The win today qualifies them for a place in the next World Cup.  Congrats to DLI's Sandeep Jyoti on  an 11 run performance, and all the members of the team.

At DLItools, we began building feature rich browser based applications a long time ago, before Java was available.  Because our user interface uses Active X,  occasionally I will get the comment in the subject line of this post when talking to a potential customer.  Usually this comes from the IT group.  I find that many technical people do not really understand what Active X is, and how prolific it has become.

When the internet first arrived, the pages you could access were static.  Microsoft released Active X in 1996.  It was a tool that allowed developers to package up code developed in other languages, such as VB and C++, and run it from a web page.  Active X  are small controls that contain rules on how applications can share information.  VB, C++ and similar tools are very powerful, and Active X means that if you can do it in a Windows application, you can do it on the web.  This is why the Docova interface looks so much like the Windows applications we are all familiar with.

Since ActiveX works closely with the local machine's Windows operating system, there are security implications, and this is where the bad rep comes from.  To control security, Active X controls are signed with a certificate, and it is up to the end user to determine if the program should be allowed to run.

Regardless on the pros and cons of Active X, what many people do not understand is that when they say "We do not run Active X in our organization", they are probably wrong.  If you run the Windows desktop, you are running Active X.  If you install Flash, you are running Active X.  Maybe what they mean to say is "We do not allow unsigned Active X controls to run in our organization".  Now that I could understand.  I would not allow that either.  I want to know who the provider of the program is before it runs on my computer.

The big bad internet is not the issue. Even if it came on a disk if there is no information on who created it, in this day and age you would be a fool to load it up to see what it does. We package our Active X controls using install sheild, so they are installed by an administrator or by a program with the appropriate rights.  

Our Docova product uses folder views called perspectives. If that is what you were expecting to read about, sorry.  Just wanted to put some context to the denominations that are being used in the media of late.  This email I received gives a good perspective.

User perception is reality.  If the user clicks on the icon and nothing happens or something bad happens, it is whatever is written on the icon that is the cause.  Often the reason "Notes Sucks", or any product for that matter, is not really a fair statement.  But who cares about fairness, really.

Was out at one customer site last week where "Domino Sucked".  I was asked to do a Notes 8.5 demo as they were thinking of switching to Exchange.  Prior to the users showing up there was a bit of an IT session. NSD errors, mailbox corruption, funny behavior that cannot be explained.  When you dive into it, the issue is that they are running on a version of Linux that has not been touched in 6 years, with a version of Notes that is about the same vintage.  When this software was released it was not smart enough to anticipate IE 7, or 8, or VISTA, backup agents, or a lot of other things.  Notes is not the problem. The problem is the care and feeding.  Combine that with the fact nobody in the IT dept has a Lotus certification or has attended any formal training.  When I asked if they have called anyone to fix things, they told me they have called IBM Support and were told to upgrade.  Can't fault them on that one.

Did a web meeting with a customer overseas earlier this week.  This time "Docova sucked".   Web meetings are great. Gives you a visual that simply does not come across in an email.  About 40 windows open on this usr's desktop.  The task manager showed almost 2GB of memory being used.  User admitted they have not rebooted their laptop for a couple of weeks.   You could hardly navigate from one window to another anymore.  Even with a reboot and everything cleaned up connecting to the Notes server is painful.  Felt like the old days of modem connections.

It is interesting how in many cases the user experience is used as cannon fodder to feed some agenda.  I have one client that I suggested a support plan for, rather than having to do statements of work and PO numbers for very simple updates.   The delays were getting the users upset.  He told me that he "knew the end users were upset, but had no intention of doing anything about it."  He was a brand XYZ fan, and having the Notes apps failing and long delays for upgdates helped to support his recommendations that they should not be running it.

There is my rant for the day.  On the up side, we have a couple of good sized deals closing.  The markets are up a bit.  Have not heard the word "Depression" from the media for some time now.  May have to head to Scotland in the next couple of months.  Never been there before.

I mentioned in a previous post that I was disappointed to see performance suffer with the new Notes 8.5 client.  In my opinion, that is huge.  Features are cool, but to some people who just want to get things done, nothing is better than better performance.  Nothing!

Off topic, I know, but I recently pulled the floats off my little home built airplane and put it back on wheels.  More than 150 LBS lighter, it now climbs like a homesick angel.  It is an absolute delight to fly, and it is hard not to grin like an idiot every time I go in our out of a patch that looks like a postage stamp from the air.   Without the floats there is barely enough room for a toothbrush, let alone camping gear. This is not something you are going to want to ride in for hours on end, there are not even any interior side panels, the tubes that represent the structure are showing.....but it goes.

Imagine having software that behaved like the Ariel Atom? I love this video clip...especially around the 3:10 sec point.  Some people, not everyone mind you, would appreciate it if their software that behaved this way.  They could live without a lot of fancy chrome and other window dressing.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaWoo82zNUA&NR=1 

I know there has to be a balance.  You would never jump into my airplane and fly to Florida  (anywhere beyond a couple of hours for that matter), nor would you drive the Ariel Atom to Vancouver.  Maybe hand helds represent the email sportscar for the sales guy one the move who just wants to get in and out fast, and Notes 8.5 is better for the administrative person who lives in email all day.  But it would be nice to have both.

With all the horsepower we have in the hardware these days, shouldn't software be speeding up rather than slowing down.?

I finally loaded up the new Domino 8.5 client.  Not that I have been avoiding it. Perhaps age has dampened my enthusiasm for being on the bleeding edge.   Although primarily focused on the sales side of things, I do often get involved in support issues and find myself touching applications with Domino Designer from time to time.  I prefer not to do that with a version that is different than what the application was created with, and most of these right now are R7.  

But as I do more and more trial implementations of http://www.docova.com" title="http://www.docova.com">Docova, (anyone know why pass through HTML no longer  works in my Blog RTF with 8.5??) especially for the more progressive folks overseas, I am running into R8.5 more and more.  Recently we had one of clients questioning the wisdom of being on Lotus Notes (a common theme resulting from IBM's complete lack of marketing for the Lotus brand).  They wanted to have a look at the new 8.5 client to see how it compared to Outlook, a UI that the new guard at the C level and the new IT Manager were familiar with.  Good excuse to go back to school.

Initially I was pretty excited.  I like the Day at a Glance calendar in the sidebar. It allowed me to see what I had scheduled while I processed emails from my inbox.  Very handy.  I also liked the type ahead directory lookup feature when composing and email.  You get to pick names that are similar as you type.  The in-line spell check for rich text fields is nice too.  You can group tabs as well. If you are like me, and you open documents and forget to close them, the tabs become unmanageable, and closing them one at a time is a pain.  Similar documents are now grouped under a tab, and you can close them all at once if you like.  I could go on and one, as there are many improvements that are most welcome.

On the flip side, and I hate to say this, it is slower.  I attribute this to the Eclipse framework.  A cup of Java usually perks things up, but in this case the opposite is true. I find myself often waiting for the interface to build.  I also find it annoying as hell that all of the accelerator keys have changed.  Combinations like File>Database>Open were part of my finger's muscle memory, and it is annoying to watch the screen not follow the familiar.

At first I thought the ability to open web pages within the Notes interface was a great feature. I am not talking having to set the location doc to use Notes with Internet Explorer, which would force embedded links to open in the Notes interface. Now you can use the OPEN>Web Browser option to open a web page within a grouped tab.  I was running our document mgt system within Notes 8.5, and you would swear it was part of the Notes interface.  After using it this way for about a week, I found that text fields had a nasty habit of not being able to keep up with data entry. Type fast, and you end up dropping characters.  It was so annoying I ended up running my web apps directly from the browser.  Rats!

It crashes!  With R7 I had not witnessed the NSD screen for quite some time.  At least four times this week R8.5 blew up on me.  I am going to go searching to make sure I have the latest release. This one says R8.5.  As I always tell customers, the more places after the decimal point the better.

At this point, for customers more familiar with Outlook I think Notes 8 is an improvement. For existing customers, especially those that have not updated their hardware in awhile, the performance is not going to be a welcome change.   Regardless...when it comes to 8.5, I would be holding off till a couple of maintenance releases go by.