Software Soapbox

The second Las Vegas User Group Meeting - A great time was had by all!

Well, it was another good meeting.  On Tuesday about a dozen of us met at the Las Vegas Hilton for the second Las Vegas Lotus User Group meeting.  There were a few new faces, and a few surprises.  The first surprise was that Rob Novak and his lovely wife-to-be Liz Olsen graced us with their presence.  The second was the amazingly huge Russian army surplus projector that kept us warm for the meeting.  the third...well, that comes later......

The first Las Vegas Lotus Users Group meeting - A great time was had by all!

Well, The Las Vegas Lotus Users Group got off to a great start.  I retrieved Ed Brill from the airport in time for the meeting, 15 attendees found the room at UNLV, the UNLV projector and internet connection found us, and we started on time and under budget.  Ed gave a great presentation on the Future of Lotus, including Notes and Domino 7, 8, and Workplace. 

 

After that, we managed to get a few orders of business out of the way and give away a few books and magazines, then headed down to the Nine Fine Irishmen Pub at the New York New York Hotel. 

On the way, Ed was feeling lucky and hit it big on the slot machines! 

Click here for  the full story....

I had asked for a couple of tables on the balcony upstairs, which I like because it has a view of the strip.  The manager at the pub, Jennifer (THANKS!) did one better and set aside the whole balcony for us! 

We had a great time despite the somewhat advanced heat and lack of misters (they shut off just after we arrived).  Luckily there were cool beverages to beat the heat back.  It was a great evening, with several local and out-of town IBMers (Hi Kim) and several BPS and customers, including one from Ireland (Hi Declan).  The group split up into smokers and non-smokers, sweaters and non-sweaters (those who moved inside), and shortly after that the evening came to the end (for those of us who had to get up early the next day, anyway…).

For those of you who could make the meeting, thanks for supporting the group.  It was great meeting with fellow Lotus geeks and just finding out “who’s out there”.  Special thanks to Ed Brill and David Stephens at IBM and Brian Rudolph at UNLV for making this meeting possible. 

For those of you who couldn’t make it, plan on the next meeting!  David Stephens will be talking about Workplace Express, which you may or may not know, offers the first 20 licenses free for current IBM Software customers.  It’s a great way to get a portal effort started at your organization. 

Also, based on attendee feedback, we will also be announcing a new meeting date and a few other details.  I’ll keep you updated over the next couple of weeks.

Until next time, don’t forget to sign up for user group membership at http://www.lotususergroup.org/lvlug.  I’ll post some more pictures of the meeting there and a copy of Ed’s presentation for download.  See you at the next meeting

Reminder: The first Las Vegas Lotus User Group meeting, UNLV, August 11, 2005, 3 to 5 PM

The first Las Vegas Lotus User Group (LVLUG) meeting will be held on the University 
of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) Paradise Campus Room 123 
on August 11, 2005 from 3 to 5 PM. 
Ed Brill, Business Unit Executive for Worldwide Notes/Domino Sales at IBM and 
popular blogger is the speaker for the first meeting
Also, I will be giving away copies of my books!

LVLUG is an organization for Lotus professionals - administrators and developers and
everything in between.
Our goals are to: 

• Build and foster a strong and energetic community of Lotus professionals in the Las Vegas area.
• Encourage networking among Lotus professionals.
• Increase technical knowledge of Lotus professionals.

If you would like to get plugged in with your peers or if you're just curious about the new group in town, 
please join us!
More information below:

The Las Vegas Lotus Users Group (LVLUG) Quickplace is set up!

It needs a little graphic work, but the the Las Vegas Lotus Users Group (LVLUG) Quickplace is set up and ready to accept member sign-up.  Thanks to LotusUserGroup.org and Connectria for hosting this.

Please register for emailed updates on upcoming events......

I've also added some links and info in the library for out-of-town visitors.  Any other design/content suggestions welcome! 

As a reminder, the first meeting:

August 11 2005, 3-5 PM

Location: University of Nevada Las Vegas  (UNLV)

Speaker: Ed Brill

Topic: Lotus strategy and Notes/Domino update:

With the imminent release of Notes/Domino 7, and the public announcement last quarter of Lotus Notes 'Hannover', the road ahead looks bright for Notes.  This presentation will provide details of current and future releases, the IBM Workplace strategy overall, and how IBM will continue to be a leader in collaboration and productivity.  We'll also take a look at the current competitive landscape.

First Las Vegas Notes User Group (LVNUG) Meeting – August 11, 2005

I’m very pleased to announce the first Las Vegas Notes User Group (LVNUG) meeting, which will be held on the University of Nevada Las Vegas campus (UNLV) on August 11, 2005 from 3 to 5 PM.

Ed Brill has graciously agreed to be the speaker for the first meeting. UNLV has generously offered the meeting space as well. Many thanks to both.

Topic: Lotus strategy and Notes/Domino update
With the imminent release of Notes/Domino 7, and the public announcement last quarter of Lotus Notes 'Hannover', the road ahead looks bright for Notes.  This presentation will provide details of current and future releases, the IBM Workplace strategy overall, and how IBM will continue to be a leader in collaboration and productivity.  We'll also take a look at the current competitive landscape.

For those who can stay, plan for a geek dinner and geek drinks afterward. Venue unknown at present. It will be great to meet fellow Notes geeks in the area. And by the way, attendance is not limited to Las Vegas, I have already had some attendee interest from California, Oregon, and Ireland!

Also, if anyone has topics or speakers for future meetings, be sure to bring them or drop me a line.

I should have a User Group QuickPlace up some time this week, watch this space for a link.