FreeRice

A few friends directed me to this great site http://www.freerice.com/ . It is geared to help end World hunger. Simply identify what a term means and 20 grains of rice will be donated to help end World Hunger. I encourage everyone to visit the site and define a few words. We can all make a diference.

Project Management

So I have just finished my second semester at Winthrop University in their MBA program and now have more time to post. I took a course this semester on Project Mangement. It focused a lot on why you need a process and how to put into place a formal process for designing software from initial requirements gathering to testing and user training. We used many examples including several industry standards including(i.e. IEEE and ISO 9000). Each provide great resources for establishing standards in the workplace. To view the ISO 9000: 2000 edition visit this site. ISO 9001: 2000 . It provides a framework for not only defining a process, but working towards an industry standard.

Some standards may include simple things like a process for training new employees or a formal process where you design a formal Statement of Work or a Software Project Managment Plan. The great thing about these is that you do not have to create one from scratch, their are several examples out there free of charge. You do not have to come up with a project management plan on your own, you can use what IEEE has already established and use what is beneficial to your organization. During the semester we stressed the importance of requirements gathering as it applies to software projects. The top three reasons projects fail is due to poor requirements. I encourage everyone to evaluate their process and strive to continuously improve upon it. (And create one if you don't have one in place). This article from IBM , gives many figures for projects in terms of success/failure.

31 percent of all software projects are canceled before they are completed (a waste of $81 billion).
53 percent of projects cost 189 percent of their original estimate.
In large companies, 9 percent of projects are on time and within budget.
In small companies, 16 percent of projects are on time and within budget.

So what does this tell us?

We are horrible at gathering requirements, we are very optimistic about when we can complete a project, And most importantly we need to improve our abilities and spend more time gathering requirements correctly the first time.

In my next post I will focus specifically on how we can improve the requirements elicitation process.

Limits within Notes

It's been to long now since my last post. Over this past summer I started back to school at Winthrop University part time in their MBA program. I am concentrating in Software Project Management. So it's been pretty tough juggling work and school alone, yet alone blogging. So hopefully I'll get back into the routine again.

Today I was working with some mailfiles which were not archiving correctly and I ran into a limit in Notes. You cannot copy or cut more than 2335 documents to the clipboard. It is not something you will probably do everyday, but thought it was interesting at that. Also interesting is maxiumum database size is 64gb which is huge. Don't forget to delete docs or archive before you get this big or customers/employees may start screaming.

I was searching around and also found this link to Northern Collabarative Technologies which talks of several other limits of Notes. (Mostly R5 and R6) but still beneficial.

~BTK~

Sametime 7.5 to 7.5.1 CF1 upgrade

Tonight me and a few co-workers upgraded our main IM server.

This is the upgrade procedure for Sametime 7.5 to 7.5.1 CF1 - i5/OS 400 Lotus 7.0.2 V5R4

1) End the Sametime server on Domino


2) RSTLICPGM LICPGM(5724J23) DEV(*SAVF) OPTION(*BASE) RSTOBJ(*ALL) SAVF(DOMST751/Q5724J23IM)
(***You will have to hit F14 -shift +f2 to accept license agreement on each LICPGM***)

3) RSTLICPGM LICPGM(5724J23) DEV(*SAVF) OPTION(1) RSTOBJ(*ALL) SAVF(DOMST751/Q5724J23WC)
Next, Load and Apply Fixpack (PTF):

The Sametime 7.5.1 CF1 update package for i5/OS Sametime servers is packaged as an i5/OS PTF (# ST751F1) for installation on Sametime 7.5.1 (product # 5724J23). The PTF can be installed either before or after configuring your Sametime server.
The Sametime 7.5.1 CF1 download for i5/OS contains a file called ST751F1. This is an i5/OS binary save file containing the PTF which provides the Sametime 7.5.1 CF1 updates. To install the Sametime 7.5.1 CF1 PTF on your server, you must have a user profile with command line capabilities, and a user class of *SECOFR.

1. Establish a 5250 session with the System i server and sign on with the appropriate user profile.
2. Run the following command to create a temporary library on your system:
CRTLIB LIB(DOMST751f1)

Run the following command to create the necessary Save file on your system:
CRTSAVF FILE(DOMST751f1/ST751F1)

Transfer the PTF save file from your workstation to the server.
On your workstation, enter the following commands and responses when prompted:

cd xxxx [change to the directory on your workstation that contains ST751F1]
ftp: [your system name or IP address]
Name: [Enter your user profile name and press ENTER]
Password: [Enter your password and press ENTER]
ftp>binary
Representation type is binary IMAGE.
ftp>put ST751F1 MYLIB/ST751F1
ftp>quit
3. End all Sametime servers. (only do this if you are only applying the CF1, otherwise it is already ended)
4. To load and apply the Sametime PTF that contains the Sametime 7.5.1 CF1 updates, run the following i5/OS commands:
5. LODPTF LICPGM(5724J23) DEV(*SAVF) SAVF(DOMST751f1/ST751F1)
6. APYPTF LICPGM(5724J23) SELECT(ST751F1)

Notes
When you install the PTF, the CF1 updates are added to all existing Sametime servers. If you configure a new Sametime server after installing the PTF, the updates are automatically added to the new server.
By default, the PTF is applied temporarily and can be uninstalled with the PTF command.

7. Restart your Sametime servers.
8. (Optional) CF1 includes an updated version of stconf751.ntf; you can update this database design immediately by running the following command from the Domino console:
load design
If you skip this step, the design of stconf751.nsf will be updated automatically when the design task runs (typically at 1:00 AM)
Restart the Sametime server.

Thats it...

~BTK~

Blackberry Pearl 2 & 8310

Over at BlackberryCool they have posted about the newest blackberrys "reported" to come out in Mid September. AT&T will be the first to get them which is great for me. I hope to test one of the Pearl 2's code named "The Comet" Pearl 2 & 8310

Here are some specs taken directly from Blackberry Cool I'm excited to see a 3.2 megapixel camera and 6x zoom. I remember when my personal camera wasn't that good.

~BTK~

Sametime 7.5.1 CF1

I'm planning to upgrade our main IM server next Monday from Sametime 7.5(OS400/V5R4 Lotus 7.0.2) to Sametime 7.5.1. This morning Notes at Lotus Support posted that Cumulative Fix Pack 1 for Sametime 7.5.1 is available on Passport Advantage. As you can see I've already downloaded it.



This afternoon I'm going to test this on my backup IM server.

I'll post back if I run into any issues to be prepared/aware of.

~BTK~

Lotus Greenhouse

After months of waiting I finally got an invitation to Lotus Greenhouse.

Lotus Greenhouse has been around for a while and is intended to be a community for the Notes community to network and share information. I've joined some "communites"(groups) including Blackberry, Lotus bloggers, IBM Lotus Domino and IBM Lotus Sametime. There hasn't been a lot of activity in these but I hope it starts to pick up. You can create a personal blog, add graphs/charts, activities, and bookmarks to favorite webpages. You can also add an rss feed to a community. There are a lot of features in this community and they are FREE for you to take advantage of.

Be sure to check it out if you haven't already.

~BTK~

GrandCentral Update

**Update** - One invite left....who wants it?

Just got an invite to GrandCentral.

Here are some of the features included during this Beta period.

Unlimited inbound minutes
Unlimited voicemail
$3 credit for click-to-call
All premium features, including call record

If anyone would like an invite please let me know, would be glad to send you one!

~BTK~

Grandcentral from Google

As I was floating through the Blackberry Forum today I noticed an interesting post about "GrandCentral" Grandcentral is a new service in Beta from Google which allows you to control where all of your phones ring. With Grandcentral you can have your office phone, and mobile phone all go to your home phone. Unwanted callers won't be able to reach you anymore with Grandcentral's Block Callers feature. The Listenin feature allows you to listen to a voicemail as its being recorded and pick up at anytime.

Currently this is an invite only application. But once you get an invite you can invite 10 Others. This is much like Gmail was when it first came on the market. I'm waiting for someone I know to send me an invite. If anyone would like an invite please let me know. Would be glad to get you one.

Here is a site to check out all of the features of Grandcentral(Too many to list on my blog)
http://www.grandcentral.com/home

~BTK~

Free Blackberry Applications

*Since this is my most popular post, I'd thought I'd update it with some new apps I am using these days. *

Facebook for Blackberry - Facebook is a social networking tool open to all people with an email address, it is similar to Myspace. I downloaded the application the day it came out and must say its quite handy. You can download Facebook for Blackberry here. Facebook for Blackberry

Viigo - This application allows you to track RSS feeds while on the go with your blackberry. I use it to check sports, Tech news and personal blogs I read. You can download Viigo here. Viigo

BBWeather - This is a handy little tool to get weather for where you live or where you may be traveling. You can get forecast for several days. Each city is controlled with its own profile document. This is a must have app.
Download BBWeather

Other BB Apps

Gmail App - If you have a gmail account you need to download the gmail app for your Blackberry. Its a mini inbox waiting for you all the time. You dont have all the functionality of Gmail, but its very handy. Visit gmail.com/app on your mobile phone to download and setup this application.

Google Maps - This is a handy little app for directions,finding phone numbers to businesses and the like. This is a must have app for your blackberry. You can download it from www.google.com/gmm directly to your Blackberry.

Beyond 411 - Good source to look up business listings, driving directions, and web pages on your Blackberry. It can even search based on your exact location using GPS. Download it here Beyond411

Beginner Blackberry Tips

As I was searching around today on the Blackberry Forum I stumpled upon this link through BlackberryCool with a lot of Beginner Tips for Blackberry Users.

Beginners Corner

I wish I had found this when I had first got a Blackberry.

~BTK~

Blackberry Tips

I admin a small BES server internally and try to stay up to date on all the latest and greatest with Blackberrys. I wanted to list a site that I found very useful for FAQ's for everything Blackberry.

Blackberry FAQ's
Some specific articles that may be useful include:

Wipe Handheld

Completely Wipe Handheld

What to do if JL_Cmder will not connect

You will need to reinstall the OS(Operating System) if you perform the 2nd.

The great thing about this is it's a WIKI database and is constantly be added too.

~BTK~

Begin MIME to CD Conversion

I know this is an older topic, but a good one at that. If you are monitoring your Domino Server and see these "Begin MIME to CD Conversion" messages and wonder what is that really doing? Well read this article below and find it.

MIME to CD

The article also provides a way to remove them if you wish...but you must restart your Domino Server.

~BTK~

Dragging/Dropping Database into Email Notes 8 Beta 3

I've been testing Notes 8 Beta 3 for sometime now so I'm surprised I haven't run into this sooner. In prior releases of Notes you had the ability to drag and drop a database that was open into an email and it would automatically create a database link in the email for you. When I attempted this in Beta 3 I had no luck.

Is there some type of preference I am missing or not setting?

What I had to do was go the database click Edit--Copy As--Application Link, then I pasted the database link into the email.

I've also posted this to the ND8 Forum Post

~BTK~

TrendMicro on OS/400

Last friday was a busy day in the office. Our application server(OS/400 V5R4 on Lotus Domino 7.0.2) did not want to stay up. We thought initially this was linked to the agent manager process. At each crash the last message we received was "Out of Backend Memory". After working with IBM most of the day we pinpointed our issue to the TrendMicro product. For those who don't know, TrendMicro provides a layer of virus protection much like Norton or Macafee.

The job that was crashing the server was the update job for ScanMail which was set to run every 60 minutes. The command was as follows : Load smdupd -realtime

If you ever need to disable Scanmail and want mail to continue to be delivered(not suggested unless you have adequate backup virus protection already in place)

Open up the ScanMail Configuration Database on the server you wish to disable ScanMail.

Click on Configurations-->Policies

Click on Scheduled Update --- and Uncheck "Enable scheduled update"

Next Remove all SMD tasks from the Notes.Ini file on the server you wish to stop ScanMail.

Another option you will need to look at is the "StopMail" option. If you disable Scanmail without removing this, no Email will be delivered. The easiest way to disable this is to open the Notes.INI file and change SMStopMail and set it equal to 0.

For changes to take affect you will need to restart the designated server.

~BTK~

Blackberry Troubleshooting on a BES

Today I thought I would lend my expert(or not) advice on troubleshooting Blackberry issues with a Blackberry on a Blackberry Enterprise Server.

Common Issues and Solutions

Enterprise Activation won't work

1. Check to ensure you have the correct Blackberry Data Plan,
2. Make sure your BES Admin has added you to the Server and set an Activation Password.
3. Make sure you type in your complete email address and password -password is case sensitive.
4. Have your Admin check your Spam Firewall to ensure the RIM message was received and not blocked.
5. Power off your device if Activation sticks on "activating", remove the battery(hard reset) then put the battery back in and try activation again.
6. Wipe the Handheld -->Options-->Security or Security Options--General Options-->Press in with the scroll wheel and select Wipe Handheld. Select Continue and then type "blackberry" to wipe the handheld. This will clear your device. After wiping your handheld try activation again. If this does not work have the BES Admin delete and then add you back to the Server making sure to reassign a password.(this last step typically always corrects the issue, if this is not a new device you will perform additional steps)

Non-New Device which stops receiving emails

1. If not already installed, install the Desktop Sopackaged with your Blackberry.
2. Make sure to select Blackberry Enterprise Server when installing.
3. After installation connect your Blackberry to your computer with the USB cable packaged with your device.
4. After the device has connected selected "Backup/Restore".
5. Click Backup and take the defaults.
6. After the device has been backed up follow the steps above for "Wiping the Handheld".
7. After wiping the Handheld click "Restore" in the Desktop Software.
8. After the device has been Restored power off the device and remove/reinsert the battery.
9. Once it reboots run Enteprise Activation again. If it does not work, have your BES Admin remove/add you back to the BES Server.

Not of all my folders are showing up on my Blackberry

1. Go into Messages on your Blackberry --press in with the scroll wheel and select "Options".
2. Select Email Settings
3. Press in with the scroll wheel and select "Folder Redirection"
4. Expand your Email address and make sure the folders you want on your Blackberry are checked.
5. If you check one or remove a check make sure you save the changes before you exit.

Guess thats all for today, I may post additional Blackberry Information if anyone would find it beneficial. Let me know.

~BTK~

Display Pictures in Sametime Chat

It's been a while since my last post, I have just started some graduate classes and have not had as much time as usual to post. Over the weekend we had to take down 7 servers including a BES,Archive server, a couple of our AS400 boxes.

Before the weekend I tried adding a photo option for Sametime Chats but had no luck. This morning I thought I would give it another try. I found a few different articles online that were pretty useful. Here is a link to what I found most helpful. Adding Pictures to Sametime

I thought I would need to restart some services on my IM server for this to take affect, but after an hour of changing the pubnames.ntf and adding a picture to my person doc, my picture was visible.

If a picture does not show up, try to right click a person's name and click"refresh person info"

Sametime 7.5.1 Bugs

I've been testing Sametime 7.5.1 for sometime now and wanted to comment on a couple of bugs I noticed and was curious if anyone knew if they planned to fix them.

1. With Sametime 7.5.1 -->when a new IM is sent, if "tabbed" option is on you have to click the users name for the new message to display.
   It appears this has been corrected with Sametime 7.5.1 integrated with Notes 8 Beta 3, but I noticed a few times having to click on the tab to update the text. So maybe it still needs to be looked into.
   
   
2. The message for Incoming Chat messages does not disappear after new messages are received and even after a chat window is closed. It will stay in the toolbar until you close Sametime.

Any chance they are going to fix these bugs?

Thanks in advance,

~BTK~

Loss of right click option with tabs Notes 8

It appears IBM is working on this right click option for Notes 8..its been SPR'd

ND8 Forum Search Results

Notes 8 Beta 3

Another day, Another question....In previous version of Notes...switching to Designer was a little easier...If you had an application opened in Notes you could right click the tab and switch to designer. In using 8 Beta 3, when I right click and application I get this

Is there an option that I need to check in Notes 8 to get this feature back ...or am I out of luck?

Thanks,

~BTK~

Blackberry 8800

Yesterday I found out I was going to be upgrading to a newer Blackberry. For those of you who don't know I maintain our companies internal BES Server. It's pretty small with about 150 users. Recently I upgraded our BES to 4.1 Hot Fix 3. It seems to have corrected the issue of not being able to delete emails off of the handheld with the Blackberry Pearl (8100) and Blackberry 8800. Before this upgrade several users would have to go in and delete their messages manually with Desktop Manager(Backup/Restore -->Advanced-->Select messages and click clear).



--First impressions of my Blackberry 8800 --

• I didn't think I would like the trackball, but its not to bad. It can be a bit touchy at times and scroll a little more than you like...but overall its good.
• The option to add an SD card is very nice. The speakers sound quality is quite clear and well designed for a phone.
• The holster, packaged with the 8800 is pretty impressive. My old 8700 case would fall out at times. The 8800 holster would hold the phone in if you were running up and down hills.
• Internal GPS(TeleNav), I have not had a chance to work with this feature, but the idea of it is cool enough in itself.

I guess thats about it for now...I'm sure I'll have more to say about it once I've used it more. Check back for more updates.

DWA 7.0

I was wondering if there is a way in with DWA 7.0 or maybe with the new 8.0 for folder notification for new email. Currently in Notes Client Version 8.0 Beta 3 ....and in several older versions of Notes you get this when new email comes into a Folder.

Without that Bold Font and (Number) I wouldnt think to look in that folder.

On the web ....there is not, or maybe I'm not aware of a change in Folder when new mail arrives. This can be a pain to those who have many folders with mail rules setup.

Is there an option for this on the web? And if there is how can I access it.

Thanks in advance.

New Gmail Feature

I just noticed today when I logged into my Gmail account a new feature.

This is great for home videos...!! Thanks Gmail!

Sametime 7.5.1

So I've had a chance like many to test the new sametime which has impressed me to say the least. Below is a list of what I liked/didn't like....

What I like:

Tabbed IM sessions (vertical or horizontal)

Open another chat within the current IM Session

Auto Status Changes(if you lock your PC auto away, etc)

More features with the "Screenshot Capture"

Transfer files(mp3's,docs,etc)

Ability to prevent save of chat window session

What I don't like:

The message to show you have new IM's will stay in your toolbar after you have opened the IM.

Meetings are still kind of slow loading.

Overall I think Sametime 7.5.1,which will come default with Notes 8 will get a lot of praise from users. It is not perfect, but a big step for IBM.

M&M's

If you like M&M's or even if you don't, you can now see what you would look like as an M&M.

Enjoy!

http://www.becomeanmm.com/

Can somebody say Top 25...

Its been a while since my last post, but I could not miss posting this one.

http://espn.go.com/dickvitale/070226top25.html

I'm thinking #23 is going to make a run in the tournament!

Go Eagles!

5 things you don't know!

Thinking I may escape this "5 things I don't know about you" topic..... I was not to surprised when Mr Whis! tagged me. So here goes...

1. In high school I used to have long hair....enough said
2. Top place I would like to visit one day is Jamaica....I've nearly been on a mission trip their a few times with different churches...but things have seem to conflict each time.
3.Two years ago I went on a mission trip to Atlanta and stayed in a homeless shelter for 4 days. It was one of the most eye-opening experiences of my life. What I learned from it? 1. Poverty is not just in distant countries....it is everywhere around us. 2. When you make all your food..and see these people so grateful for food and a bed...it makes you think....how can I be complaining about not getting the latest gadget. 3. Living on the streets is extremely dangerous. We were nearly killed a few times on the trip.
4. My favorite movie is Hoosiers. WHY? I love basketball...I played bball in a small town before...and Gene Hackman is a great actor...at least in that movie.
5.And last but not least.......I've owned two Jeep Cherokees in my life and hope to own another one day because I love Jeeps!

Now its time to tag a few folks.

JR and Trish! The ball is in your court!