XPages File Resources

WordPress will not allow me to upload a domino template to the blog – so if anyone requires the resources required for the XPages introduction tutorial, just send me an email (barryhughes1@gmail.com).

Great Deal For Golfers

I am recommending all golfers to check out http://www.greenfree.co.uk/gm to get a great deal on green fees.

On the site you can buy vouchers that entitle 2 people can play golf for the price of 1 – and you can buy up to 6 such vouchers for £17.80 (for the lot) and get 2 more free.

The offer applies to many golf courses in Ireland and the UK. Haven;t seen many of the really famous ones, but a lot of regional ones are participating.

I look for courses in Leinster and found a few I know well – including Dundalk Golf Club in Blackrock (2 miles down the road … woo-hoo!). Arklow, Coollatin and Mount Wolseley are also there – I have played these and recommend them all.

My own golf club Courtown is NOT on the list – which is a shame as it is a course that has greatly improved over the last decade.

March 2009’s ‘Golf Monthly’ magazine has a free voucher.

Economics 101

As a Commerce graduate, I have been dismayed by the recent actions/inactions of companies and governments. The subsqent over-the-top media reaction has only accelerated the economic slowdown.

I studied Commerce in university. Economics was one of those business subjects that I HAD to study but never became one I loved. For me it was always the study of the obvious; a practice of making assumptions in order to track economic activity. Enterprise, innovation, that get-up-off your ass and get on with it attitude -economists and accountants don’t know what these really are – they are unknowns in their precious models. I liked IT and marketing – I felt positive after studying them.

So when a company like Sony ( for example) announce that they’re about to make their first loss and therefore have to cut jobs, I fail to see how that helps them sell more goods and generate future profit. They are making losses because consumers are frightened of losing jobs and saving their money instead of buying that LCD or VIAO. Accountants & economistd advising to shed jobs and cut costs does not guarantee sales or profit next year – lowered prices, quality products, new innovative sales techniques and conveying a positive consumer-focussed attitude does that. Apple are brilliant at this (maybe not the lower price bit though).

Recently a real estate company in Wexford introduced an amazing idea. They introduced a scheme on a new estate where potential buyers could rent houses for 4 years. They then had the option of buying them at the current low prices after the 4 years AND the rent paid was offset against the purchase price. The estate sold out as if the recession never happened. No jobs lost. No tears. Genius.

A lesson for all companies in the current climate. Losses happen with minimum effort – profits come from pushing on, innovating and not cutting the very people and resources that can help create the recovery.

Obvious.

Having an argument…….

All,

I saw an article on Macworld.com ( http://www.macworld.com/article/137032/2008/11/iphone_push_email.html ) listing 7 ways to push mail to the iphone without Microsoft Exchange ….. and didn’t mention Lotus Domino! After a comment was added pointing this out, an obviously biased anti-domino reader decieded to add the following:

“What are we missing? Notes? Domino? Slow applications with a UI that looks like it was designed with Visio 1.0?”

So, I decided to take the Pro-Lotus Domino side and take him on. Can’t stand people who have a gripe without knowing anything about the product.

If any other Domino people out there want to help me slam-dunk this guy – please feel free.

iNotes on iPhone – after a few hours….

iNotes on the iPhone

 OK, I spent a few hours last night looking at iNotes Ultralite on the iPhone, so a few initial thoughts….

The Good Things…

1) It’s fast! Over broadband it’s as fast as my native Gmail account on the iPhone. 3G is not far behind – if you can get O2 3G in Ireland (that’s for another blog entry).

2) It’s a LOT better presented than native Gmail, where the folders are all listed with no icons – I prefer icon views! The presentation of the mail views and the mai form itself blows the native email apps away.

3) It’s more secure than native Gmail on the iPhone as the username and password are not stored on the phone itself. No mails are stored on it either!

4) I like the refresh icon on the mail views.

5) The badge on the Inbox showing how many unread mails I have is very iPhone!

6) Attachments icon is present and attachments do open – though in a new Safari window! This means that you can flick from one to the other (which is really nice) but there is a limit of 8 safari windows on the iPhone AND the attachments cannot be edited. Mind you they can’t be edited on native Gmail either.
What it doesn’t do…

1) Allow you to attach a file to a new mail. Native Gmail on the iPhone doesn’t allow this either (images can be emailed, but only via the photo app on the phone). It’s time for the iPhone to have a finder application on it – I have file storing apps on the iPhone but they’re limited.

2) Allow you to move emails to folders. It does allow the deleting of emails – but not more than 1 at a time. Native Gmail allows this.

3) None of the iNotes preferences are supported. I only really use ‘Out-of-office’ and password change on my iNotes – it would be nice to have these on it especially as gmail does not have this functionality.

4) Can’t add or edit or delete a calendar entry.

5) The address fields don’t automatically pick up contacts in that nice ajax way that the Notes Client does. The little address refresh icon in full iNotes is not present either. There is a ‘Contacts’ list available seperately – but you get the feeling that an ajax-like pop-up would be much better. However I did send a test email to ‘Barry Hughes’ and it got to me no problem.

INITIAL VERDICT

Overall, It’s a very impressive way to access, send and view Notes mail and though it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles, it has enough to make it essential for any iPhone-Lotus Notes users out there – and gives Lotus Notes mail a LOT more business appeal.

Current Podcasts

A quick list of the podcasts I subscribe to:

Ian Dempsey breakfast show

Colm and Jim-Jim breakfast show (duggie and gitsy are class)

Taking Notes (the last one with Ed Brill and Dwight Morse was excellent!)

Stephen Fry’s podgrams

Apple Gazette Daily

San Francisco Giants – Chronicle podcast

New York Giants official podcasts

Discovery channel video podcasts

Talking History – Newstalk 106

Macworld video podcast

Official LOST podcast

RTE – conversations with Eamon Dunphy

8.5 (BETA 2) – A Clarification

First things first, my thanks to Paul Mooney for letting the Domino community know about my blog – I’ll have to write stuff for it now!

On my last 2 posts, I have been telling people about my experience with Domino 8.5 BETA 2. I explained where I was coming from on the first post on the subject and that I am using the beta. However, on my last one – where I was pointing out a problem with the working sets functionality I didn;t make it clear that it was a BETA.

Apologies for the confusion. I did say in my first post on the subject that I am using the beta 8.5.2 release. I have added the word BETA to the title of the confusing post.

Overall it has been a positive changeover to eclipse, but as a 10 year Domino developer, I’d like people to know how I’m getting on with the new environment and if any IBM people get this feeedback and fix these minor gliches, it might allieviate a future headache or two for us all.

On the upside, I’m getting visitors and causing controversy. Huzzah!