Something to ponder

A couple of days ago, Mr. Blatnick turned me on to a really cool blog called MetroDad. I really like who this guy writes and can relate to him on many levels. But one post he put up has really stuck with me and made me remember something about this world. We are all alike. Regardless of race, religion, creed, color, political affiliation or background, we all like to act a little silly and let loose sometimes, even when some foreign guy shows up with a camcorder. Take a few minutes and watch the video below. Look at the faces and see if maybe you see a little bit of yourself in some of them. If more people in this mixed up planet could realize that perhaps this world can be made a little better place to live in.


Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

They're going for the geek vote!

Coincidence?

I think not!
It's going to be a fun election season!

Of course, there is ANOTHER candidate!

Sametime Entry 8.0.1 Upgrade Error (Funny)

Like the good little Domino Administrator that I am, I wanted to make sure that the upgrade for my Sametime 7.0 Limited to Sametime 8.0.1 Entry would work fine on my test server before I roll it out in production with my 8.0.2 server upgrade. Sounds like a no brain-er, right? Wrong.
During the installation process, I kept getting the following error popup:

Domino has not been configured. Configure Domino before installing the Sametime server

So it was off to the usual search locations to see if anyone else has had this problem in the past. Google, Notes.net, support site had nothing similar to this. Then the thought occurred to me to make sure that I had put the Domino server installation location in the PATH statement on the Windows server. Well, that was there too. Not wanting to think much more about it, (it is Friday after all), I called and opened up a PMR with support.

Once the technician was on the line, I explained the problem to him. After a short pause he said that he had heard of it before. He then asked me to open my notes.ini file on the server. I complied. He then asked me to look at the first line in the file, [NOTES.INI]. Okay, it's there. He then asked me if all of the letters were upper case. They are. He then asked me to leave the first letter uppercase, but make all of the other letters lowercase so it looks like this [Notes.ini]. I saved and closed the file and started the server installation back up. It ran right through with no errors. We both had a good laugh over that one.

I can't believe I missed this!

On August 15, 2003, this post was entered:

Greetings. My name is Andy, and I will be your host into my psyche. So please, sit back, relax, and enjoy what I have to say.

I can’t believe that I missed my own blogiversary. Five years and 625 blog posts. I didn't know how long I would do this or to what extent back then, but it's grown into a living journal or my life, loves, interests and work. So if you're reading this, thank you. Thanks for taking time to read this and interact me, a geek stuck somewhere in the hills of East-Central Ohio.

And in other news..the Thunder is now Storm

I've been reading today that the much anticipated new BlackBerry model, previously call Thunder, is now officially the BlackBerry Storm 9530. Looks like BlackBerry and Verizon are serious about this device. It will include a pre-installed SIM card which should make the device work internationally as well as a pre-installed 8GB Sandisk SD card. The release date is still looking to be on Monday, October 13th, but you can only believe the blog rumor mill so much.

It will be interesting to see if this device could pose a threat the the iPhone. I know I've already been told to order one when available because there will be a rush of people wanting them. Someones got to support them, right? ;-)

The saga of ~notes.lck and other client weirdness

It's a like a bad penny. This thing keeps showing up. From other reports I've been hearing since the launch of Notes/Domino 8.0.2, as well as my own blog post, people are having problems with starting up the Standard, (Eclipse based-full blown client, not the Basic-looks like R6 and R7 client) client after upgrading from 8.0.1. Again this morning I launched Notes, turned away from the screen to do some other stuff on my desk while it was starting, looked back and noticed that it was sitting at the light blue screen of the Eclipse client with my last open tabs at the top but the client locked up. So I go to a command prompt, drill down to the location on my hard drive where Lotus Notes is installed, (ie C:\Program Files\lotus\notes), and run NSD -kill. Once that's done, I open Windows Explorer and go to the data directory where my Notes is installed and find another ~notes.lck file. Delete that file and now I think I'm ready to start Notes again and get to work. Wrong. Tried launching the client again and same issues. Rinse, repeat, still locking up. So I try a different approach by first launching the Admin client. That starts up okay without any issue so I click to launch Notes and it starts up, but without my normal Workspace but the newer one with the icons for Mail, Contacts, Journal, etc. Yes, we still use the old workspace in the Notes client and probably will until they stop allowing us to. Now that I know the clients work, I shut both down and launch just the Notes client. Locked up AGAIN.
I'm going to try and do a complete uninstall/reinstall to see if this keeps happening and if it does I'll open a PMR. This is just getting plain annoying. Plus now I have to question, is this only happening on the installs that include the Admin and Developer software or is this also happening on Standard only install? Looks like I have some more testing to do before I start rolling out any more clients. Stay tuned!

SnTT-The gutter is back!

One of the things that I had missed with the Standard Notes 8 client in my email was "The Gutter". You know, that small area just to the left of your messages that allowed you to check multiple messages at one time and then either file them or delete them. The delete part is especially nice if you get a lot of system messages. Anyways, I worked around it and moved in with my life, yet, there was an emptiness in my soul. Sure, I would visit it again every now and again if I used the Basic client, but it just wasn't the same. Sigh.
But that all changed yesterday with the release of 8.0.2. (Insert trumpets here) It's back! And where do you go to turn it on you might ask? Easy.

1. In the Standard client, click File and then Preferences.
2. In the Preferences window, select Basic Notes Client Configurations and under the Additional Options window, scroll all the way to the bottom.
3. Click next to "Show check marks in margin for selected documents"
4. Click OK
5. Shazam! You got your gutter back!

I can rest easy tonight. I feel complete.

First impressions/headaches of 8.0.2

Yes kids, it's a Domino related post. The funk of last week has passed on in time to celebrate 8-Oh-Tuesday!

Before dawns first light broke over the hills of Eastern Ohio, I was already downloading the latest and greatest from Lotus so that it would be waiting for me when I entered the office. Without much fanfare, my server was upgraded from 8.0.1 to 8.0.2. Again, a server upgrade that just worked without any issues. I love it. To be sure, I made a hot copy of the pubnames.ntf in case there was any issues with the new template, but I hadn't seen any yet.
But, then came the client. I upgraded my Admin workstation, and then went in without too many issues. Still, the splash screen seemed a little slow at start up, but once running you can really see the performance enchantments shine! Then came my day in-day out laptop. That's were the trouble really started.
Before the upgrade, I was running Notes 8.0.1 Standard with the Admin and Dev clients also installed. I also had the Quickr client installed from a failed attempt at "playing" with it, as well as the Sametime 8.0 full client. So needless to say, I do a lot of installing on my laptop. But what good admin doesn't, right? The install seemed to go smoothly. No errors popping up while the software installed. But after reboot and starting the client, I kept getting a pop up window telling me that the program caused an error and to check the log. Okay, I look in log.nsf and the only error there is "Dynamic Client Configuration: Returned an error adding policy information to the address book: Note item not found". Hmm. So after a shutdown/reboot, I thought that might clear up the issue. No luck, still getting the error window pop up. But this time, Notes crashed. Thinking I'm smarter then the average bear, I decided to shut down the client, map a drive over from my other workstation, open the local names.nsf and delete all the profile documents out of the $Profiles view. I went to start Notes back up and nothing. Just the Eclipse core starting back at me locked up and with no Notes information there. That's when I thought it was Quickr's fault. So, I uninstalled Quickr and did another reboot cycle. Nope, same issues. It was now time for the "nuke from orbit" approach. I uninstalled the clients and used CCleaner to clean out the registry. I opened up the Notes folder on the drive after reboot to make sure my stuff was still there before reinstalling and noticed a little friend hiding \data folder. ~notes.lck. I haven't seen that one causing any issues in a long time. So, I deleted it and proceeded to reinstall the client. No problems. And now running the client, things really do seem faster.
So the moral to this story I guess is if you are a "power user", this install, like any other, could be troublesome. Could it have been Quickr? Could it have been the ~notes.lck? Who know. For now it's up and running. And iNotes via the iPod Touch....too cool!

Nothing like a British kid swearing....

To put you in a better mood and remove a nasty case of the funks.
Could this really be Gordon Ramsey as a child?

Part 1


Part 2



Thanks Shannon

Please, stand by

Have fallen into one of the "funks" as of late, especially after events that transpired today at the office. With "Eight oh Tuesday" just around the corner, I am sure I will have plenty more to blog about next week.

Opening band at the Lotusphere2009 OGS...

Or this..thing singing Amy Winehouse Karaoke?








I think we can all agree that the band would be much better ;-)

Leave it to Opus

To put summer into it's proper perspective. Perhaps this is something(s) we should all do at some point before it's over. Click image to enlarge.

I got my Yellow on! (Finally)

Didn't get a chance to wear Yellow to the office today, but of course was sportin' it on our walk down by the Tuscarawas River.

T-minus two weeks and counting

So with two weeks left until the start of the school year, Molly has decided that she wanted to show off her new outfit for the first day of school. The retro 80's look. Retro. 80's. Man, I feel old.

It's good to be the king!

'Nuff said.

SnTT - xACL - Secure that Domino Directory!

Domino Directory security is one of those things that I just have always taken for granted I guess. Did the "Actions -> Upgrade to More Secure Internet Password Format" option. Set the ACL entry of Anonymous to "No Access". Set the default so users can edit their own password information and everything else that should be hidden from prying eyes, is, right?

Wrong!

And as I had found out on a recent security audit, not everything is hidden from prying eyes.

The firm hired to do an all systems security audit pinged me pretty good by showing an easily accessible back door to gaining passwords from the Dom Dir to run through a decrypter to access the accounts. Again, this is something that was done with a registered user account on my Domino domain, so accessing the directory anonymously was still blocked.
1. Open a web browser and run to http://servername/names.nsf
2. Authenticate with the server.
3. While logged into the database via a web browser, open a person document. Any one will do.
4. Now in the frame that shows the person documents information, right mouse click and select, "View Page Source" or "View Source", depending on what browser you are using.
5. Now scroll on down the text window until you find a line that contains information like this:

"HTTPPassword" type="hidden" value="(gibberish)">

6. Now, if you see nothing in the "value="( )">" area, then you are already using the Extended ACL feature and you can stop reading this blog entry. Might I suggest something from the links list on the left side to continue your reading? But if you see any encrypted password information in between the parenthesis, then you need to keep reading.

A feature available in the Domino Directory, one that I've never really seen get much attention, is the Extended ACL, or xACL. This gives that extra layer of "lock down" that is needed to secure items all the was down to the field level. Now rather then type out all of the steps on how to do it, click here to read document #1244808 entitled "Configuring xACLs to protect Internet Password fields in the Domino Directory". Also, if you are using anonymous LDAP lookups, then these steps will break that. Once you have secured using the xACL, then follow the steps listed in your Domino Administrator help file in section entitled "Converting the default anonymous access settings to database ACL and extended ACL settings."
With these steps in place, the hackers are going to need to find another way of breaking into your stuff!

Paris Hilton responds to John McCain

You may have caught over the last weekend that grandpa...I mean Senator John McCain used Paris Hilton in an anti-Osam...Obama (gunna get that right sooner or later) ad on TV. Well, blondie responded, and it's pretty funny

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

The latest in hacking technology!

This graphic reminds me way too much of the one that was in Bloom County many years ago. Anyways, it seems that some kids at MIT with far too much time on their hands and no girlfriends to distract them, have created the latest in wardriving technology. You can check out their adventures for yourself by clicking here.

Not only a GONAD

But, as our beloved founder has graced upon me, the defacto, (since I was the first to contact him) Grand Wizard GONAD for the USA.
That's right kids. I am the biggest GONAD in the US of A. I will rule with an iron fist, but it will be benevolent and just. As we will likely be making fun of others, namely Exchange admins and SharePoint freaks, I demand nothing less then witty and cutting remarks towards them.
If you are not yet a GONAD, what it the matter with you? All you need do is contact Brother Steve at the Monastery in the Motherland! Be a GONAD, today!

The Lotusphere 2009 Banter Has Begun!

First, Gregg. Then Bob. With the first day of August slowly coming to an end, the Lotusphere banter and excitement is beginning! Over the past couple of years, mid-August has been the time frame when registration has opened for our Lotus-lovefest. Will this year be different? The official Lotusphere website states:

Lotusphere 2009 will take place from Sunday, January 18 thru Thursday, January 22, 2009 at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort and Disney's Yacht and Beach Club Resort in Orlando, Florida, USA.

The team is busy getting ready and will have details to share with you on September 3, 2008. In the meantime, mark your calendar with the dates. It's been a busy year for the IBM Lotus and WebSphere Portal brand; we have lots in store and we're excited to welcome you back as part of the community that defined community . . . Lotusphere!

September 3rd? Another month? My money is on mid-August registration open and full blown info will be released on 9/3. And, I'll also start my yearly rumor early that William Shatner will be the guest speaker at the OGS. But, I've been wrong before.
I also plan on updating my own guide to all things Lotusphere, but I'll save that for further on down the road. There's plenty of time for that stuff later.

ND8 Upgrade Step 2.5.1 - Validate the schedule!

Had an interesting issue pop up today with a user that I had upgraded to Notes 8. After moving her to the 8.0.1 server and upgraded her mail file, she was getting the following error basically doing anything in her calendar:

"Double Book:An error occurred while searching for free time. We were not able to perform conflict checking for you at this time. The meeting will be created and placed on your calendar. Continue?"

Doing a quick search on the Lotus support site returned information on an old error concerning delegation in 6 and 6.5, but that didn't fit the bill since there was no delegation assigned for this user.
After chatting with Lotus Support, we realized that the users free time was not registering on the new server. So after a "tell sched validate" command issued was issued on the server console, the user was then able to enjoy her Lotus Notes version 8 calendaring and scheduling experience.
Stay tuned! More upgrade stories to come I'm sure!