11.24.15
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Things That Are Meaningful To Me #104

I am very pleased to say that I have been nominated and accepted onto the IBM Champion program once more in 2016.  Does it matter?  It does to me.  IBM says the program is about recognising “individuals who make outstanding contributions to our IBM communities…..” but to become a champion you must first be nominated by someone and then your nomination is reviewed by an internal IBM team.  Becoming a Champion for me means that I have made a difference in my chosen area of work, one that has affected or impacted more than just my colleagues and customers.  It also means that someone, somewhere took the trouble to nominate me*.

It’s important to me to have a job that’s rewarding, that makes me challenge myself and somewhere makes a positive difference. I’m not bringing about world peace but in my own way in my own field I’m trying to make things better and someone else has noticed that.

It means a lot.

Congratulations as well to my colleague Mike Smith who also was awarded Champion status,  my sometime colleague and friend Mark Myers from LDC Via and all the other IBM Champions this year.

*I got an email saying someone nominated me and, for the first time ever, I nominated myself as well because who knows what I’ve done this year better than me.  That was tough.  Writing things about myself feels like boasting but I think it was good for me to do it so i’m chalking it up to personal growth.

 

 

11.17.15
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Conference Review 2015

Well it’s nearly the end of the year and my planning has started already for 2016 but I thought it would be nice to say thanks and give some feedback on the conferences I spoke at and attended in 2015. I apologise in advance if I miss out some organisers names – I don’t know all of them but my thanks always go to the entire organising teams.

My last conference this year was Social Connections in Stuttgart , I also spoke at their event in Boston in April. Due to my own prior commitments I literally had to fly in to Stuttgart, present and fly out again which was a great pity.   It’s an interesting conference in which every session focuses on Connections and collaboration and not least because, at least in Stuttgart, the audience was much more executive and so less hard core technical than many of the user group events I go to.  That’s no bad thing and it opens up scope for me to present on less technical and more strategic topics.  It’s also very interesting to hear from those working on different ends of the deployment spectrum such as user adoption or cultural change. Thanks for everyone involved including Christoph, Doug, Femke, Jan, Lars, Maria, Martin, Simon, Stuart & Wannes.

Social Connections would definitely be on my agenda for 2016.

In March 2015 I was at Engage in Ghent.  Once more Theo puts on what I consider to be the best technical and networking event in Europe, possibly worldwide.  The content is only a part of the Engage experience as there are multiple out of session events and opportunities and it puts the European audience in the centre.  There are few IBM presented sessions other than the keynotes and I would say it’s a true community event. Thanks to Theo & Hilde for all their hard work every year.

Engage is March 23-24 in Eindhoven in 2016. I already have my travel booked.

ISBG is the Norwegian IBM User Group event that takes place in Larvik, Norway at the end of May each year.  This was my 3rd year attending and I did three technical sessions all with the theme of integration and single sign on.  The audience tolerate me speaking in English and (at least for my sessions) are primarily technical. ISBG have a great afternoon event on the first day in which we break into teams and have competing challenges including answering questions after visiting sponsors.  The challenge has a theme and a story each year and the ISBG team puts a huge amount of effort into the story and the accompanying video (CSI 6 this year)  – see here for what an amazing job they do.  In addition we are entertained at dinner by Rune Carlson one of the conference organisers and a professional, award winning , magician.  It’s a beautiful location with an enthusiastic audience and lots of pure fun thanks to everyone involved including Roger, Vanessa, Wensche and Rolf.

If I get asked back I hope to be at ISBG 2016 in May

In August I attended MWLUG for the first time.  This is partly because it was held in Atlanta and I have several customers in the surrounding area but also because it draws an audience from around the US with a few hundred people attending.  This turned out to be a great decision, there was a very wide range of attendees and sessions, lots of friends and people I used to only see at Lotusphere were there, the hotel / location were great and the organisers put a lot of effort into providing activities outside of regular sessions and into the evenings. I came away feeling happy, excited to be doing what I do and invigorated – in other words the feeling I am used to come away with in January.  Thanks Richard, Lisa and everyone on the MWLUG team

In 2016 MWLUG will be held in July (I think) in Austin, Texas which hopefully means we’ll be able to visit the IBM Design Labs as part of or before the event.  I’ll definitely be submitting a session as it’s a great conference so I hope to be there.

Finally I spoke at Icon UK in London in September.  It’s great to have a UK based event and IBM supporting it by hosting it at their offices on South Bank. It’s a great location and everyone seemed to have a good time.  I believe, but don’t know, that based on its success this year there are plans to repeat it in 2016 in September. If so I definitely plan to be there.  Thanks to the Icon team including Tim, Steve and Victor.

Then there was IBM Connected in Orlando last January.  I don’t think any of us knew what to expect with the reconfigured conference that was held entirely at the Swan hotel.  Definitely it was going to be smaller and more than a few regular faces were missing and missed.  I think everyone agreed it was a successful event – sometimes all you need is the people and the place, the rest is just bonus and Orlando in January definitely had all of that.  As a swan-song (no pun intended) to 20 years of Lotus Orlando it was bittersweet but turns out.. not such a swan-song after all.  IBM Connect is once more in Orlando this January at the Hilton Convention Center (you can register for it here) and I’ll be both attending and speaking.  Starting the year in Orlando in January as it was meant to be….

This year I was unable to attend AUSLUG/Inform in Australia. I hope to fix that next year if I can just price up flights I can afford when the location and dates are available. Ideally I’d be interested in tying that into work or another event in that part of the world so we’ll see if anything comes up..:-)

That’s it so far .. hopefully I’ll see you somewhere along the way. Now for a few weeks of no travel before the New Year starts.  We’ve nearly made it through another year everyone.. high fives all around !

10.08.15
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Lotus Greenhouse Shutting Down – And What That Means For Me..

So if you login to Greenhouse now you will see a note saying that it will be retired in late 2015 or early 2016.  Although IBM have always said Greenhouse was a temporary environment and I assume they now want people using the Connections Cloud environment, this is going to be a big loss.   I’m hoping they have plans to replace the community that exists there.  I’m hoping even more they have plans to put the Solutions Catalog which is the only place to find downloads of the Connections plugins and even Connections Mail.  That last one makes me very twitchy.

…. Plus taking away Greenhouse removes the option for potential customers to test technology before committing (oh yes unless they have a cloud account, which isn’t so easy to get).

You have a plan for all of this right IBM? Like migrating everyone to a new environment where the solutions catalog still exists?  Like moving all the beta and idea discussion forums somewhere we can still get at them ?  Right?

10.05.15
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There Has To Be A Better Way

I subscribe to IBM notifications for software. That means that every day I receive at least two, or more usually 4 notifications.  The reason I receive more than one? I apparently have two accounts on the IBM site, one for my email address which lets me open PMRs and see technotes and one for my IBM ID which  lets me download software and log into Partnerworld. Let’s not go there. I’ve spent 2 years escalating that to get it resolved and am now accepting of it 🙂

I have a customer who today reported NSDs on the HTTP task – well I know they are on the very latest fixes and patches so when I get a software report this afternoon with titles like “DOMINO SERVER CRASH ON HTTP” obviously I immediately want to go look at a new problem.  Unfortunately when I click on the link in the email I am told to login to the IBM Site before I can see the problem.  When I do that (and use the wrong ID) it tells me I’m a member of Partnerworld but not allowed to see technical support documents.  So I shut down my browser and try again with the other ID.  Finally the document opens up and this is what I see

Local fix
Problem summary
Problem conclusion
Temporary fix
Comments
This APAR is associated with SPR# PEJA9ZXRWJ.

That’s right. Nothing.  No problem detail, No Domino version or OS detail, No resolution. Nothing.  I click on the next problem in the email and get a similar technote.

I want to help IBM support their customers, I want to support my customers.  If there isn’t more information just don’t publish the technote because at this point it’s not a technote, it’s just a problem.  I have problems.  I hope that IBM only tells me of solutions.

Surely there’s a better way ?

10.01.15
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Determining Connections Versions

As I start a new Healthcheck today I thought I’d share a tip with you.  One of the first things I do when coming clean to someone’s Connections environment is try and determine what’s installed, including CRs and fixes.  Installation Manager is good at telling you what it installed but less so if you installed fixes outside of its interface.  There are other methods too like checking the version logs and reading the about.jsp, but it can be fiddly to piece together all the information.

One of the best resources I’ve found is an IBM technote from this July which shows how to identify exactly what fixes and CRs are installed.  The most comprehensive is updateSilent which produces a report on screen of every version, CR and iFix.  Here’s the table of what each utility can do.

Identifying Connections

The updateSilent utility is run from with the updaterInstaller directory under your Connections install and the command is:

sh updateSilent (bat or sh depending on your OS) -fix -installDir <ConnectionsInstallDir>

You may have to set WAS_HOME first before it will run so my commands in Linux are:

WAS_HOME=/opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer

export WAS_HOME

sh updateSilent.sh -fix -installDir /opt/IBM/Connections

It will then output to screen every CR and iFix that exists.

09.28.15
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Say Thank You To Someone

I’ve been involved in lots of conversations recently with people wondering how to keep the “IBM Collaboration” community vibrant and alive as we face fewer and fewer meet ups in real life and more diverse technologies.  I’ve been working in this Community since the mid 90s and watched it grow off the hard work and selfless contributions of people who just wanted to share ideas and knowledge with each other. Even without as many real life connections, this community thrives on people sharing their time, ideas and knowledge.

Do you ever go searching for a problem and find someone’s blog with an answer?

Do you ever go to a conference and sit in a presentation and finally realise how to do something?

Do you ever find a posted presentation online that gives you an idea of something you can do in your own environment?

Do you ever bounce ideas with someone online about technology that helps you nudge a step forward in your own work?

Do you ever find yourself grateful someone else found and solved that problem so you didn’t have to?

Do you ever go to a conference or user group and find yourself energised by the people and information there?

The IBM Champion program is upon us once more.  Each year IBM open up nominations for their Champion program that allow us to put forward people we think have added value to the community, sharing expertise, innovation, ideas or support for instance.  It’s not for people who are just doing their job, it’s for people who do so much more than they need to for no other reason than they want to create and be part of  a better community.

The IBM Champion program recognizes innovative thought leaders in the technical community. An IBM Champion is an IT professional, business leader, or educator who influences and mentors others to help them make the best use of IBM software, solutions, and services, shares knowledge and expertise, and helps nurture and grow the community.

As well as nominating others, you can nominate yourself as a Champion – after all no-one knows better than you what you actually contribute, however I’ve had people who I want to nominate say to me they can’t think what they would put on their own nomination. If you would like to be nominated but you aren’t sure what you would put on the form try speaking to a friend who can help you tease out the things you may not consider important but others will.

Don’t assume someone else will nominate the person you are thinking of.  They might do and then again they might not. More nominations doesn’t increase a person’s chances of becoming a Champion but more information about them does.  You may nominate them for something that’s important to you that no-one else has picked up upon.

Nominations forms are here and IBMs (Amanda Baumann’s) announcement about the program and how to apply is here.  If right now you can think of someone who you think should be a Champion then please take 5 minutues and nominate them.  They won’t know you did so unless you tell them but they will be very grateful.

As for me.  I’ve been fortunate enough to have been made a Champion in previous years but each year is a new application and only work done in 2015 would count.  I haven’t yet decided if I will nominate myself, I”m one of those people who feel uncomfortable about doing that but then again that’s how the program works.  However I do have in mind at least 5 others who richly deserve thanks and recognition so i’m off to do those now…

Nominations close October 31st.

09.23.15
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Icon UK, Upgrading Connections and Adapting To Technology

This week I was at Icon UK at IBM’s offices on South Bank and as usual it was a great event.  Lots of technical and non technical content, attendees, speakers and sponsors and it gave me the chance to talk to people I rarely get to see (some I hadn’t seen since January).  It always give me a boost to attend a community event and reconnect in person with everyone.  There were several sessions I missed and wished I could have attended so I’ll keep an eye out for the the published slides.  In the meantime I thought I’d share the slides from my two sessions.

The first one is on upgrading Connections – this is a new session and I tried to take a lot of content and present it in a more accessible way.  I’d be interested in feedback on whether you think it’s useful though

My second session was with Mark Myers and we talked about the importance of learning to change your technology.  There aren’t many slides because it was an informal talk but the point I certainly wanted to make was that as technologists or engineers we need to stop identifying ourselves with a brand or a product or a system and instead identify ourselves around our areas of expertise which can cross into lots of technologies.  Once you take a step back and do that you realise things like “Cloud” are not a threat, they are an opportunity to bring the skills you already have into play.

09.20.15
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Living iOS9 For A Few Days

I upgraded both my phone and iPad to iOS9 a few days’ ago but I was in a hurry and I really haven’t had a chance to review the features so I’ve just been living with the new OS and seeing what works for me and what doesn’t.  I use my iPad for Citrix, SSH & RDP, reading, watching TV and playing games.  My iPhone I use for managing my day, emails, reminders, tasks and photos.

I’d be interested to know anyone else’s favourite features that you’re actually using

The Good

  1. Popup blocker in a browser.  Yes I know blah blah editorial sites need to make money blah blah.  It makes my browser faster and sites more interesting.  I do pay for some sites to access but if the sites didn’t overdo the ads then I’d tolerate them.  But they don’t, they overdo and make the entire site unreadable.  I’ve tried Blockr and Peace (now withdrawn) and i’m definitely noticing improvements
  2. Swipe in.  On my iPad I can swipe in from the right to look at my mail whatever else i’m doing
  3. Picture in Picture – i absolutely love the PIP feature that Hulu, iPlayer, Netflix all have.  Now when I’m exercising and watching a program or cooking and watching a program I can come out of the app and do other things whilst the app shows in a small window.  LOVE

    PIP

  4. Photo syncing.  Finally my photos auto sync immediately across devices – previously it was hit and miss and could take a while for photos from my phone to reach any other device. That may have just been me because Tim never had that problem
  5. Spotlight search – customised searching across apps including streaming services.
  6. Mobile data failover when wifi is weak.  The idea is that if you are connected to wifi but it’s not strong it will switch to using mobile data instead.  I do have one dead spot in my house and usually I have to disconnect wifi so it uses data there but this fixed that problem.  It only works if you have unlimited data though.
  7. Siri seems improved, at least it seems to understand me better and write emails / texts more accurately
  8. Public transport in Apple Maps.  I’ve already used this a few times – asking for a route home last night from Hampton Court it showed me the nearest bus stops, stations , bus numbers to take and when they were due.  It only works right now in London and a few other cities but luckily that’s where i live.

The Bad

  1. Swipe In.  When reading a book every time I go to turn the page it swipes in and shows me my inbox. No Apple BAD. I don’t want to be checking my inbox when I”m trying to read.  There’s no way to turn off right in swipe so I need to reprogram my fingers to touch for page turn slightly further in from the right or use the left touch to turn the page. It’s annoying but I wouldn’t give up swipe, I just wish I could turn it off when in iBooks
  2. Spotlight search – by default all apps are included in spotlight search including “Spotlight suggestions” and “Bing Search” both of which send your query to a remote site.  I disabled those.  Also by default when I go to search it shows what book i’m reading and how far i’ve progressed.  Not a fan.  I had to go through and turn off all the apps I didn’t want searched. I would have preferred to turn “on” rather than turn “off” so another one where the feature is good but the implementation doesn’t work for me
  3. Tim absolutely HATES the new keyboard which I don’t notice at all so that’s his problem 🙂
09.15.15
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A Statement From IBM On El Capitan and iOS9 Support

IBM have today released a statement explaining why some applications will be unable to connect to Domino servers from iOS9 and El Capitan devices due to Apple removing support for Elliptic curve technology (no – me either) and enhanced transport security.  This doesn’t affect only IBM but it’s something you need to be aware of.  There will be an interim fix for Domino 9.0.1 FP4 and also a new FP5 to resolve these issues (eta end Sept) but there will be no fix for Domino 8.5.x servers.

The full statement and explanation is here but the key summary is

Additionally, IBM is working on an Interim Fix for 9.0.1 Fix Pack 4 (and the upcoming 9.0.1 Fix Pack 5) that will implement Elliptic Curve cipher support for TLS 1.2 and TLS 1.0 that remedies this issue and implements Elliptic Curve support for the following protocols: HTTP/HTTPS, LDAP/LDAPS, SMTP, IMAP, and POP3. Currently, the ETA for the Interim Fix posting is end of September 2015.

Elliptic Curve support will not be available for Domino 8.5.x releases since the specification requires updated cryptographic libraries that are available only in Domino 9.0 and above.

09.14.15
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Icon UK – One Week Away

Icon UK starts in London this time next week and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to see friends and talk about new ideas and new technologies.  I’m also doing two sessions this year both of which I’m really pleased with

On Tuesday at 10.20 I’m presenting “Planning and Completing An IBM Connections Upgrade” – this covers everything from patching DB2 to completing a side by side Connections 4.5 – 5 Upgrade.  It could easily run to 300 pages as a detailed technical presentation but instead I’m going to talk about how to plan, how to backup, in what order to do things and most of all – the things that can trip you up.  I tried a similar presentation at MWLUG for the first time and decided it was too wordy so I’ve taken another run at it in a different style –

Then straight after that – because I assume this is some kind of test – I’m presenting, with Mark Myers, a discussion around adapting to changes in technology  This session is about my experiences as an admin, Mark’s as a developer and both of ours as consultants in embracing the “new”.

A Consultant’s Story – Changing Your Technology
The Domino community is a vibrant, passionate world, but the market reality is now hard to ignore. You may be looking at the marketplace as it stands and thinking about the future. You may have spent a long time becoming well known in a technology set, only know to find it is going away. In this informal session come share your stories and here why you’re a lot more valuable than you may think you are. Expect a love of the Domino platform, a good dollop of positivity and a bit of painful honesty.

Plus it’s a great location on London’s South Bank and the Gala Party on Tuesday night (free to all attendees) is at the amazing 1918 HMS President currently decorated as a Dazzle Ship on Embankment.

All profits from Icon UK go to the Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity so if you haven’t registered yet,  go here to sign up and join us.

See you there