrate with Notes and Symphony, stop. They aren't the way forward.
4. We finally got developer nirvana with the Lotus Symphony LotusScript APIs .. but those don't work with the stand-alone version. It would be great if IBM allowed us to use preferences to point to the external version of Symphony for use with the APIs. That would be a great 8.5.4 feature to bridge the upcoming gap.
5. I think this puts Symphony development and integration on a year long hiatus. Why would you invest in something that might not work next year? I realize that is not a huge community and body of work, but it was a great tool.

Open Questions:

1. What is the plan for the Lotus Symphony LotusScript and Java API that we use with the embedded version of Lotus Symphony? Apache OpenOffice.org does not have a very user friendly API today. It uses the UNO (Universal Network Objects) API. I have demoed code that allows Notes to talk to UNO via LotusScript, and it is damn ugly. Apache OpenOffice.org does not have a COM API today and does not register itself as an OLE object. Will IBM work to make the API's work going forward? Enable COM and OLE within Apache OpenOffice.org itself? Let's hope so.
2. IBM Docs is getting a new javascript macro language. Will that work in a future version of Apache OpenOffice.org? What happens when I open that document that I export in Microsoft Office using their ODF document filters? Coexistence needs to be figured out and demonstrated.
3. Will IBM Docs become an document automation server or is it just a consumer tool? Can I use IBM Docs with a web service and do truely headless cloud based document generation? That is where I want to see this go.

Final Thoughts

Overall I am excited and supportive of this direction. IBM Docs is an exciting product and having IBM put full support behind Apache OpenOffice.org is good for the community in the long term. There are a lot of open questions. A developers roadmap that includes this new IBM Docs javascript API and the existing IBM Symphony Java and LotusScript APIs and the very flexible yet ugly UNO APIs. I hope IBM shows leadership and does some dramatic work here. I will show my support of IBM in a couple ways in the coming week. Look for more.

(as you can tell, I heavily borrowed Ed Brill's screens from his IBM - Lotusphere 2012: Messaging and Collaboration Strategy slides on Slideshare.com. I could not find any other published references at this point. Thanks Ed.)

We are very honored to have been included in the Lotusphere2012 Opening General Session presentation when Kevin and Doug talked about XPages.

You can get the Getting Started Database Here

Lotusphere 2012 is here soon and you can find me doing the following sessions:

JMP304 Master Class: Integration in the world of Social Business
Speakers: Andrew Barickman, John Head
DL S. Hem IV -V - Sunday  10:30 AM - 12:30 PM

Integration has remained a key skill in the Domino Developer toolkit since 1994. 18 years later, the Integration skillset comes to a head with the ideals of Social Business: modern web interface, social interactions, and mobile delivery. This session builds on top of the integration sessions of the past and highlights the master skills needed today. We will show how to integrate Lotus Notes, Lotus Domino, Domino XPages, and LotusLive applications with the tools on your users' machines spanning Microsoft Office, Microsoft .NET custom applications, Lotus Symphony, and more. We will examine how the ODF and OOXML standards are changing the integration story and bring integration to the web and mobile devices. Social interactions drive applications in a social business world and we will highlight how they fit when multiple integrations take place. This session will focus on how to build advanced integration that drives innovation and provides the best experience for your users.

BP107 IBM Lotus Notes/Domino Application Development Competitive Advantage : The Social Business Edition
Speakers: John Head, John Beck
DL S. Hem II - Thursday  08:30 AM - 09:30 AM

Some organizations are neglecting or under-utilizing one of the greatest IT assets in their portfolio today - the Notes/Domino application platform. Some are even considering re-coding Domino applications in other languages and development tools. In this session we present the business case and technical merits of Notes and Domino in direct comparison to other tools such as Microsoft SharePoint. We will put application migration and new application development head to head. Based on data collected from real-world engagements we will demonstrate the positive return on investment of the Notes platform. We will also discuss an application modernization strategy and how it helps move customers from merely maintaining Notes applications to increasing their value with Domino XPages and advanced collaboration functionality. If your organization is considering a migration or is under using your Notes/Domino investment, this session is for you.

I will also be speaking about OpenNTF.org at SpeedGeeking:

GEEK101 SpeedGeeking! (web link)
Speaker:
DL Pacific Hall - Tuesday  06:15 PM - 07:30 PM

SpeedGeeking is back and promises to be as fun, loud, chaotic, and highly informational as ever. Enjoy jumping from one station to the next, while stopwatches, buzzers, and a loud-mouthed emcee keeps things fast-paced and on track!

See everyone at Lotusphere 2012!

I am very happy that 2012 is here. I don't know about many of you, but 2011 is a year I am glad to put behind me. Professionally, 2011 was amazing. Speaking at Lotusphere 2011, BLUG, UKLUG, IamLUG, and MWLUG on topics that were brand new for me. 2011 was also the year I fully embraced that I am in a sales role, not a delivery role. It has been a difficult mental transition but the results were pretty amazing. It was also the year I fully detached myself from any software brand loyalty war. I have clients equally on both the IBM and Microsoft sides and working to add in new clients in areas I have not been hands-on with delivery. PSC grew quite a bit last year, with over 20 hires in our Schaumburg branch - and equally in all areas. Our collaboration team is working on what many inside IBM consider to be the largest XPages project undertaken to date. Can't wait until we are further along so we can begin to show some of the highlights of what we are doing.

Of course, 2011 will be remembered as the year my father passed away. So much of 2011 is painted with his passing. Firsts like his birthday, my birthday, and all the holidays with him not here. I am glad to be moving past much of the emotional pieces and into a new year. It's time to remember Dad but not let it be the leading factor in everything that happens in my world.

So Happy New Year everyone. May 2012 be the best year for all of us.

Today is my 11th anniversary here with PSC Group, LLC. It's been an amazing period of my life. Lots of change and excitement. I can't say I ever thought of myself as the person who would work anywhere for 11 years, especially after the period of 1997 thru 2000 where I jumped companies a bit, but PSC is as much a home and family as it is a job. Looking forward to many more years. Thanks to Andrew, Bruce, John, Tony, Jim, and the rest of the team for making every day worth the effort.

I love this time of year. The air is crisp. The food changes to be more hearty. The memories of my youth come back. Thanksgiving leads into the holiday season that becomes Christmas. My favorite time of the year ... well, after college football falls.

The difference is that this year there is an emotional weight attached to the holidays. The first without my father. A Thanksgiving without my father yelling at the Lions to play better. It then leads into the 6 month anniversary and another trip to Orlando. The memorial bench has finally arrived and much of the family is coming together to intern Dad's ashes. That leads us into Christmas - my father's favorite holiday. It's more than just not going to his house this year to dine and open gifts together. It's his presence of overdoing everything about Christmas that is missing. His four Christmas trees with boxes of ornaments. His Christmas houses display that took over rooms. The outdoor decorations. I plan on carrying on many of those traditions, at a smaller scale.

I am typically full of energy this time of year. I have noticed that I am a bit more quiet this year. For obvious reasons. So if I seem a bit more reserved, now you know why.

Tis the season to remember the memories of the past and make new ones. Thanks for the support this year to everyone. This Thanksgiving I am grateful for my family and all of you. Happy Holidays.

Here is what's coming out today ...

Movies

• 12 Angry Men: The Criterion Collection
• Band Of Brothers / The Pacific: SE Gift Set
• Beauty And The Beast: Belle's Magical World
• Beauty And The Beast: The Enchanted Christmas SE
• Bombshell
• Carjacked
• Cinderella Story, A / Another Cinderella Story (2 Pack)
• Conan The Adventurer: Season #2: Part 1
• Conan The Barbarian (2011)
• Devil's Double, The
• Doctor Who (2005): Series #6 (Blu-Ray) (#20 in the DVDPS Top 40)
• Doctor Who (2005): Series #6
• L Word, The: Complete Series
• Law & Order: UK: Season #2
• Love Begins
• Love Hina: The Complete Series (Anime Classics)
• Madea Christmas, A: The Play
• Meet The Browns: Season #3
• Michael Jackson: The Life of an Icon
• Office, The: SE
• Perry Mason: Season #6: Volume 1
• Perry Mason: Season #6: Volume 2
• Prep And Landing
• Pure Country 2: The Gift / Pure Country (2 Pack)
• Sarah's Key
• Spy Kids: All The Time In The World
• Super 8 (Blu-Ray + DVD + Digital Copy) (#5 in the DVDPS Top 40)
• Super 8
• Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman: Season #2
• Timmy Time: Go Kart Timmy
• WWE: Night of Champions 2011

Computer Games

• WWE '12 ( Xbox 360)
• The King of Fighters XIII ( Xbox 360)
• Karaoke Revolution Glee: Volume 3 Bundle ( Xbox 360)
• WWE '12 ( PlayStation 3)
• The King of Fighters XIII ( PlayStation 3)
• Tekken Hybrid ( PlayStation 3)
• Playstation 3 24" 3D LED Display - 98078 ( PlayStation 3)
• WWE '12 ( Nintendo Wii)
• Power Rangers Samurai ( Nintendo Wii)
• Karaoke Revolution Glee: Volume 3 Bundle ( Nintendo Wii)
• Jimmie Johnson's Anything With An Engine ( Nintendo Wii)
• Power Rangers Samurai ( Nintendo DS)
• WWE All Stars 3DS (Nintendo 3DS)
• Face Racers: Photo Finish (Nintendo 3DS)
• Batman: Arkham City ( Windows Vista / XP)
• Weird Park: Broken Tune - Collector's Edition ( Windows 7 / Vista / XP)
• Learn to Play Chess with Fritz & Chesster: Chess Complete 3-Pack ( Windows 7 / Vista / XP)
• Fritz Chess 13 ( Windows 7 / Vista / XP)

Music

• Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas (Special Edition) ~ Paige O'Hara, Robby Benson, et al.
• Fallen Empires: Deluxe Edition ~ Snow Patrol
• Story Time ~ Nightwish
• The Complete EP Collection ~ James McCartney
• Complete Album Collection ~ Nina Simone
• Classic Albums Collection ~ Elo
• More...

my pic(s) of the week:

The last release day before the holidays

For those interested, I use DVD Price Search for upcoming movie tracking and Amazon's New Releases Page for music and computer games

As this holiday season is going to be many firsts for me without Dad around, Halloween was the beginning. My Dad loved Halloween. He decorated the house, dressed up, and loved to give out toys and treats. His collection of Department 56 houses for Halloween was larger than his Christmas collection - which says something.

My uncle, my father's brother, lives in Playa del Carmen and runs a hotel he owns with my aunt. One of the traditions in Mexico around Halloween is the Day of the Dead celebration. My uncle blogged about his Day of the Dead activities:

People visiting Mexico at this time of year will undoubtedly see references to Dia de Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. The colorful iconic figures of decorated skulls and dancing skeletons may lead some to believe that it is part of the American/European tradition of Halloween. It is not.

Day of the Dead is a pre-Christian, multi-cultural tradition which took root in Mexico centuries ago, possibly as early as the Aztec civilization. And despite its somewhat scary title the holiday is a celebration and a memorial to the lives of family and loved ones who have already passed on. Traditionally there are two days in this holiday. On November 1st children who have passed are remembered, and on November 2nd deceased adults are recalled.

As the first days of November approach, families in Mexico begin preparing ofrendas or small altars or shrines. The ofrenda will often be decorated with photographs of dead family members, along with flowers, candy, and various images of the calavera and calaca…the skull and the skeleton. Skulls are made of spun sugar and decorated like a cake. Paper skeletons are portrayed in all manner of dress and behavior (often comic). These figures are not meant to be scary but to show death is not to be feared but instead laughed at as having no power over us.

As the days of celebration approach, the altar will also be filled with the things the deceased may have enjoyed in life. Alcohol, cigarettes and favorite foods are placed on the ofrenda. We even saw a marijuana cigarette placed on one! Water and a special bread called pan de muerto (bread of the dead) are also included in the gifts to the dead.

The purpose of the ofrenda is to call the spirits of the deceased back to this world so that they might experience the love that is still felt for them here. On the days of the dead families will have memorial dinners or visit the graves of loved ones. It is meant to be a happy remembrance of those who have passed. Sadness is discouraged as it is said tears will make the path back to this world too slippery for the spirits to make the journey.

We fell in love with this tradition when we first moved here to Mexico and found it to be a wonderful alternative to the fear and suppression of death often experienced in Anglo-American culture. We quickly adopted the tradition for ourselves and have built an ofrenda every year since moving to Playa del Carmen.

When we were first visitors to this area we often would stop and admire an ofrenda only to be told all about the deceased individual by the altar’s owner. We cherish those memories lovingly shared by people about their departed loved ones and still remember some of their stories.

On our ofrenda this year we celebrate family and friends who have passed away:

John Vernon Head ~ Tony’s older brother John was only 63 when he passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack this past June. He had lived his life fully as a loving son, brother, father and grandfather to his four children and grandchild. He had been a lawyer admitted to practice law in several states and for many years operated his own law firm. Although a tough-minded and practical attorney, he still delighted in his family, directing great celebrations for Halloween, Christmas and birthdays where he would even bake the cakes. He was as sweet as he was strong.

Tony’s Mom and Dad, Jack and Rosalie Head ~ Rosalie’s picture is her high school graduation picture showing her red hair, green eyes and bright Irish American smile. Jack’s picture is when he was 21 just after he made corporal in the Marines on the eve of WWII. It is inscribed “To Rosalie, The Sweetheart of the Marines.” On the back of the picture of Rosalie is a brown smear. It is Jack’s blood. The picture was inside his shirt on the island of Guam when he was hit by mortar fire. He carried it with him through the rest of the war, and still had it when he returned after the war to marry Rosalie. They remained together until Rosalie passed in 1997. Jack passed away in 2002.

Cheri’s dad, Ed Skultety ~ Ed is pictured on our altar in his US Air Force uniform. He spent twenty years in the Air Force serving honorably in Vietnam. He was later stationed stateside, mostly in Omaha, Nebraska. He married Sally Vernon (Cheri’s mom who now lives in Sacramento) and together they had six children. He retired from the Air Force in 1974 with the rank of Master Sergeant. That year he and the family moved from Nebraska to Pennsylvania where Ed had grown up and where much of his family still lived. He passed away in Pennsylvania in 1985.

Bill and Barbara Oates ~ Bill and Barbara were one of the strongest, most loving couples we ever met. They lived through a time when interracial couples (Bill was black, Barbara white) were often ignored, treated with disdain, or worse. They never complained, never returned the hatred they occasionally saw and never looked back. They held on to each other no matter what. They found a wonderful life in San Francisco where they were known at every good restaurant and decent bar in town. After they got older and ill they passed away within a few months of each other…it seemed they couldn’t live without one another. We miss them very much.

Our Pets ~ We also include on our ofrenda some of the many pets which have lived with us, brightened our lives and given us their love, including Huggybear, Belle, Pixie and Carib and the latest of these, our cat Shammy. Shammy was 21 years (over 100 in equivalent human time) when he passed just a few days ago.

Over the next few days we will take time to remember each of these members of our family. We will treasure those memories and renew our love for them. It is our hope that if the spirits of the dead pass this way tonight and tomorrow, they will feel nothing but the love we still have for them.

My grandfather and grandmother were also included in the ofrenda display. Here are some photos:




With the holidays coming, I am trying to balance remembering the times with my dad and creating new memories. Going to be a rough first period without him around.

Here is what's coming out today ...

Movies

• 13
• Blue Velvet (Blu-Ray) (#11 in the DVDPS Top 40)
• Carey Treatment, The
• Change-Up, The
• Child's Garden Of Poetry
• Courtship of Eddie's Father, The: Season #1
• Dinky Dog: The Complete Series
• Doctor Who #058: Colony In Space
• Doctor Who #091: The Talons Of Weng-Chiang: SE
• Doctor Who (2005): Series #6: Part 2
• I'm Alive: Season #1
• Last Run, The (1971)
• Law & Order: The Complete Series
• Legend Of Lylah Clare, The
• Light In The Piazza
• Madwoman Of Chaillot
• Peter Gabriel: New Blood
• Rise And Fall Of Margaret Thatcher, The
• Salvation Boulevard
• Silverhawks: Season #1: Volume 2
• raveling Executioner, The
• Travels With My Aunt
• Wild Thornberrys: Season #2

Computer Games

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 ( Xbox 360)
• Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim ( Xbox 360)
• Xbox 360 Limited Edition Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Bundle ( Xbox 360)
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 ( Xbox 360)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 ( PlayStation 3)
• Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim ( PlayStation 3)
• Metal Gear Solid HD Collection ( PlayStation 3)
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 ( PlayStation 3)
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 ( Nintendo Wii)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 ( Nintendo Wii)
• Nickelodeon Dance ( Nintendo Wii)
• The Black Eyed Peas Experience ( Nintendo Wii)
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 ( Nintendo DS)
• Wappy Dog with Interactive Toy ( Nintendo DS)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 ( Nintendo DS)
• SpongeBob Surf and Skate Roadtrip ( Nintendo DS)
• Super Mario 3D Land (Nintendo 3DS)
• Cave Story 3D (Nintendo 3DS)
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 (Nintendo 3DS)
• Heavy Fire: The Chosen Few 3DS (Nintendo 3DS)
• Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim ( Windows Vista / XP)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 ( Windows Vista / XP)
• Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Collector's Edition ( Windows Vista / XP)
• Saints Row: The Third - Preload Available [Download] ( Windows Vista / 7 / XP)

Music

• Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn ~ Various Artists
• Wicked Game ~ Il Divo
• Lost Children ~ Disturbed
• Time Machine 2011: Live in Cleveland ~ Rush
• Rush: Time Machine 2011 - Live in Cleveland ~ Rush
• Now 40: That's What I Call Music ~ Various Artists
• More...

my pic(s) of the week:

Its a MW3 kind of week so people are staying away from releasing this week as the COD machine sells 6+ million games this week. Can't wait for the Rush Time Machine Blu-Ray but that is in a few weeks.

For those interested, I use DVD Price Search for upcoming movie tracking and Amazon's New Releases Page for music and computer games

Here is what's coming out today ...

Movies

• Californication: Season #4
• Cars 2 (Blu-Ray + DVD) (#18 in the DVDPS Top 40)
• Cars 2 (Blu-Ray 3D + Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy) (#11 in the DVDPS Top 40)
• Cars 2
• Complete 3D Toy Story Collection, The (Blu-Ray) (#26 in the DVDPS Top 40)
• Craigslist Killer, The
• Crazy, Stupid, Love
• Deadliest Catch: Season #7
• Essential Daffy Duck, The
• Fugitive, The: Complete Series Box Set (#29 in the DVDPS Top 40)
• Gunsmoke: Season #5: Volume One
• Hell's Kitchen: Season #5 Raw & Uncut
• Hell's Kitchen: Season #6
• His Way
• How The States Got Their Shapes: Season #1
• Michael Jackson: The Life of an Icon
• No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, The: Complete First Season
• Rawhide: Season #4: Volume 2
• Snow Flower And The Secret Fan
• Toy Story 2 3D (Blu-Ray 3D + Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy) (Blu-ray)
• Toy Story 3 3D (Blu-Ray 3D + Blu-ray + DVD+ Digital Copy) (Blu-ray)
• Toy Story 3D (Blu-Ray 3D + Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy) (Blu-ray)
• Transformers Beast Wars: The Complete Series
• Victorious: Season #1: Volume 2
• Water For Elephants
• Whale Rider (2002)

Computer Games

• Lord of the Rings: War in the North ( Xbox 360)
• Sonic Generations ( Xbox 360)
• Otomedius Excellent Collector's Edition ( Xbox 360)
• Otomedius Excellent ( Xbox 360)
• Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception ( PlayStation 3)
• Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Collector's Edition ( PlayStation 3)
• PS3 320GB Uncharted 3 Bundle ( PlayStation 3)
• Lord of the Rings: War in the North ( PlayStation 3)
• Country Dance 2 ( Nintendo Wii)
• Monopoly Collection ( Nintendo Wii)
• Oregon Trail ( Nintendo Wii)
• Trivial Pursuit - Bet You Know It ( Nintendo Wii)
• Team Umizoomi ( Nintendo DS)
• Dora & Kai-Lan's Pet Shelter ( Nintendo DS)
• Loving Life with Hello Kitty & Friends ( Nintendo DS)
• Oregon Trail (Nintendo 3DS)
• Harvest Moon: Tale of Two Towns (Nintendo 3DS)
• James Noir's Hollywood Crimes (Nintendo 3DS)
• Cars 2 3DS (Nintendo 3DS)
• Lord of the Rings: War in the North ( Windows Vista / XP)
• Sonic Generations [Download] ( Windows Vista / 7 / XP)
• NCIS ( Windows Vista / 7 / XP)
• Angel Code and Vampire Mansion - Double Collector's Edition Pack - 2 Complete Linda Hyde Mysteries ( Windows 7 / Vista / XP)

Music

• Someone To Watch Over Me ~ Susan Boyle
• Ceremonials ~ Florence + The Machine
• Under The Mistletoe [CD/DVD Combo] [Deluxe Edition] ~ Justin Bieber
• Four The Record ~ Miranda Lambert
• TH1RT3EN ~ Megadeth
• The Smile Sessions (2CD) ~ The Beach Boys
• More...

my pic(s) of the week:

Once a year or so I purchase a PS3 game, and Uncharted is one of those games I always buy. Doesn't hurt that one of my best friends is one of the game designers - but it's a killer game. New Megadeth as well.

For those interested, I use DVD Price Search for upcoming movie tracking and Amazon's New Releases Page for music and computer games

So there has been an interesting dialog happening in the Lotusphere 2012 submission process, I thought I would share some ideas of a session that was submitted for Lotusphere 2010.

Alan Lepofsky wrote a great blog post about something he would like to see at Lotusphere 2012. His suggestion was shorter style presentations, much in the style of the amazing TED conference. Combine a few short presentations into a 60 minute time slot. A great idea, and as Nathan commented on Alan's blog post, he and I had an idea like this before.

At the Lotus Leadership Alliance event in 2009, Nathan and I were talking over drinks and I said something along the lines of 'I love the Worst Practices session that Mooney and Buchan do, but I wish we had a Best Practices version!' Nathan and I went back and forth on this over some libations, and I believe it was him who said 'this session is about how solutions, not code, can change the world.' And hence an idea was born. Take what works best about 'Worst Practices' - having two hosts talk about examples of things that can go wrong and learning from them and applying it. Banter of two great speakers and 60 minutes of fun and learning. Why not do the same thing, but highlight solutions that have used IBM Lotus technology to have a dramatic impact on an organization. Highlight the best cases that we can find. Inspire the folks in the room to do the same.

Nathan and I wrote the following abstract:

Session Title: Building a Smarter Planet – one success at a time

Session abstract/description:

“Change the World or Go Home” is the mantra of applications that change the culture of a company from the ground up. Lotus Loyals know that applications are what separate the Lotus solutions from everything else – so it's about time we focus on them. This session will highlight 5 applications that made a cultural impact that changed the way an organization operates. No matter the business vertical, the location, or the end user type – all of these applications have created an emotional response. This isn't about ROI or TCO – You will hear stories of people using Lotus technology to change the world. Come prepared to be blown away.

Please outline why it is important that this session be included on this year’s Lotusphere agenda:

With the launch of the IBM “Smarter Planet” and Lotus “Lotus Knows” marketing campaigns, it is important that we highlight the impact that applications can have within an organization. We won't talk about cost savings or how much faster a server ran – we will talk about stories where the culture of a company was changed. “Change the World or Go Home” is the attitude of not attempting to achieve a small change – but shifting an entire thought process or outcome. Stories like Zain Africa Challenge, where Lotus technology allows a company to bring education to African students in a new way for the first time in history and touchscreen electronic medical records – are the types of stories we will tell. No Code – just stories to inspire.

The best applications create a presence of Lotus Software at these companies for years and years. Migration to other platforms and technologies are never brought up – the culture change has such high impact that Lotus technology becomes sticky. Thru emotional and inspirational stories, we will encourage – and challenge - others to find their “Change the World or Go Home” moments within themselves and their organizations.

So yes, there was some writing spin to fit it into the mindset and theme of the year. I would probably find a way to get Social Business in the title if submitted again. But the goal was to highlight four or five solutions. I had reached out to Rob Novak and a few others about helping us find these amazing solutions that we could highlight. The session was not selected, and in some ways we were relieved. The amount of work this session would require was daunting. That was a busy year for both Nathan and myself.  Following in the footsteps of what Paul and Bill have done with Worst Practices is a super high barrier.

With Alan's thoughts and a sense of renewal in the impact of solutions when I talk with IBMers, maybe it's time to submit this session in 2012. I think that if this session was done right and enough time and effort were put into it, it would be the session that could have lasting impact. If one person walked out of the room inspired, it would be worth ever moment of work.

Thoughts?

Here is what's coming out today ...

Movies

• Aki Kaurismaki's Leningrad Cowboys: Eclipse From The Criterion Collection
• American Pickers: Season #2
• Bad Teacher
• Batman: Year One (Blu-Ray + DVD + Digital Copy) (#18 in the DVDPS Top 40)
• Batman: Year One: SE
• Batman: Year One
• Call Me Fitz: Season #1
• CatDog: Season #1: Part 1
• Cinderella Story, A: Once Upon A Song
• Complete Inspector Lewis: The Pilot And Complete Series 1-4
• Craig Ferguson: Does This Need To Be Said?
• Crow, The (Blu-Ray + Digital Copy) (#39 in the DVDPS Top 40)
• Degrassi: Season #10: Parts 1-2
• Gigolos: Season #1
• Guns Of Navarone, The (Blu-Ray) (#17 in the DVDPS Top 40)
• Kuroneko: The Criterion Collection
• Little House On The Prairie: Complete Nine Season Set
• McMillan & Wife: The Complete Series
• Monte Carlo (2011)
• Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (Blu-Ray + DVD) (#4 in the DVDPS Top 40)
• Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (DVD + Blu-Ray) (#29 in the DVDPS Top 40)
• Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides 3D (Blu-Ray 3D + Blu-Ray + DVD + Digital Copy) (#6 in the DVDPS Top 40)
• Real L Word, The: Season #2
• Red State (Blu-Ray + Digital Copy) (#38 in the DVDPS Top 40)
• Robotech: The Complete Series
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Season #3
• Storage Wars: Season #1
• Sucker Punch (2008)
• Top Shot: Reloaded: Season #2
• V: Season #2
• Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory: 40th Anniversary Edition

Computer Games

• Batman: Arkham City ( Xbox 360)
• Batman: Arkham City Collector's Edition ( Xbox 360)
• Rocksmith ( Xbox 360)
• The Sims 3 Pets - Limited Edition ( Xbox 360)
• Batman: Arkham City ( PlayStation 3)
• Batman: Arkham City Collector's Edition ( PlayStation 3)
• Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One ( PlayStation 3)
• Rocksmith ( PlayStation 3)
• Big Foot: King of Crush ( Nintendo Wii)
• Bass Pro Shops - The Strike ( Nintendo Wii)
• Bass Pro Shops - The Strike Bundle ( Nintendo Wii)
• Bass Pro Shops - The Hunt Bundle ( Nintendo Wii)
• Professor Layton and the Last Specter ( Nintendo DS)
• Pillow Pets ( Nintendo DS)
• Moxie Girlz ( Nintendo DS)
• Petz Puppyz & Kittenz ( Nintendo DS)
• Pet Zombies (Nintendo 3DS)
• The Sims 3 Pets (Nintendo 3DS)
• Battlefield 3 - Limited Edition - Preload Available [Download] ( Windows Vista / 7 / XP)
• The Sims 3 Pets - Limited Edition ( Windows Vista / XP, Mac OS X Intel, Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard)
• The Sims 3 Pets - Limited Edition [Download] ( Windows Vista / XP)
• The Sims 3 Plus Pets - Limited Edition ( Windows Vista / XP, Mac OS X Intel, Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard)

Music

• Mylo Xyloto ~ Coldplay
• Christmas ~ Michael Bublé
• Bad As Me [Limited Deluxe Edition] ~ Tom Waits
• Stronger (Deluxe Version) ~ Kelly Clarkson
• Beyond the Sun (2CD) ~ Chris Isaak
• Come To The Well ~ Casting Crowns
• More...

my pic(s) of the week:

The holiday season releases are kicking in ... Pirates 4, Batman: Year One, and The Crow on Blu-Ray, but this week is owned by Batman: Arkham City. Talk about what might be the game of the year ... and yes, for the record, I am ignoring the new Coldplay release. as I do with everything they do. Never existed.

For those interested, I use DVD Price Search for upcoming movie tracking and Amazon's New Releases Page for music and computer games