Software Soapbox

Australian city to expel 22,000 bats from downtown gardens

I remember seeing these bats when I was there on busines in 2009....the smell wad pretty bad, and the sight was kind of creepy, even if I was reminded over and over that they pose no danger, except the occasional droppings....

"A seasonal peak of more than 22,000 flying foxes is just not sustainable in one of the world's great botanic gardens," the AAP quoted Gardens Executive Director Tim Entwisle as saying.

via news.yahoo.com

Computer crushes the competition on `Jeopardy'

The bouts were taped at the IBM research center in Yorktown Heights, N.Y., last month.

via news.yahoo.com

Using a Notes Discussion Database? Upgrade it to an XPage application for FREE

I was really suprised how few people knew about this at Lotusphere 2011.....

The Notes 8.5 discussion database (sorry, application) template contains a fully functional XPage interface.  Just upgrade your template to the 8.5x Discussion Database template, open it in the Web, and voila!

I've used it on dozens of discussion dbs from as far back as version 4, and haven't encountered any upgrade compatibility issues yet.

Made some small tweaks to a discussion DB?  No prob - make some small tweaks to the XPages.   They're simple, easy to follow, and a great way to start learning XPages.

Lotusphere 2011 thoughts version 3.0 - Personal Notes

On a personal level, my visit to Lotusphere 2011 was probably my best ever.

My first Lotusphere was in 1995, and I attended and presented technical topics until 2003. Every January since I've been a little depressed and jealous as I followed what I could from a distance, when I could not justify going myself.  I was delighted to be selected as a speaker again for Lotusphere 2011, and looked very much to my visit. It was great to be there this year, and catch up with friends old and new. 

The conference itself has undergone some major changes in size and scope.  Gone are the days when it filled the conference rooms at the Yacht and Beach Club, Dolphin, Swan, and spilled over to the Boardwalk Hotel.  Gone are  the days when attendees who could not make it could scalp their rooms and badges for a profit. The conference was decidedly smaller, and seemed a little more humble and friendly than back in those crazy days at the turn of the century. 

Or maybe it's just me that's a little more humble and friendly...I'm definitely not smaller (More on that later).  Life has taught me to take things a little less seriously than I used to, and I think that attitude helped me make this Lotusphere a great personal experience.  It also helped that I wasn't there as a technical expert or independent consultant this time, and didn't have anything riding on my sessions - no trickly demos or new techniques to hopefully impress and land that customer for my next big consulting gig.  Just a review of the Web site I've been building for a while now, and how it is used by our customers every day.

Social media has really changed the landscape for conference attendees.  It was interesting to meet so many people that I didn't recognize in person until introduced by name. I call it Yellowverse live...It really expanded my horizons and transformed the experience for me, and the sense of discovery made the conference much more enjoyable.

I also made a conscious effort to talk to people I didn't know this year.  It felt good to pull people into conversations who looked alone and uncomfortable at the Dolphin lobby bar or an event, and I made some great new connections and had some great conversations there too. 

I also couldn't help noticing how many more international attendees there are, and how many women now attend vs 6-7 years ago.  The landscape is truly changing.

OK, back to the size thing....I've always had a great appetite for life and all that goes with it....good wine, good food, good times....and I've never been particularly vain, but the fun is catching up with me, and I guess I need to care a little more about my appearance, as at my age, the direction I'm going could be dangerous to my health.  I was embarrassed by having to sit in the "modified" (aka fatty) row on the rides at the Wednesday night party, but I'm thankful for the experience, as I think that's what I needed to finally push me on to a path of more moderate living (for real this time), until I can get my weight under control.  I've always believed in "everything in moderation, including moderation", but I think I'll have to leave that final include statement out for a while :).  I started on a plan this week that should get me to 50 pounds lighter by the end of the year.  Let me know if there's anyone else out there in the yellowverse who wants to join forces here on this quest, I could use all the support I can get.

So thanks to all I met for a great experience at Lotusphere 2011, and hoping that I can make Lotusphere 2012, and a few 'LUGS too!

Instead of my previous habit of spending most of my off-agenda time with a group that I used to be a member of, in 2011 I spent time with people I've met online over the years. 

HTML5 Is An Oncoming Train, But Native App Development Is An Oncoming Rocket Ship

It seems like Google is well aware of this native app/HTML5 app discrepancy. That’s why we’re seeing an increasing number of their once HTML-based apps going native. And it’s not only on their own Android platform, but on the iPhone as well.

And that’s not all. Recent reports underscore Google going a bit native app crazy. There’s apparently a big push inside the company to hire any good app developers that they can get their hands on. And they’re even offering for them to work inside Google as their own startups. Essentially, it sounds like the Googleplex is becoming an app incubator of sorts. One that pays a salary.

via techcrunch.com

Tom Waits To Be Inducted Into Hall Of Fame By Neil Young

The presenters for the 2011 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony have just been announced and we are immensely pleased to say that Tom Waits will be inducted by none other than the great Neil Young

via www.tomwaits.com

Only in Vegas - Red Rock Cleanup and Wine Dinner, Feb 17 (Reserve by Feb 13)

Come support our local community and history by joining us in our family style wine dinner. All proceeds will be going to Red Rock Canyon in its efforts to clean up the recent vandalism of this historic canyon.
We're theming it around Bonterra's Organic wine and we'll also be using 100% biodegradable plate and plastic wear.

via www.yelp.com

Lotusphere 2011 thoughts version 2.0 - the three Lotuspheres

I learned many Lotuspheres ago that there are actually three Lotuspheres in Orlando in January.  Actually, four now. 

Yes, they are all in the same buildings, and (mostly) fed by the same dining hall, but they are definitely separate and distinct, targeted at very different audiences with very different expectations and experiences.  My impressions:

Lotusphere A - Decision makers, press (and some bloggers).

This is definitely where IBM brings its A-game. There are the keynotes, then there are briefings, private lunches, dinners, events, and one-on-one interviews with executives.    Emphasis is on trends and features from 10,000 feet.  Big decisions are made here and big money is riding on these decisions.  This Lotusphere usually takes place Monday, Tuesday and maybe Wednesday. I've had a taste of this Lotusphere as a member of the press in the past, but this year I've had to rely on former colleagues for impressions.  From what I've heard, the message was delivered well, and the responses were mostly favorable.  We'll know in the next year or so, as big sales are - or are not- announced, if this Lotusphere was a success. 

Lotusphere B - Business Partners and their Customers

This Lotusphere kicks off on Sunday with BDD - Business Development Day, then the Keynote, then it's to the show floor.  This year there were some notable partner names missing, others had much smaller booths than in the past.  Conventional wisdom off the show floor attributes this to withering of partner business, but most of the people I spoke to on the floor said that they were getting great numbers of quality leads.  Maybe some of this may be accounted for by the Web and its tendency to make software demo booths obsolete.  Maybe.  But I get mixed messages from many partners, who say their business is better than ever, but didn't make it to the show floor, where, presumably, new customers are looking for their products.  I  can't help thinking that if partners are doing really, really well, they should at least have a presence there for brand awareness.  Maybe that's just me.

In any case, the 2011 void was filled by the new big three - RIM, TeamStudio, and GBS.  RIM had the same Museum-quality display of the PlayBook behind glass for all to see - but not touch.  Oh, and some phones to look at if you stopped by.  TeamStudio was doing their usual thing, reaching out to developers with their great, ubiquitous tools.  GBS, the new 800 pound gorilla in the room, was the definite attention grabber this year, and did a good job with the army of black shirts on the show floor, the $10,000 cash prize contest, sponsored sessions, and the advertising at the Wednesday night party.  

The fourth of the big three, Nokia, did a great job with a phone giveaway.  They had lines of people waiting to plug their "key" into a case to determine if they won a new smartphone.  The key could also be used as a 2GB USB drive, which is great - I backed up my presentation and videos there Monday night, and used it to share info with others at the show, as it was thin enough to fit in your badge holder unobtrusively.

Lotusphere C - Yellowverse Live

The third Lotusphere, the biggest of all in terms of attendance, covers everything printed in the agenda.  Sessions, BOFs, Certifications, Labs, etc.  I probably attended more sessions this year than I ever have in the past, due to some great technical content and great speakers.  Definitely a big win here - nobody I spoke to had complaints about repeat material from previous years, as I've heard n the past.  Three big themes here - Get social, do business, the cloud, and XPages. 

The get social, do business theme was present in many keynote sessions, and a few customer sessions.  I look forward to seeing more real-world examples of this philosophy in practice before I pretend to understand it as more than a new marketing mantra.  FOr the cloud, IBM announced application hosting, which seems like a no-brainer for IBM in the cloud.  Looking forward to details.  The IBM cloud message still need some work, but this is a problem with many vendors when talking to old-hand IT guys with real-world security, performance and network access issues, who've had to deal with client-server, thin/thick/slim/whatever clients, virtualization, and other current and past trends....And most Notes admins are old hands.  The cloud being sold just seems more like fog at times...

There was a powerful hunger for knowledge and advice about XPages this year, which was well satisfied with some great sessions and a new book, Mastering XPages, by IBM press.  Most traditional Notes developers who have managed to avoid Web apps so far are acknowledging that they now need to know XPages to advance their career, but are finding that the learning curve is steep.  The Lotusphere organizers did a great job in providing a number of sessions to help address this.  My own XPages customer session was well received, and I was asked a number of times if I could do a technical session on the same site in the future - to Which my answer was, I'll resubmit my technical session proposal again next year and see if it's approved....

Lotusphere 2011 is also the year of (consumer) social networks and DIY Lotusphere live....Many attendees missed the announcement that the official Lotusphere Live site will be extended past Lotusphere this year, and continued with their compensatory practice of uploading of slide decks to SlideShare, plus posted materials, videos and pictures all over the place, connected by the #ls11 hashtag and a few aggregators on FaceBook, and of course PlanetLotus.

There are other ways that social sites and media made this Lotusphere more real for those who could not make it this year, or in my case, in years past.  I'll add those more personal impressions later. 

 

USA Sevens Rugby Tournament in Las Vegas - Feb 12 and 13, 2011

Teams come from all over the world beat up the USA Rugby team...how could I miss that?

via www.usasevens.com

Learnings from the Browser Wars

Doc Searls has republished something he wrote 15 years ago about the browser wars.  Fascinating read now, with the added benefit of hindsight.  It's a good reminder to us in the yellowverse that it never pays to be myopic....

Markets are more than battlefields. The OR logic of war and sports get us excited, but tells us little of real substance. For that we also need the AND logic of cooperation, choice, partnership and working together.

via blogs.law.harvard.edu