John D. Head aka "Starfish"

Why does IBM think Domino Document Manager/ILDDM/Domino.Doc is dead?

John Head — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:23:22 -0500

So Ed's comment sparked me to write this blog entry .. and it won't be pretty.

IBM seems to think that Domino Document Manager, also known as ILDDM, also known as Domino.Doc, is in maintenance mode. How can IBM put a product into maintenance mode when there is no replacement for it?

No folks, Lotus Quickr does not match the functionality requirements that ILDDM fits. Nor does any of the other document management systems that IBM owns, including FileNet. For large customers, FileNet is a great solution. For those looking for replacing network share drives with some basic collaboration, Lotus Quickr works pretty well. Heck, you can even use that amazing Mainsoft Sharepoint Integrator for Lotus Notes for document sharing. Their sidebar app for Sharepoint is absolutely killer!

But if you want a SMB document management solution or a document management solution that is so customizable it can become part of a larger process (for example, a major manufacturer using a custom Notes based work flow application for project life cycle that integrates with ILDDM for document control and versioning), there is no better solution.

I don't want to hear about using the Lotus Quickr Content Integrator to move my data from ILDDM to Lotus Quickr. Guess what folks ... Lotus Quickr does not do what ILDDM does! Where is the granular draft and versioning system? Detailed custom metadata that a power user can build? 7 level hierarchical structure that mimics a file cabinet so that any user can quickly understand how things are organized? And a LotusScript API that is super powerful? Lotus Quickr does not have those features ... and is a long way from having them as far as I can tell.

IBM should replace the web and Notes interface to match the new Lotus UI theme. Heck, just rip the Quickr UI. Replace the ODMA interface with the Quickr Connector technology. But do not force feed me a product that does not meet the requirements of my customers and projects!

It is time for IBM to step up and fix the Domino Document Manager message. NOW.

Update: Ed's comment didn't mean ILDDM was in Maintenance. And I knew that but it poured some fuel on to the fire that was burning around here this morning. So, apologies to Ed because ILDDM is not in maintenance mode officially. But it sure as hell feels that way.

Lotus Products that are missing blogs

John Head — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:38:36 -0500

So with the introduction of the Notes Design Blog, we now have 7 official IBM blogs (sorry Alan, you no longer count :) ) on the PSC external blog server. They include:

We also host IBM blogs for

Now, I know we are not the only place that IBMers blog, but we get a lot of the IBM products teams. But we are missing some:

Lotus Quickr
Lotus Protector
Lotus Foundations
Lotus Symphony
Lotus Traveler
Lotus Domino Document Manager
Project Atlantic
Lotus Forms
Lotus Web Content Management
Lotus Workflow

So while I am making a public offer to any of those teams who would like to start blogging to host their site, we should encourage all of these teams to blog wherever they decide to go. If you know anyone on these teams, please, ask them to start blogging. And feel free to point them to me to host.

Mary Beth’s Blog is Now the Design Team blog and it has moved

John Head — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:03:43 -0500

I am happy to announce that Mary Beth Raven is moving her blog to the PSC blog server! The blog on Devworks is changing as it moves, becoming a Notes based blog and growing to include the either Notes Design Team. Welcome to all of you ... it only took us a couple months :)

So for everyone, reset your rss feeds to www.notesdesignblog.com.

Does Lotus Symphony really need LotusScript support? Redux

John Head — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:30:00 -0500

(Sorry for the title only post before, was me setting blogs in the future for writing, and then didn't get to it ... all comments deleted)

So this should be a fun topic. I would like to throw out this topic: Does Lotus Symphony really need LotusScript support? And by support I mean native classes.

My answer right now is No. Here is why.

First, Lotus Symphony already supports the UNO API. For example, you can use the following LotusScript to put text into Lotus Symphony Documents:

Set SM=CreateObject("com.sun.star.ServiceManager")
Set Desktop=SM.createInstance("com.sun.star.frame.Desktop")
Set WriterApplication=Desktop.loadComponentFromURL("private:factory/swriter","_blank",0,args)
Set WriterText=WriterApplication.getText()
Set Cursor=WriterText.createTextCursor()
Call WriterText.insertString(Cursor,"Hello World!",False)

Those who have been to my integration presentations at a conference will notice that this is the same code to automate OpenOffice.org. The UNO API support is a carry over. But most people consider it a real pain in the ass. You are basically pushing Java code thru OLE via LotusScript. Trying to figure out the correct syntax is difficult and ends up being a waste of time. This is not a solution that most corporations will accept.

Then we have the Lotus Symphony Add-in model. The toolkit shows you how to build add-ins for Lotus Symphony. Think Composite Applications. Yep, you are using Eclipse.org and writing Java code and dealing with Plug-ins. Oh, and those only work in the stand-alone version of Symphony, not the version that embedded in Notes 8.X Standard (until sometime next year). Yeah, most companies aren't going to accept this as a realistic development strategy.

So I see two options. IBM can either add LotusScript classes to both Notes and Lotus Symphony or they can add JavaScript support. Shocking as it is, I am of the opinion that JavaScript support is the way to go.

Why?

First, we can use COM/OLE today. Yes, it is limited to Windows, but it works. But we need something cross-platform. We need something that works inside Lotus Symphony and outside. The outside client needs to be Lotus Notes first, but I can see a need for support Outlook, Apple Mail, and other mail clients. We also need this to work with XPages, because whatever folks want to believe, they are the future of the Notes platform (and yes, there is a future folks .. ignore the people who believe the new shiny object will replace Notes from the earth). There is also this project inside IBM called "Beyond Office" which should not surprise anyone. I have heard this talked about on public TechTalks, so it's not NDA. Think Google Docs based on Lotus Symphony. Developers there will want JavaScript as well.

Now I am not sure how we make JavaScript externally available on all platforms, but I think that is easier with JavaScript that LotusScript. Yes, I know, if we had LotusScript added to Lotus Symphony, we should be able to include the classes like we did with the SmartSuite classes. But that limits us to Notes, and Lotus Symphony has to look outside the Notes world to succeed.

I am the hard-core LotusScript and OLE/COM guy. I loved when Lotus Word Pro added LotusScript. I am just not convinced that is the smart move today.

Ready, Set, Debate!

New Media Tuesday - 7/22/2008

John Head — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 09:00:00 -0500

Here is what's coming out today ...

Movies

21 (Blu-Ray) (#9 in the DVDPS Top 40)
21: SE
Batman, The: Season #5
Bird (SE)
Brutal Massacre: A Comedy
Case Closed: Season #1
Earth: The Biography
High And Low: Criterion Collection
La Ink: Season #1
Las Vegas: Season #5
Mummy, The: SE (1932)
Robot Chicken: Star Wars
Spaced: The Complete Series (#6 in the DVDPS Top 40)
Teen Titans: Season #5
Transformers Cybertron: The Ultimate Collection
Transformers: Animated
Vampyr: Criterion Collection

Computer Games

Final Fantasy IV ( Nintendo DS)
Wii 5-in-1 Fitness Bundle ( Nintendo Wii)
Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns ( Nintendo DS)
Order Up! ( Nintendo Wii)
More...

Music

Love On The Inside [Deluxe Fan Edition] ~ Sugarland
The Slip ~ Nine Inch Nails
Breakout ~ Miley Cyrus
CSNY/Deja Vu Live ~ Crosby Stills Nash & Young
Skin Deep ~ Buddy Guy
Modern Guilt ~ Beck
Live in Santa Monica '72 ~ David Bowie
One Day As A Lion ~ One Day as a Lion
X-Files: I Want to Believe ~ Original Score
The Time Machine Tour ~ Darren Hayes
More...

my pic(s) of the week:

Nothing to purchase this week .. is The Dark Knight out on DVD yet? ;)

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

Integra Thought of the Week - Integra at Admin 2008 makes The Malta Times

John Head — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 23:00:00 -0500

Integra made The Malta Times with a picture of the booth at Admin 2008.

You can next see Integra at UKLUG in September!

For more information about Integra for Notes and Integra Quick Reports, please visit www.integra4notes.com. Those that wish to learn more about Integra version 4.6, visit the upgrade page at www.integra4notes.com/upgrade.

As the US Premier Partner for Integra, PSC has a dedicated section of our website for all things Integra. This includes our Integra Quickstart Offering and Integra Report Writing Packages. You can also read my white paper on Off-the-shelf or Custom Development and the value of Frameworks.

Time for another review ... The Dark Knight

John Head — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 21:19:21 -0500

I am not sure how I can put into words a review that sets myself apart from everyone else who has written reviews on the web the past week. So I wanted to cover things that I have not read elsewhere ... Yes, the movie is amazing. Yes, it broke both first day and first weekend numbers of Spiderman 3. But here is some personal thoughts:

1. This movie was a Chicago travelog. Since we did not see Arkham Asylum in the movie, there was no need to do any CGI on the cityscape. That was Chicago. But not just Christian Bale actually standing on the Sears Tower, you saw Navy Pier and the building I live in. Multiple times! How cool was that.

2. Not only was the city view Chicago, but so was the courtrooms, the locations of the press conferences, the funeral for the Commissioner, Lower Wacker drive for the underground chase scenes (and no clue how they got a semi truck down there). I saw places I walk, eat at , and just drive in almost every scene.

3. The building at the end under construction, that was Trump Tower Chicago. It just blows my mind how much Nolan filmed in Chicago. How much was done on sound stages in Hollywood?

4. Yes, Heath Ledger is amazing. But Aaron Eckhard's Harvey Dent and Two Face is for me the killer acting in this movie. OH MY GOD is this portrayal just perfect. And it might even been the best use of CGI to replace part of a real human being in any movie. Did you know that all of Two Face's burns were CGI? ALL OF THEM.

5. You must see this in IMAX. MUST MUST MUST

6. This is by far the best comic movie ever made. Better than X-Men or X-Men 2. Better than Iron Man.

7. I really hope they do a third and final movie in this trilogy. Batman does deserve to go out not as the bad guy. But who would be next? The Riddler could be done right, but can he fit this world without the Joker?

8. This is the first movie since Return of the King that I will see more than once in the theater. WOW.

What did you think? Did it live up to your expecations?

Field Associates Event - Reception and Gallery tour at the Oppenheimer Gallery

John Head — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 21:15:23 -0500

After our successful event this past week, the next Field Associates event is at the Oppenheimer Gallery on August 7th. For those in Chicago and would like to attend, please see this event invitation.

We had 150+ people at our event at Martini Park! I just wanted to thank my fellow Field Associates, the board, the Field Museum employees who all came out ... especially President John McCarter, and the great staff at Martini Park!

Dream Theater Chaos in Motion DVD Trailer

John Head — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:18:38 -0500

New Media Tuesday - 7/15/2008

John Head — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 09:00:00 -0500

Here is what's coming out today ...

Movies

America's Test Kitchen: Season #8
Asylum (2007)
B.L. Stryker: Season #2
Bank Job, The (2008): SE (Blu-Ray) (#33 in the DVDPS Top 40)
Bank Job, The (2008): SE
Birds Of Prey: The Complete Series (#2 in the DVDPS Top 40)
College Road Trip
Dallas: Season #9
Dynasty: Season #3: Volume 1
Eureka: Season #2
Evening Shade: Season #1
Fastlane: The Complete Series
Guns Of Will Sonnett: Season #1
Mon Oncle Antoine: Criterion Collection
Reno 911: Season #5
Saving Grace: Season #1
Shutter (Unrated)
Step Up 2: The Streets: Dance-Off Edition
Trafic: Criterion Collection

Computer Games

NCAA Football 09 ( Xbox 360)
NCAA Football 09 ( PLAYSTATION 3)
Rock Band Track Pack: Vol. 1 ( Nintendo Wii)
Wordmaster ( Nintendo DS)
More...

Music

Life Death Love and Freedom ~ John Mellencamp
The Dark Knight Limited Edition ~ Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard
Nas ~ Nas
Stay Positive ~ The Hold Steady
Passing Strange ~ Original Broadway Cast
Secret Voyage ~ Blackmore's Night
Sleep When I'm Dead (Mix 13) ~ The Cure
The Dark Knight ~ Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard
Around The Bend ~ Randy Travis
Delta ~ Delta Goodrem
More...

my pic(s) of the week:

Traffic Criterion was a must have ...

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