Test Your Backups
Wed, May 16th 2012 7:11a Mitch Cohen Hat tip to Andy Donaldson for pointing me at this, great reminder to not only take backups, but test them.
How Toy Story 2 Was Almost Lost Forever [read] Keywords: twitter
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Repeat After Me
Thu, May 3rd 2012 7:11a Mitch Cohen Yes I watched the whole game last night, though I was really fading at the end.
Bart Simpson Chalkboard Generator [read] Keywords:
107
Audio Manager for Android
Mon, Apr 30th 2012 10:11a Mitch Cohen It’s been a while now since I used a Blackberry as my everyday phone, one of the features I miss most is the Profile manager and the ability to easily switch from one profile to another. I have looked at different solutions for Android and finally found AudioManager which suits my needs.
AudioManager lets you create different profiles, and set rules for when different profiles activate. So I now have my phone automatically switch from my daytime settings to my nighttime settings (S [read] Keywords: blackberry
google
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140
Farewell Old Friend
Fri, Apr 20th 2012 8:12a Mitch Cohen This morning it was time to say farewell to my old car a 2002 Saturn SL2, I am amazed it made it this far, the transmission has been having issues for a while now, and recently it would no longer go in reverse which was the end of it. I thought about just dumping the car in the backyard but in the end decided to donate it to an organization that can hopefully make some good use of it.
Here is the car being towed away
Here is the rest of the set
[read] Keywords: javascript
My Grandmother Would have Loved This
Thu, Apr 12th 2012 6:12a Mitch Cohen Back in 1991 (yes 1991) my grandmother enrolled in a class titled “How to speak computers with your grandchildren”, unfortunately she was the only person to sign up for the class so it was cancelled. She passed away in 2004, she was obviously just a little ahead of her time, she would have loved this. [read] Keywords:
Happy Fourth Birthday Abe & Jack
Fri, Mar 23rd 2012 6:13a Mitch Cohen Hard to believe it was four years ago today that Abe and Jack were born.
Here they are last night enjoying their Carvel* Birthday Cake
* no birthday is complete with out a Carvel Ice Cream cake [read] Keywords:
103
Managing your Files in the Cloud Made Simple with Otixo
Mon, Mar 19th 2012 8:11a Mitch Cohen I find that I have files stored in a number of places these days, Google Docs, Dropbox, Amazon S3, box, and Picasa to name a few. A while back I came across Otixo which allows me to access all of them in one place, and move files between the services all from one dashboard. Here is how Otixo explains their service:
(wouldn’t it be nice to see IBM Connections Files, and IBM Smart Cloud on their list of supported services?)
Otixo also supports WebDAV access to your account, allowing you [read] Keywords: collaboration
connections
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google
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Troubleshooting Guide for WebSphere Application Server
Mon, Mar 19th 2012 6:45a Mitch Cohen If you are working with Wepsphere Application Server this is an excellent reference
The document contains sections on, Administration, Application Development, Architecture, Installation, Migration, Performance, Problem Determination Tools, and Security. Each section contains links to Learning documents, technotes, and troubleshooting references.
I found this via the IBM_appserver twitter account, a good one to follow if you are working with WAS.
Looking for the troubleshooting Guide for WebS [read] Keywords: administration
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development
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Instagram is Coming to Android Should I Care?
Mon, Mar 12th 2012 7:11a Mitch Cohen Instagram Announces Android Version curious.li/z00juC
— Mitch Cohen (@curiousmitch) March 11, 2012
Last night I came across the story above that Instagram is coming to Android, which now leaves me wondering should I care? should I be excited? Since I do not currently own an iOS device with a camera I haven’t tried Instagram to date, however I see lots of Instagram photos on Facebook and Twitter.
So I ask all of you Instagram lovers out there, what will I be able to do with Instagram th [read] Keywords: facebook
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My Review of the HTC Jetstream Android Tablet
Thu, Feb 9th 2012 9:12a Mitch Cohen The kind folks at HTC who I met at Lotusphere were kind enough to provide me with an HTC Jetstream Android tablet to kick the tires on. Those who follow me know that I am a huge fan of Android, prefer it over iOS, and have been in search of the right Android tablet for some time now with no luck. I am not going to bore you with the Jetstream’s specs you can read them yourself, but the hardware is nice. My main point of comparison is against my Droid X (running Gingerbread), and my orig [read] Keywords: lotusphere
apple
application
mobile
wifi
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wireless
NitroDesk Touchdown to Officially Support Lotus Traveler (Kindle Fire Owners Take Note)
Fri, Feb 3rd 2012 9:20a Mitch Cohen This is a rather interesting press release I spotted this morning. NitroDesk the makers of TouchDown an Activesync client for Android have announced their plans to officially support Lotus Notes Traveler. Now Touchdown has worked well with Traveler for a while, and there have been a number of new releases since I last played with it.
Here is the interesting part, I am not sure why someone using a supported Android Device would choose Touchdown over IBM’s Android App, but Touchdown supp [read] Keywords: ibm
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traveler
enterprise
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exchange
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Lotusphere 2012 Recap
Thu, Feb 2nd 2012 6:13p Mitch Cohen It has taken me longer than I expected to recap Lotusphere this year, but I finally finished it. See the end of the post for links to my pictures from Lotusphere 2012.
Sunday
I managed to get to two Jumpstart sessions this year, the first JMP203 Getting the Most our of IBM Connections Profiles and Tivoli Directory Integrator. I have had some bad luck in past years with Jumpstart sessions presented by IBMers but this one was excellent, and I did pick up a few new tricks to bring home and implemen [read] Keywords: collaboration
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domino
ibm
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blogging
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Which one am I?
Wed, Feb 1st 2012 7:10a Mitch Cohen I know I have been talking about the Super Bowl quite a bit this week here, here and here (maybe even here too), but hey the Giants are in the big game and I am excited. For a little fun today can you pick which of these Super Bowl party goers I might be? Leave a comment with which one you think I am, and let me know which one best describes you.
Lets Go Giants! [read] Keywords: twitter
What is the Blogger Open?
Wed, Jan 25th 2012 8:06a Mitch Cohen Read my guest post on the Social Business Insights Blog, The Blogger Open: Not Your Typical Round of Golf.
There are pictures of this years event here and here. Special thanks to our 2012 event sponsors. [read] Keywords: connections
ibm
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blogger
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Meet the Gurus of Lotusphere
Tue, Jan 24th 2012 7:56a Mitch Cohen One of the Thursday morning mainstays at Lotusphere is Gurupalooza, a session that features speakers from the Best Practices Track on stage taking questions from the audience and occasionally even answering them.
Hosted by Susan Bulloch it is a fun and informative session, starting with each of the Gurus introducing themselves, which I captured here. [read] Keywords: ibm
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IBM Champions on the Big Screen at the Lotusphere OGS
Tue, Jan 24th 2012 6:32a Mitch Cohen It was nice to see my photo along with other IBM Champions up on the big screen at the OGS.
Thanks to Joyce and IBM for all they did for the IBM Champions at Lotusphere, and for this new addition to my office wall.
View an interview with IBM Champions Adam Brown, Lisa Duke, and Mikkel Heisterberg on the Social Business Insights Blog. [read] Keywords: connections
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20 Random Thoughts from Lotusphere 2012
Mon, Jan 23rd 2012 9:13a Mitch Cohen Still trying to catch up from Lotusphere, until I get to some more detailed posts here are 20 random thoughts from this years event.
1. Manta at Seaworld is an awesome ride.
2. My bathroom was the most photographed bathroom at Lotusphere.
3. Lotusphere beat Mat Newman in round one, but he came back with a knockout punch in round 2 (even if he did try to blame me)
4. Darren Duke did not permanently ruin any of my favorite songs at Kimonos this year.. thanks Darren
5. Never having eaten a Pretze [read] Keywords: connections
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Lotusphere 2012 Departing Thoughts
Fri, Jan 20th 2012 7:12a Mitch Cohen Another Lotusphere is in the books. I have so many pictures and videos to sort through, session slides to download, notes to follow up on, and people to follow up with, but first sleep.
This was my 8th Lotusphere, and while I always appreciate the opportunity to attend, this year was a little different, and I am especially thankful I was able to attend Lotusphere 2012..
It is always hard to explain Lotusphere to those who have never been, part conference, part family reunion. It was incredible [read] Keywords: lotusphere
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Thank you Elisa for Lotusphere 2012
Fri, Jan 13th 2012 7:12a Mitch Cohen Over the last few years while sitting in the Orlando Airport waiting for my flight home exhausted from the week that is Lotusphere I have taken a few moments to write a post thanking the people who did something to make that Lotusphere special and memorable for me.
The first person on that list is always my wife Elisa. Every year I leave the (usually) cold, sometimes snowy northeast, and head for a week of warmth in Orlando. In the meantime Elisa is home with three kids that over the past fe [read] Keywords: lotusphere
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Lotusphere 2012 Live Blogging Plans #ls12
Thu, Jan 12th 2012 12:13p Mitch Cohen As in past years I plan on live blogging a number of session at Lotusphere starting with the Opening General Session, as well as some of the product strategy sessions, and keynotes.
The schedule of live blog posts are as follows.
Monday January 16th
7:45 AM Lotusphere Opening General Session
3:30 PM IBM Cloud Strategy
4:55 PM IBM Sametime and UCC Strategy
Tuesday Janury 17th
8:00 AM Keynote – Social Business. An Opportunity to Stand Out
Wednesday January 18th
8:00 AM Keynote – Lo [read] Keywords: ibm
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The Future Belongs to the Curious
Wed, Jan 11th 2012 6:13p Mitch Cohen Would it surprise you to find out I enjoyed this video?
The Future Belongs to the Curious from Skillshare on Vimeo.
via The Next Web [read] Keywords:
224
Exlcuding a Specific NSF File from Compaction
Wed, Jan 11th 2012 6:12a Mitch Cohen This one is new in Domino 8.5.1 and later, but I just came across it the other day.
You can use COMPACT_FILTER= followed by a comma (or semi colon) separated list of databases to exclude from Compact when it is run server wide or against a specific directory
Technote 1415204: COMPACT_FILTER – notes.ini parameter to prevent compaction of specified files [read] Keywords: domino
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Results of the 2012 Lotusphere Tablet Survey
Tue, Jan 10th 2012 10:13a Mitch Cohen Thanks to the 147 people who took a moment to respond, here are the results. Not surprisingly iPad won in a landslide, with a pretty even split between the iPad 1 and iPad2. I was a little surprised that the Kindle Fire, and the HP Touchpad didn’t bring in higher numbers. [read] Keywords: lotusphere
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(Sort of) Speaking at Lotusphere 2012
Mon, Jan 9th 2012 9:41a Mitch Cohen I did not submit any abstracts for Lotusphere this year as I knew I would not have the time to properly prepare for a session, as usual though I have found a few ways to participate in the event, so if you are looking for me here are a few of the places you can find me.
Monday
I will be hosting a table at the lunch for the 750 Students that GBS is bringing to Lotusphere this year. Following lunch I will be participating on a panel for the students. I know what you are thinking “a panel [read] Keywords: lotusphere
blogger
facebook
twitter
162
Why I Will Ignore You in 2012
Thu, Jan 5th 2012 7:11a Mitch Cohen Entering the new year I once again present some ideas on things I can do differently in 2012 to work, share and play more efficiently.
1.Ignore people/comments/trolls – I enjoy interacting with people on social networks and blogs, I must do a better job at hitting the personal ignore button and ignoring people when they post just to stir things up, while providing no value. As the saying goes “Do not feed the trolls” I must remember this more in 2012.
2. Stop being a Beta junkie – I am [read] Keywords: ibm
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144
Why I Didn’t Like You in 2011 (Follow-up)
Wed, Jan 4th 2012 7:33a Mitch Cohen A year ago I posted Why I Won’t Like You in 2011 before I post some thoughts for working differently in 2012 I thought it would be worthwhile to take a look back and see how I fared against the 2011 version.
See the original post for a detailed explanation of each item
1. “Like” Less Often – I didn’t count the number of times I clicked Like in 2011 vs 2010, but I believe I used the Like button less and commented more, something I hope to continue in 2012.
2. Inbox Zero – so the goal [read] Keywords: archive
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The Lotusphere 2012 Tablet Survey
Tue, Jan 3rd 2012 1:12p Mitch Cohen Once again this year I am curious as to what (if any) tablet people will be bringing to Lotusphere. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that iPad is going to win this poll in a runaway, but I am interested in the split between the iPad 1 and iPad 2, as well as which other devices people might be using.
Poll is open until January 10th, look for the results after that.
Online Surveys – Zoomerang.com [read] Keywords: lotusphere
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Registration is now open for the Lotusphere 2012 Blogger Open
Tue, Jan 3rd 2012 7:24a Mitch Cohen Registration is now open for the 2012 Blogger Open, head on over and reserve your spot. If you have a team you want to play with make sure they all register show up and play with them. If you are on your own just show up we will find you a team to play on.
Please click the button below to follow @bloggeropen on Twitter and keep up with all the latest news
Follow @bloggeropen
//
If you are a vendor exhibiting at Lotusphere and want to donate a prize for the even please let me know.
The Blog [read] Keywords: lotusphere
notes
blogger
javascript
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139
2011 By The Numbers
Mon, Jan 2nd 2012 8:11a Mitch Cohen You should all know by now I don’t write end of year recaps, instead I once again present a recap of the year in numbers.
Blogging
Once again blogging remained consistent from year to year, the numbers skew a little differently with Lotusphere split between January and February in 2011, but overall no big changes in numbers here. I covered a more diverse range of topics on the blog this year, a trend that should continue in 2012.
Twitter
For the second year in a row Twitter use has [read] Keywords: lotusphere
blogging
google
office
twitter
188
iTunes Home Sharing (it doesn’t just work)
Fri, Dec 30th 2011 9:21a Mitch Cohen The other day I decided for the first time to turn on iTunes Home Sharing, imagine my surprise to discover I could watch everything in my iTunes library with out syncing it to my iPad (at least when I am at home). Since I only have a 16GB iPad this saves me a lot of trips to the computer to sync.
Seemed like it should be easy enough, enable home sharing, and sign in to iTunes and the iPad with the same Apple ID. Of course it wasn’t that easy.
The first problem was when I would start iT [read] Keywords: apple
microsoft
142
Automatic File Deletion in Amazon S3 Revisited
Thu, Dec 29th 2011 7:12a Mitch Cohen Back in October I wrote about automating my Apache/MySQL backups to Amazon S3, I then spend considerable time working out Automatic File deletion in S3, a slightly complicated process, but one that works well once I had it configured.
This week Amazon rolled out Object Expiration for S3 allowing you to automatically expire files in a bucket based on name and time criteria. Amazon has an excellent guide to configuring Object Expiration via the AWS Console.
To test this I set one of my buckets u [read] Keywords: mysql
properties
python
114
Twitter Please Fix Direct Messages or Eliminate Them
Wed, Dec 28th 2011 7:12a Mitch Cohen Anyone else frustrated with Twitter Direct Messages? I occasionally use Direct Messages they are convenient for sharing a small piece of information outside of the public stream, they are also incredibly frustrating.
1. The limitations on who can send a direct message to who are absurd. While I understand that only allowing the sending of a Direct Message to a person following you makes sense from an anti-spam perspective, if someone follows me and I send them a Direct message they should [read] Keywords: sametime
mobile
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116
The Indisputably Correct Spelling of Chanukah
Wed, Dec 21st 2011 7:12a Mitch Cohen It’s the source of great debate, and lots of humor how exactly does one spell Chanukah?
To settle this once and for all I present to you the indisputably correct spelling of Chanukah (to be read from right to left).
Chanukah FAQ
Happy Chanukah! [read] Keywords:
114
How to Prepare for Sametime Sessions at Lotusphere
Tue, Dec 20th 2011 7:12a Mitch Cohen Are you Attending Lotusphere? Are you planning on attending sessions to learn about Sametime 8.5.2? Here is a great way to get ahead of the game and maximize what you learn while attending Lotusphere.
Written by Gabriella Davis, Marie Scott, and Tom Duff this book will help you understand the new architecture and fundamentals of Sametime 8.5.2.
The book is published by Packt Publishing and available from Packt or Amazon.
*In the interest of full disclosure I was a technical reviewer for th [read] Keywords: administration
ibm
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lotusphere
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Good Advice From a Fortune Cookie
Mon, Dec 19th 2011 7:38a Mitch Cohen I am not usually a big believer in the fortunes found in fortune cookies (to tell you the truth I don’t even like the cookies), but I found this one last week and thought it was good advice. [read] Keywords:
150
A Built in FTP Client Who Knew?
Thu, Dec 15th 2011 7:11a Mitch Cohen I have been using Notepad++ for years now, it is the Swiss Army Knife of text editors. It supports text, html, css, php, sql, java, javascript, python, and xml just to name a few the list goes on and on. It also has a ton of features that I use all the time.
Notepad++ also features plugins, and comes preinstalled with a few. The other day completely by accident I discovered that one of the plugins is an FTP client.
The highlighted icon brings up the NppFTP plugin allow [read] Keywords: css
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146
Announcing the 2012 Blogger Open at Lotusphere
Wed, Dec 14th 2011 6:28a Mitch Cohen Lotusphere doesn’t end at the Closing General Session, the fun continues an hour later on the Disney Fantasia Gardens Miniature Golf Course. Back for a fourth year the Blogger Open is the perfect way to wrap up Lotusphere with some fun and great prizes.
Visit the Blogger Open site and follow @bloggeropen on twitter for all the details and watch for registration coming soon.
Follow @bloggeropen//
Thanks to Mike McGarel for once again developing the Blogger Open site (and contributing the cod [read] Keywords: lotusphere
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bleedyellow
bleedyellow.com
blogger
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178
Best ifttt Recipe
Tue, Dec 13th 2011 8:15a Mitch Cohen If you have not heard of or tried ifttt (if this then that)it is definitely worth a look, the possibilities of what you can do with ifttt are endless. You can create your own actions or use pre-built “recipes”.
So far the most useful recipe I have found combines ifttt and dropbox, using the Queue Downloads Remotely recipe.
Once enabled this allows you to e-mail a link to a download to ifttt and a few minutes later the file is in the specified folder in your Dropbox account.
This is very u [read] Keywords: mobile
107
My Favorite Twitter App for Android & iOS
Mon, Dec 12th 2011 8:13a Mitch Cohen Hint: it’s not the official Twitter clients
Since last weeks big upgrades to Twitter there is a lot of chatter about both the Web UI, as well as the apps for Android and iOS. I don’t use the Twitter Website much at all, but mobile Apps are another story more than half my tweets come from a mobile device.
My favorite mobile Twitter App has become Tweetcaster Pro (Android, iOS check the features lists not all features are available on all platforms) they have a free version with ads, and the [read] Keywords: apple
mobile
twitter
Spool a Better Way to Build a Read it Later list
Tue, Nov 29th 2011 7:44a Mitch Cohen I mentioned Spool on Twitter a few days ago, but the more I use Spool, the more I like it. I had been using Instapaper for saving things to read later, but I have switched over to Spool. The big difference is Spool brings all the content off line, including pictures and videos, in to an easy to read/view format. No internet connection no problem if you are using Spool the content is local on your device. Watch their video, and sign up for their beta this is a great tool.
Mobile apps are [read] Keywords: mobile
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Mobile App are Like a Box of Chocolate
Wed, Nov 23rd 2011 7:08a Mitch Cohen Everyone knows the famous line from Forrest Gump
Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get
The same can be said for App Updates on your Mobile Device, except for the most popular apps (i.e. Facebook, some of the Twitter clients) there is very little documentation about what is changed in a new version. Once you upgrade there is no going back.
The most common item listed in the What’s New section for any app “bug fixes”, no details. Som [read] Keywords: bug
facebook
mobile
twitter
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60
My Proposal to Fix Major League Baseball
Tue, Nov 22nd 2011 3:12p Mitch Cohen This time of year is known as the Hot Stove League to baseball fans. Last week MLB announced the sale of the Houston Astros, and their move from the National League to the American League in 2013.
Until interleague play began in 1997 the only time American League (AL) and National League (NL) teams played each other was in the World Series, since 1997 it has been a regular feature of the MLB season. With this move of the Astros to the AL both the AL and NL will both have 15 teams making in [read] Keywords: wiki
81
I am not sure about the tagline, but I like the commercial
Tue, Nov 22nd 2011 7:13a Mitch Cohen I find this Microsoft commercial amusing, probably because had there been technology like this when I was a kid I could see myself having tried this (or maybe I can see my kids trying this).
I find it interesting that while Microsoft is trying to promote Windows 7 Mobile, and given the general state of the (tablet crazy) consumer market right now, that they are using the tagline “It all starts with a Windows 7 PC”. [read] Keywords: microsoft
mobile
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Where Did You Get the Car? I Found it
Mon, Nov 21st 2011 4:01p Mitch Cohen A note on the post title: Back in the early 1990’s my friends and I spent a lot of time bowling at Jamar Lanes in Brooklyn where we once witnessed this conversation between a father and son:
Father: Where did you get the car?
Son: I Found it
This went on for a while though I couldn’t tell you how it ended.
This mornings incident reminded me of that story as I woke up and found a car… in our backyard.
To give you a little perspective on the path the car took here is an overhead view [read] Keywords: google
74
Integrating Google Reader with IBM Connections Bookmarks
Mon, Nov 14th 2011 7:00a Mitch Cohen One of IBM Connections features is Bookmarks, where you can save and share bookmarks, in addition to simply sharing a bookmark you can share it with a Community, add it to an Activity, or create a blog post out of it, all from the same bookmarklet.
Nice functionality, but I find a lot of content to share while in Google Reader, so I thought it would be nice to be able to share directly from Google Reader in to IBM Connections. Google Reader allows you to create your own Send To Actions so [read] Keywords: connections
dogear
ibm
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bookmarklet
community
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59
Automatic File Deletion in Amazon S3
Fri, Nov 11th 2011 7:12a Mitch Cohen A couple of weeks ago I wrote about backing up Apache and MySQL to Amazon S3, the final piece of the puzzle I was looking for was to automatically purge all backups older than 7 days from S3. It took me a little while to put all the pieces in place, and I wanted to write it all down as much for myself as anyone else since I am sure I won’t remember all this if I need it again.
I found a nice utility names s3cleaner a simple python script that uses age and regex patterns to delete files from S [read] Keywords: google
interface
mysql
python
server
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Consolidated List of INI Settings for IBM Connections Features in Lotus Notes
Thu, Nov 10th 2011 7:11a Mitch Cohen A while ago I asked the question “What is in your plugin_customization.ini” where I talked about all the features that can be set via the plugin_customization.ini file, but a severe lack of documentation for them.
I was happy to find this list in the IBM Connections Wiki detailing all the available options for IBM Connections integration in Lotus Notes, including which version of the client they are supported in, here is a sample
If the Sametime team is listening a similar list for Sametim [read] Keywords: connections
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How to Purge Recent Contacts in Notes 8.5.x
Wed, Nov 9th 2011 8:11a Mitch Cohen Ever deleted a recent contact and seen in reappear again when addressing an e-mail? Here is some background and improvements in 8.5.2 Fix Pack 2 and 8.5.3 that will help better manage Recent Contacts.
The Recent Contacts feature keeps names in three places:
in memory
in the personal address book (names.nsf)
in the DIP table under … Notesdataworkspace …
Prior to 8.5.2 Fix Pack 2 deleting a recent contact and emptying trash only deleted from names.nsf not the DIP table. Be [read] Keywords: ibm
ldd
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workspace
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Using WhatsApp Messenger with a Google Voice Number
Tue, Nov 1st 2011 10:13a Mitch Cohen
I am a big fan of WhatsApp messenger , a BBM like messengers application, which works on Android, iPhone, Blackberry, and Nokia.
WhatsApp uses your phone number as your identity, although aside from an SMS message during initial setup, no messages are actually sent via SMS. One of the only complaints I had with WhatsApp was I could not complete the setup using my Google Voice number, you know the only phone number I actually use or give out. This dramatically limited the usefulness of Wh [read] Keywords: apple
application
blackberry
google
iphone
Check your Traveler Settings on iOS5
Fri, Oct 28th 2011 7:03a Mitch Cohen If Reminders are enabled in your Traveler configuration on iOS5 you might see a spike in network traffic, and battery drain on your iOS5 device.
I configured a new Traveler account on my iPad, and it defaults reminders to enabled (currently Traveler supports Mail, Calendar, and Contacts), I am not sure what it does with an account configured on iOS4 and upgraded to iOS5, but it’s worth a check of your settings.
From the Technote
APAR LO65075: Ios 5 Devices May Try To Sync Reminders Continuou [read] Keywords: ibm
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traveler
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43
Don’t Say I am not Romantic
Tue, Oct 25th 2011 11:12a Mitch Cohen Today is my wife Elisa’s birthday, of course I wanted to make the day special for her, so I accompanied her to her scheduled chemo infusion today. It’s not that I am a cheap date or anything but hey they validate parking at the hospital. Ok ok we are really going out for dinner later on today after we get the chemo out of the way.
Elisa described the whole chemo routine on her blog a few weeks ago. Today when asked for her date of birth all the nurses wished her a happy birthday. Wi [read] Keywords:
65
Backing up Apache and MySQL to Amazon S3
Wed, Oct 19th 2011 12:12p Mitch Cohen Backups, you know they are important right? I have written before about backing up my PC, but over time I have accumulated a bunch of data in web sites and MySql databases. Starting with my blog, as well as Thinkup and Tweetnest, and an installation of YOURLS, and a few other miscellaneous PHP files, and databases, I have a lot of backups to worry about. Sure my host Dreamhost maintains backups (which I have used), but Dreamhost recommends and common sense dictates that I have some k [read] Keywords: archive
linux
mysql
server
twitter
80
Traffic Goes Social
Wed, Oct 19th 2011 10:21a Mitch Cohen For a while now my Android phone has also been my GPS, Google Maps for Android does a terrific job with turn by turn navigation, as well as showing traffic which at times is ridiculously accurate. The other day I came across Waze, a free app available for Android, iPhone and Blackberry which not only provides Turn by Turn navigation, but uses your data to build more accurate traffic maps. It uses your GPS to determine your speed and assess traffic conditions, but it also allows you to easily [read] Keywords: application
blackberry
google
iphone
72
Your Domino Server Console will Never Look Same Again
Tue, Oct 11th 2011 12:35p Mitch Cohen If you have ever opened a PMR for a Domino server crash or hang you are familiar with the debug_threadID notes.ini parameter.
For a while now I have enabled this by default on all of my Domino servers, the only real downside is a slightly busier server console, and more information in the console.log. The upside is more information available to support when it’s needed.
In Domino 8.5.3 debug_threadID is now enabled by default, you can still choose to disable it, but I would recommend leav [read] Keywords: domino
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The Event Formerly Known as LoLA
Mon, Oct 10th 2011 9:11a Mitch Cohen Later today I will be traveling up to Cambridge, MA for this years version of LoLA, only it is now renamed to be the Leadership Alliance Conference. The new name doesn’t exactly have the same ring to it (or any songs that work with the title), but I am sure it will be a great event regardless.
The event kicks off tomorrow with individual council meetings, which for me means the GCPC, and the Social Software Council tomorrow before the events Opening session later in the day.
Unfortunatel [read] Keywords: ibm
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Upgrading Sametime in Notes 8.5.3 from 8.5.1 to 8.5.2
Thu, Oct 6th 2011 7:11a Mitch Cohen If all those version numbers in the title don’t confuse you I don’t know what will.
Notes 8.5.3 ships with Sametime 8.5.1, but can be upgraded to Sametime 8.5.2. Depending on your entitlement there are two packages you can download to upgrade the embedded Sametime client, depending on your entitlement.
Under the Notes/Domino product family you will find part number CZZ92ML provided as part of the Sametime Entry entitlement
Under Sametime you will find Part Number CZYF7ML
either way to ge [read] Keywords: domino
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Notes & Domino 8.5.3 System Requirements
Tue, Oct 4th 2011 6:11a Mitch Cohen I know I will need these technotes a number of times over the next few days so for myself and anyone else looking for them in one place here goes:
IBM Lotus Notes 8.5.3 System Requirements
IBM Lotus Domino 8.5.3 System Requirements
IBM Lotus Domino Designer and Administrator Clients 8.5.3 System Requirements
IBM Lotus Notes Traveler 8.5.3 System Requirements
IBM Lotus iNotes 8.5.3 System Requirements [read] Keywords: domino
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229
The Big Question About the Kindle Fire
Wed, Sep 28th 2011 11:12a Mitch Cohen Amazon finally unveiled their much talked about Kindle Fire this morning. Finally someone understands the dynamics of the tablet market, and they have priced it correctly at $199.00. Clearly the Fire will do a good job tying in to Amazons many services, be it books, streaming music, or video, and looks like it will deliver a decent browsing experience.
The real question which has been on my mind for a while is what about Android Apps that are not available in the Amazon App Store? You see th [read] Keywords: ibm
lotus
notes
traveler
google
mobile
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A Friendly Reminder End of Support for Sametime 7.5.x
Wed, Sep 28th 2011 9:12a Mitch Cohen Just a friendly reminder that on September 30th (as in 2 days from now) the Sametime 7.5.x family of products hits the end of Support. Sametime 7.5.x was released between October of 2005 and May of 2007.
Now is probably a good time to be looking at Sametime 8.5.2. You can also pre-order the Sametime Administration Guide written specifically for Sametime 8.5.2 and due out later this year. [read] Keywords: administration
ibm
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Recycle your Colgate Wisps
Mon, Sep 26th 2011 11:01a Mitch Cohen I know many of you are fans of the Colgate Wisp (of course that might be my fault). Did you know you could recycle your used Wisps? I learned last week that Colgate has a partnership with Terracycle to recycle a number of Colgate products including Wisps.
You can also recycle Toothbrushes, and Toothpaste Tubes.
Some of the recycled materials are turned in products which are sold, for example a coin pouch, or a toothbrush holder, made from recycled toothpaste tubes.
Check out the Colgate Wi [read] Keywords:
50
Update strategy for IBM Connections 3.0.1
Thu, Sep 22nd 2011 6:12p Mitch Cohen Running or upgrading to IBM Connections 3.0.1? A new technote published today is definitely worth your time. Titled “Update strategy for IBM Connections 3.0.1”, the technote breaks down in 4 sections some important details about IBM Connections 3.0.1
1. General Information – explains how fixes will be released for Connections 3.0.1 via CR (Component Refresh)
2. Customization and Modifications – an overview of how to customize Connections, what modifications are supported, and any i [read] Keywords: connections
ibm
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IBM Accelerated Value Seminar
Wed, Sep 21st 2011 9:11a Mitch Cohen Today and tomorrow I will be attending the IBM NYC Accelerated Value Seminar. The IBM Accelerated Value Seminar is held for customers participating in the IBM Accelerated Value Program (formerly known as the Premium Support Program).
Speakers include Jason Dumont, presenting on the Notes & Domino roadmap, Rob Ingram presenting a mobile strategy update, Jason Moore presenting on Connections. Other topics include Connections & Sametime Monitoring, ID Vault, DAOS, and Domino Con [read] Keywords: connections
domino
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Use With Extreme Caution
Mon, Sep 19th 2011 10:05a Mitch Cohen I implore you if you feel the need to use the Reply to All button when responding to e-mail, please do so with extreme caution. Before clicking Reply to All LOOK at the distribution list and ask yourself if all those people need to see your response.
Remember:
#embedly_twitter_20234154{background:url(http://a0.twimg.com/images/themes/theme1/bg.png) #c0deed; padding:20px;} #embedly_twitter_20234154 p{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 0px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;f [read] Keywords: css
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What’s in Your Wallet?
Sun, Sep 18th 2011 8:03a Mitch Cohen Time will tell if Google Wallet gains widespread adoption and changes the way we pay for things, but they certainly have the right spokesman and theme for their ad campaign.
The ad is a spoof from the Seinfeld episode “The Reverse Peephole”
Google Wallet [read] Keywords: google
wiki
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Look at the size of it
Thu, Sep 15th 2011 7:22a Mitch Cohen I found this in my desk this morning, I actually remember how amazed I was at the huge 16 MB (yes megabyte) capacity of this drive when I first got it.
For anyone wondering what was on the drive, my Notes ID file, timestamp 2003 . [read] Keywords: notes
Changes to Google App Engine Pricing Shuts Down Services
Fri, Sep 2nd 2011 10:11a Mitch Cohen Once again Google is changing their pricing. A few months ago it was reducing the number of accounts available in the free version of Google Apps, this week Google announced significant changes to their pricing model for their App Engine.
Looks like the pricing changes are resulting in people shutting down services they are currently paying to use. I was using PlusFeed but this just came across in my feed.
Maybe the time is right for IBM to release the XWorks server hinted at during [read] Keywords: ibm
css
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IBM Connections August Mobile Update is Available for Download
Wed, Aug 31st 2011 2:56p Mitch Cohen Looks like these updates might be monthly, with a new update now available for the IBM Connections Mobile service. The July Fix is required to use the Connections Mobile Clients, and there is now an August update as well.
The APAR Document (login required) is blank, but this seems to fix the issue where the Mobile App responded with “the July 2011 mobile fix needs to be installed” when it was actually installed on the server already. Thanks to Chris Whisonant for help figuring [read] Keywords: connections
ibm
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bleedyellow
bleedyellow.com
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It was the best of times, it was the worst of times
Fri, Aug 26th 2011 12:25p Mitch Cohen Pew Research released a study on the percentage of adults who use Social Networking sites. I saw the story on Mashable and on Read Write Web and I have to say I am confused. Did they study show good or bad news. Take a look:
On Mashable doesn’t sound to good “Only 50%”
On Read Write Web sounds great “For the first time ever, 50% of all American adults are using social networking sites”
I guess it is all how you look at the data, the glass is either half empty or hal [read] Keywords: facebook
google
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myspace
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It’s a Hockey Season
Thu, Aug 25th 2011 10:15a Mitch Cohen Twitter followers probably have some idea what has been going on in my life for the last couple of months, if you don’t long story short in early June Elisa (my wife) was diagnosed with breast cancer, and since then it has been a frenzy of doctors, more doctors, and even more doctors.
I am not going to tell the whole story over again here, mostly because over the last couple of months Elisa has proven that she is the real blogger in the family, and tells the story much better than I cou [read] Keywords: blogger
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In a Heartbeat
Wed, Aug 24th 2011 8:47a Mitch Cohen Today’s Inbox Winner, sure sounds like a good trade to me [read] Keywords:
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Creating a Personal Twitter Archive
Tue, Aug 16th 2011 8:49a Mitch Cohen It all started out so simple, a while ago recognizing that Twitter does not let you see all of your past tweets, and their search is not the greatest I wanted to have a personal archive of my tweets. My first attempt at this was to use the Twitter Tools for WordPress plugin which automatically creates a blog entry for your tweets based on a schedule (per post, daily, weekly). Unfortunately (well maybe fortunately) it never worked right for me, it either skipped the day altogether, or dupli [read] Keywords: application
archiving
archive
database
development
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I am not a Pessimist
Tue, Aug 16th 2011 5:56a Mitch Cohen I have always been an optimistic person, my favorite ice cream is Mint Chocolate Chip, I don’t think I am an introvert, I have visited more than five countries, I refuse to use Yahoo Mail (but that is a whole different story). I just happen to prefer my Android phone over an iPhone.
Really who makes this stuff up?
Techcrunch: Androids Are For Cheap Pessimists, iPhones Are For Worldly Optimists [read] Keywords: iphone
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Google Voice now with Spam Protection
Thu, Aug 11th 2011 1:56p Mitch Cohen I am a big Google Voice fan, in fact I have been using the service since before the Google acquisition when it was known as GrandCentral. I do have a few complaints with the service one of which is the occasional (and sometimes not so occasional) spam call or text.
I logged in to my account in a browser this afternoon and was greeted with this
You better believe I opted in.
Google Voice Help: Global Spam Filtering [read] Keywords: google
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Accessing IBM Connections from a Mobile Device: FAQs
Thu, Aug 11th 2011 10:39a Mitch Cohen A new technote has been published with an FAQ for accessing IBM Connections from a Mobile Device.
There are only a few questions out there right now, but looks like they should be updating this document with more questions in the future.
IBM Connections Mobile Apps for Android, Blackberry and IOS
IBM Connections 3.0.1 Mobile Fix required for Mobile Clients
Technote 1508576: Accessing IBM Connections from a Mobile Device: FAQs [read] Keywords: connections
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IBM Connections Clients now available for Android, Blackberry & iOS
Wed, Aug 10th 2011 6:36a Mitch Cohen Last week the Android client for IBM Connections was released in to the Android Market, over the last 24 hours the Blackberry and iOS apps found their way in to their respective app stores as well.
Remember you need to install the Mobile Fix on your IBM Connections 3.0.1 Servers before you can use the clients.
The IBM clients limit you to connecting to one Connections instance which should cover most people, if you need to connect to multiple Connections instances you can always check out iWildF [read] Keywords: connections
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IBM Connections 3.0.1 Update Installer and Mobile Fix available
Fri, Aug 5th 2011 9:20a Mitch Cohen The Mobile Update to enable the Android Mobile App (iOS and Blackberry apps still waiting approval in their app stores) is now available from Fix Central.
For more information on the Mobile Apps for IBM Connections see this post on The Connections Blog. Chris Whisonant has already updated BleedYellow if you want to test them out
Direct Links to Fixes
IBM Connections 3.0.1.0 Update Installer
3.0.1.0-IC-Multi-Mobi-IFLO61851 (July 2011 Mobile Update) [read] Keywords: connections
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It’s the end of the Internet as we know it and I feel fine
Fri, Aug 5th 2011 6:48a Mitch Cohen A few weeks ago while I was search of a good distraction some friends, trying to be helpful recommended I install the StumbledUpon iPad app, seemed like a good idea so I did. For those of you who know me, you know that I am not a game player (that’s right I am the one who has never downloaded or played Angry Birds) and I generally try to avoid addictive time sinks on the computer/phone/iPad etc.). I don’t want to say I have become a StumbledUpon addict, but this is what came up o [read] Keywords:
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Name that Tune
Tue, Aug 2nd 2011 7:19a Mitch Cohen Every summer this commercial comes around and I feel like I should be able to the tune, last night if finally bugged me enough to search for the song in the commercial. Can you name that tune (without looking it up?)
Hint: Knowledge of 80’s music will help.
In a related note I love my Weber Grill, and the convenience of having a gas line from the house connected to it so I don’t have to deal with propane tanks, but sometimes I really miss barbecuing with Charcoal. [read] Keywords:
The Google +1 button anyone else confused?
Tue, Jul 26th 2011 9:56a Mitch Cohen So I am confused about the +1 button, sure I added it to my blog, and one or two of you have even clicked on it. I also joined Google+ where the +1 button is also available on every post. Yet there seems to be no connection between the +1 button on a site, and the +1 button in Google+.
Here is Google’s explanation of the +1 Button
Google +1 Button
While many refer to the +1 button as Google’s answer to the Facebook ‘Like’ Button they are really not the same at all. [read] Keywords: application
facebook
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