Monthly Archives: September 2014

Microsoft skipping Windows 9 – jumps to Windows 10

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Microsoft unveiled the next version of Windows at a press event in San Francisco today. Surprisingly the successor to Windows 8 and 8.1 will not be called Windows 9 as everyone expected. Instead Microsoft jumps straight to Windows 10.

One reason for this, according to Microsoft, is that the new operating system is such a big leap from Windows 8 that they want to mark that by increasing the version two steps.  Among the changes Microsoft listed were a removal of the tiled Metro user interface, which have been receiving heavy critisism.

Windows 10 will combine the familiarity and functionality of Windows 7 with some elements of Windows 8. Microsoft admitted that they did not get Windows 8 right, but they think that they will get it right with Windows 10. The key is that the new version of Windows can identofy the device and chnage the interface mode. This mean sthat the software will know if a user is on a Surface tablet or a laptop and adjust accordingly to the hardware present.

Oh, and the start menu is back.

The new Widnows 10 start meny. Source: The Verge

Windows 10 start meny. Source: The Verge

Microsoft did not elaborate on Windows Phone 10, more than it will not have a desktop. There is also no release date announced for Windows 10, but it is expected to be in the end of 2015.

More here and here.

Free Software – Password Reset for Notes/Domino

Posted on by Posted in Administration, Bootstrap, HTML/CSS, IBM/Lotus, jQuery, Notes/Domino, Open Source, Software 7 Comments

Earlier this year I was asked to research some alternatives for a web-based password reset function at my work. One of the larger support burdens are users who forget the passwords, especially in the first few days after changing it. We have a 90 day password lifespan, then a new password need to be picked. Some users wait until the last minute, which usually is Friday afternoon right before they go home, making it very likely that they will forget the new password over the weekend. Another big group is auditors, who may come in every 6 months or so, and by then their passwords have of course already expired.

I first looked at some COTS solutions from HADSL (FirM) and BCC (AdminSuite). They were both very competent, and in addition have several other functions that I really would like to have in my environment (like synchronization between Domino Directory and Active Directory). However, as my company is in a cost saving phase, I was asked if I could build something myself, so I played around a little, and came up with a small and simple application.

The application contains two web pages. The first page (Setup) is where the user will setup the security questions used for password recovery as well as entering an external email address that they have access to even if locked out from the Domino account at work. This page is protected by regular Notes security, so the users need to set this up before they lose access to their account.

The second page (Request)is where the user can request the password to be reset. After entering their Notes name, the user is presented with one of the security questions. If the question as answered correctly, the user can now enter a new password. If the question is wrong, another of the questions is presented to the user. I am also using regexp to make sure that the password match the requirement our organisation have for password strength.

Both pages are built using Bootstrap (v3.2.0),  jQuery (v1.11.0), and for the icons I use Font Awesome (v4.2.0), all loaded from BootstrapCDN. I also use a few local CSS and Javascript files to handle older versions of Internet Explorer. The process steps were created using code by jamro and you can find the code here. By the way, Bootsnipp is a great resource to avoid having to invent the wheel again. There are hundreds of free snippets of code there to build neat Bootstrap functionality.

When the user fill out and submit the setup page, a document is created in a Notes database. When the user need to reset the password, the security questions and answers are retrieved from that document. To prevent unauthorised access to the Notes documents, they use Readers fields to prevent them from being visible to anyone but the signer of the agents running on the server.

This application can of course be updated with more functionality. Instead of allowing the user to pick a password, one could be generated by the server and sent through email to the address entered during setup. There are probably other things that can be done to adapt this application to the needs of your organization. And you probably want to change the logo on the pages to fit your organisation.

You can download the application here. It is licensed under Apache 2.0. I will try to get it up on OpenNTF.org soon as well.

Read the “About” page for instructions on installation and setup, as well as full license and attribution. Enjoy!

#ThrowbackThursday – Worst Practices at Connect 2013

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Paul Mooney and Bill Buchan returns with a brand new Worst Practices at IBM Connect 2013.

This session alone is almost worth the cost to attend Lotusphere/Connect/ConnectED.

There is a slight skip towards the end, when I had to switch batteries. Otherwise you have the whole session, including the warm-up performance.

More on IBM ConnectED 2015

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This morning Kristin Keene, Events Manager for ConnectED,  talked more about the upcoming IBM ConnectED 2015 in January at the monthly ICS Community webcast. IBM realized that the last few years they been swinging over too much to the business side, and is now going back to a much more technical conference. As I mentioned the other day, some tracks are new, some are renamed and some are gone. As an example, ChalkTalks replaces the old Birds of a Feather, but will take place throughout the day, not just morning and evening.

ConnectED_slide

The keywords mentioned was “smaller and more intimate”. The conference will be at Swan only, to condense it and make it all in one place to make it easier to connect with IBMers and other attendees. Opening General Session will be Monday morning as normal, but in the Swan Ballroom.

IBM Connected 2015 schedule

IBM Connected 2015 schedule

As opposed to previous years, the number of IBM attendees will be greatly reduced, to around 300. Most of them will be subject matter experts, speakers or staffing the labs. All IBMers will be invite only, not coming as regular attendees as in the past. The lab decisions are still a little bit up in the air, according to Kristin, but the Meet the Developer lab will be there as usual. The special event (previously an evening at one of the local them parks) will this year be more of a special party, as she put it.

Registration for connect is already open, the call for abstracts just opened this week and close on October 10 (probably extended to October 15). The full agenda will be finalized on November 15, and the presentations are due on January 1 from the speakers who were chosen.

Kristin also said that IBM does not consider this the last Lotusphere/Connect/ConnectED, but she does not know exactly what will happen after the contract with Dolphin and Swan expires after the 2015 conference.

You can read more details here.

Hope to see you in Orlando in January!

Survey about Notes and Domino directions

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PSC is doing a community survey about the direction of IBM Notes and Domino. John Head, Director of Enterprise Collaboration at the Chicago-based consulting company PSC Group explains that it’s not about gathering data, the (optional) email address collected will only be used to notify about the result.PSC promises to share the full results publically.

I am personally looking forward to see the result of the survey. You can take the survey at http://bit.ly/PSCXPagesSurvey.

Two more days to thank someone

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IBM Champion

It is now just two days left to nominate IBM Champions. So if you know someone who have been helping the community, perhaps through video tutorials, blogs, presenting at (or organizing) conferences or answering questions on different forums, submit a nomination.

This is how IBM explains what a Champion is:

An IBM Champion is someone who makes exceptional contributions to the technical community. Contributions can come in a variety of forms, and popular contributions include blogging, speaking at conferences or events, moderating forums, leading user groups, and authoring books or magazines.

So hurry up. There are many worthy champions out there!

IBM ConnectED agenda published

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The agenda for IBM ConnectED (the conference formerly known as Lotusphere and IBM Connect) has now been posted.

Connected

As previously announced, the conference is one day shorter than before, ending already on Wednesday. There are no jumpstart sessions listed for Sunday, but the Master Class sessions are returning that  day. The individual sessions have not been announced yet, the call for abstracts have not even ben sent out. So it will probably be at least a month or two until the list of sessions is announced. But expect a more technical conference and less marketing that the last few years.

A new item on the agenda is TechnOasis. The way it is listed (together with the name) makes me believe this is the solutions showcase with a different name combined with the social café. If you look at the tracks, it seems like BoF (Birds of a Feather) has been renamed Chalktalk:

Come one, come all! Chalktalk sessions are informal, interactive discussion groups for attendees to share ideas and experiences in an small group,  and open forum setting. Feel free to submit topics that interest you, either those you would like to lead, or topics and discussions that you’d like to participate in! As a reminder, attendees build the agenda by voting on all submissions and ultimately select the sessions that will appear on the agenda. So you’ll be sure find something that’s well worth your while!

The Wednesday special event was moved to Tuesday evening in 2014, and it will again take place that day in 2015. The event is shorter, 7pm to 9pm, which could indicate that it may not be one of the parks like previous years. On the other hand, since the conference will be smaller the park may not need to stay open as late to allow everyone to ride all the rides. I have (in the past) left the Wednesday party around 9 or 9.30, so if a majority been doing that, it may save IBM some money closing the park earlier. I guess we have to see. Personally I am hoping for Universal Studios with the new extension to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter that was opened this summer.

Read more here.

 

#ThrowbackThursday – My old HP calculators

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HP-21

HP-21

I have previously here on my blog mentioned my preference for HP calculators. Our first calculator at home was the HP-21, with a red LED display, which we got in late 1975 (if I remember correctly), soon after it was released. My parents used it for all different kinds of calculations, especially taxes (back then the Swedish tax system was much more complicated than it is today). My cousin who worked at HP (and got us the calculator) explained RPN (Reverse Polish Notation) to me, and it made sense to me to use that system for calculations.

 

HP-15C

HP-15C

Fast forward to 1983. I was now in 8th grade and we were allowed to use calculators in school. In 7th grade I had learned to use a slide rule (it was already outdated at this time) just to irritate my math teacher, but now I got my very own calculator, the HP-15C. This scientific calculator, often called the best calculator ever made, was programmable with 448 program steps. I wrote all kinds of programs for it, and used it heavily in math and physics classes in school.

 

HP-28C

HP-28C

In 1987, HP released the graphing calculator HP-28C, with 2kB of memory, a display that could show not only graphs but all four levels of the stack, and a flip-open or “clamshell” case, with two separate keyboard sections. I got one as soon as it came out, as well as an infrared thermo printer (HP82240A). My dad took over my HP-15C, and he kept it until his death in 2001.

 

HP-28S

HP-28S

A year later HP-28S was released, with 32kB memory and support for directories and custom menus, as well as a few new fucntions like symbolic expressions. So I sold the HP-28C and purchased the newer model, even if I was almost done with high school at this point.

 

My HP-48SX calculator and 82240A printer

My HP-48SX calculator and 82240A printer

In 1990 HP released the great HP-48SX, with a large graphics display, two expansion ports for memory cards of up to 128kB, a two-way infrared port, a serial port with support for the Kermit file transfer protocol and 32kB build-in user memory. The processor had a clock frequency of 2 MHz and the display had a resolution of 131 x 64 pixel. I got this calculator in April 1990, while I served in the Swedish Air Force. I really had no use for the calculator right then, but I knew that I wanted the latest and greatest in HP handheld calculators. I don’t remember what I did with my HP-28S, I think I may have sold it to an old classmate. I kept the printer, despite the fact that a newer model (HP82240B) had been released. The few changes did not motivate me to spend that extra money.

I have kept my old trusty HP-48SX ever since, for 24 years now. It still works, and in the last 20 years I probably only had to replace the batteries a couple of times.

 

A few weeks ago I happened to search for HP-28S on eBay, and found that there were several of them for sale there. There were also several HP-28C and HP-48SX, as well as it’s successor HP-48GX (which I never owned). I managed to buy an HP-28S, manuals for it and a leather case just like the one I had. I also picked up a HP82240B printer for $30, I could not resist it at that price…

So now I have all the HP calculators I once owned, except the HP-28C. I also plan to purchase another HP-48SX, as my original calculator have a problem. In order to turn it on or off, I have to press lightly in a specic spot on the case. This well known and common issue is due to a shrunken/dried contact pad between the display and the main curcuit board.

I also purchased a non-working HP-48SX just a few days ago for $22, just so I can open it and see what it looks like inside, before I attempt to repair my own original calculator. Of course I hope that the eBay seller never tried the trick to press in that particular spot, so it may just have the same issue as my calculator. We will see when I get it.

Below is my little collection of HP calculators and printers. In the top row you can see the HP82240B printer to the left and the HP82240A in it’s leather case in the center. To the far right is the leather case for HP-28S.

My collection of HP calculators and printers.

My collection of HP calculators and printers.

#ThrowbackThursday – World War 1

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OK, this is a pretty extreme #ThrowbackThursday, but I wanted to promote a blog I have been reading since the beginning of the year.

Arthur Linfoot, who took part in World War 1, wrote a diary every day from January 1 1914 to December 31 1918. It was written in Pitman’s shorthand, and his son Denis Linfoot translated the diary and is now publishing it as a blog, each entry posted to the day 100 years after it was written.

This is a fascinating way to follow World War 1, especially since my grandfather also served in it (but on the German side). So if you haven’t visited http://www.arthurlinfoot.org.uk yet, take a look at it and perhaps you get hooked just like me.

#ThrowbackThursday – JMP 101 from Lotusphere 2012

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I recorded this video of the session JMP101 IBM Lotus Domino XPages JumpStart at Lotusphere 2012 in Orlando. The conference, later renamed IBM Connect and now renamed again to IBM ConnectED, will take place again in January 2015. Perhaps this video will get you inspired to do some XPages development, or you can show it to your boss as a good example of what you can learn at ConnectED.

Hope to see you in Orlando in January!