Monday, October 08, 2007
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Syncing Lotus Notes Calendar with the iPhone
So, Yahoo's mail upgrade with pop3 access turned out to be a decent solution to my email struggles on my iPhone. I'm still waiting for a production solution to push email from Notes to my iPhone.
We'll have to see what Visto comes up with.
So, I tried a lot of possible solutions for syncing my Notes calendar to the calendar on the iPhone.
I tried syncing with Google Calendar, pulling that down to iCal on my MAC and then syncing with the iPhone. This turned out to be problematic on a number of fronts. Syncing Google Calendar with iCal eliminated all of the alarms. That was a show stopper for me with my typical schedule.
I had also tried using Outlook and the Lotus Notes Plug-in for Outlook. Then syncing the iPhone with Outlook. Then I thought I'd be able to sync the calendar from the iPhone with iCal on my MAC. This may have worked, if it hadn't really screwed up my Lotus Notes calendar. Essentially, I had to delete and recreate every repeating appointment in my calendar. Drove my staff crazy I think.
There were a couple other attempts with Companion Link, GSync, etc. None worked well. Each had their own minor issues.
What I ended up doing was using a little bit of brute force. The solution I used for email actually turned out to be the solution that worked best for me for iCal, too.
It turned out that meetings, appointments, and rescheduled events are forwarded properly to Yahoo mail as ics attachments. On my MAC I can either download these from the Yahoo mail web interface when I'm behind the firewall at work. (It doesn't allow POP3 access to external mail servers.) When I'm not locked down behind a firewall, I can open these attachments from mail on the MAC.
Either way, they show up in iCAL as invitations / notifications and are easily added to iCal. The only catch is if I am BCC on the notice. These have to be manually entered.
Another glitch is that meetings that I schedule, I have to re-enter on the MAC.
But all in all, this seems to be working well for me. The alarms stay on when syncing to the iPhone. My Lotus Notes calendar doesn't get screwed up every other day. And I can have all of my iCal calendars on my iPhone.
Still banking on Visto for a full featured solution, but latest news that I saw was for an email only solution.
8/17/2007 - Update - Well, I have had to edit several of the .ics files that get forward to Yahoo in order to get them applied to iCal. Textedit works just fine. Some of the frequent issues follow.
- If I am bcc'd on an invite, I end up replacing the organizers or chairs email address with one of mine, such as the Yahoo address. It's fairly obvious in the .ics where this exists.
- For meetings where I am the chair, I've started putting my Yahoo address as an optional attendee. In some cases, I stil need to edit the .ics file to remove the Lotus format email, CN="First Last\context\domain" with CN="". I believe, iCal looks at that first against you card in Contacts. Next step will be to see if I can add that into contacts.
- The other issue I've found is room reservation show up as attendees but don't get sync'd to the iphone. In those cases, while I have the .ics file open. I add a location line.
Far from perfect, but so far it's not terribly painful.
We'll have to see what Visto comes up with.
So, I tried a lot of possible solutions for syncing my Notes calendar to the calendar on the iPhone.
I tried syncing with Google Calendar, pulling that down to iCal on my MAC and then syncing with the iPhone. This turned out to be problematic on a number of fronts. Syncing Google Calendar with iCal eliminated all of the alarms. That was a show stopper for me with my typical schedule.
I had also tried using Outlook and the Lotus Notes Plug-in for Outlook. Then syncing the iPhone with Outlook. Then I thought I'd be able to sync the calendar from the iPhone with iCal on my MAC. This may have worked, if it hadn't really screwed up my Lotus Notes calendar. Essentially, I had to delete and recreate every repeating appointment in my calendar. Drove my staff crazy I think.
There were a couple other attempts with Companion Link, GSync, etc. None worked well. Each had their own minor issues.
What I ended up doing was using a little bit of brute force. The solution I used for email actually turned out to be the solution that worked best for me for iCal, too.
It turned out that meetings, appointments, and rescheduled events are forwarded properly to Yahoo mail as ics attachments. On my MAC I can either download these from the Yahoo mail web interface when I'm behind the firewall at work. (It doesn't allow POP3 access to external mail servers.) When I'm not locked down behind a firewall, I can open these attachments from mail on the MAC.
Either way, they show up in iCAL as invitations / notifications and are easily added to iCal. The only catch is if I am BCC on the notice. These have to be manually entered.
Another glitch is that meetings that I schedule, I have to re-enter on the MAC.
But all in all, this seems to be working well for me. The alarms stay on when syncing to the iPhone. My Lotus Notes calendar doesn't get screwed up every other day. And I can have all of my iCal calendars on my iPhone.
Still banking on Visto for a full featured solution, but latest news that I saw was for an email only solution.
8/17/2007 - Update - Well, I have had to edit several of the .ics files that get forward to Yahoo in order to get them applied to iCal. Textedit works just fine. Some of the frequent issues follow.
- If I am bcc'd on an invite, I end up replacing the organizers or chairs email address with one of mine, such as the Yahoo address. It's fairly obvious in the .ics where this exists.
- For meetings where I am the chair, I've started putting my Yahoo address as an optional attendee. In some cases, I stil need to edit the .ics file to remove the Lotus format email, CN="First Last\context\domain" with CN="". I believe, iCal looks at that first against you card in Contacts. Next step will be to see if I can add that into contacts.
- The other issue I've found is room reservation show up as attendees but don't get sync'd to the iphone. In those cases, while I have the .ics file open. I add a location line.
Far from perfect, but so far it's not terribly painful.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Using iPhone with Lotus Notes email
So you're probably wondering what these things have in common. Okay, 2 are easy. iPhone and Yahoo work together for email pretty much out of the box. Well, at least they did for me.
My problem was trying to get my iPhone to work with the corporate Lotus Notes email. My employer wisely chose to not allow POP3 or IMAP access to Lotus Notes. They do offer an iNotes web interface. However, the Safari Browser on the iPhone does not support Java applets. So, while that interface works, it is pretty clunky.
Well, I was able to get my email on the iphone by simply forwarding my Lotus Notes email to my new Yahoo account. This actually forwarded the email while retaining the addresses of the original sender and other recipients. (I couldn't get this capability through gmail.)
The downside here was if I replied, it would look like it came from my Yahoo account. Which, in fact, it did.
So, I took the plunge, after doing some reading, and signed up for Yahoo Plus. This provided the capability to allow me to send emails as if from my corporate account after verifying access to the corporate email account. (gmail does provide this capability for free.)
But still no joy using the default IMAP mail setup for Yahoo standard on the iPhone.
So, I disabled that account on the iPhone and proceeded to set up access to Yahoo as a POP3 account. This option comes with the Yahoo Plus upgrade. However, I couldn't use the Yahoo directions for this.
The server addresses were correct. However incoming needs SSL turned on in the advanced email settings. For Outgoing SSL had to be off. The address on the account should be set to the corporate email address you verified earlier.
Please don't ask for the server addresses. I'm sure they are out there on the web elsewhere.
So, now I can get my corporate Lotus Notes email on my iPhone and reply to it as if I'm sitting at my desk.
Next up, Calendar and Corporate Directory as contacts.
My problem was trying to get my iPhone to work with the corporate Lotus Notes email. My employer wisely chose to not allow POP3 or IMAP access to Lotus Notes. They do offer an iNotes web interface. However, the Safari Browser on the iPhone does not support Java applets. So, while that interface works, it is pretty clunky.
Well, I was able to get my email on the iphone by simply forwarding my Lotus Notes email to my new Yahoo account. This actually forwarded the email while retaining the addresses of the original sender and other recipients. (I couldn't get this capability through gmail.)
The downside here was if I replied, it would look like it came from my Yahoo account. Which, in fact, it did.
So, I took the plunge, after doing some reading, and signed up for Yahoo Plus. This provided the capability to allow me to send emails as if from my corporate account after verifying access to the corporate email account. (gmail does provide this capability for free.)
But still no joy using the default IMAP mail setup for Yahoo standard on the iPhone.
So, I disabled that account on the iPhone and proceeded to set up access to Yahoo as a POP3 account. This option comes with the Yahoo Plus upgrade. However, I couldn't use the Yahoo directions for this.
The server addresses were correct. However incoming needs SSL turned on in the advanced email settings. For Outgoing SSL had to be off. The address on the account should be set to the corporate email address you verified earlier.
Please don't ask for the server addresses. I'm sure they are out there on the web elsewhere.
So, now I can get my corporate Lotus Notes email on my iPhone and reply to it as if I'm sitting at my desk.
Next up, Calendar and Corporate Directory as contacts.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Humble Technology Beginnings - eWeek Labs Staffers Reveal
The eWeek article, eWeek Labs Staffers Reveal ,got me thinking about how I initially embarked on the my technology journey. It wasn't so much a device that turned me onto computers but more the technology utilized in NASA during the 60's and 70's. Realizing I probably didn't have what it takes to get into the space program, I though science and technology may be a way to participate.
Well, that never worked out. I never even got to an interview with NASA, but some of the system we currently develop have been used to provide network services, such as DNS and DHCP, throughout NASA. So, eventually I guess I did get involved.
From a true technology perspective, in 4 years of college I had gone from punched cards, to using a teletype, to working remotely on a portable teletype that displayed the information on a television instead of printing it. No really! No paper required!
Those were exciting times, huh? But the rate of change in those 4 years convinced me that this was going to be a fun ride.
And so it has. The rate of change, if anything, has continued to accelerate since those early days. But that's what keeps it challenging and engaging.
What first turned you on to technology?
Well, that never worked out. I never even got to an interview with NASA, but some of the system we currently develop have been used to provide network services, such as DNS and DHCP, throughout NASA. So, eventually I guess I did get involved.
From a true technology perspective, in 4 years of college I had gone from punched cards, to using a teletype, to working remotely on a portable teletype that displayed the information on a television instead of printing it. No really! No paper required!
Those were exciting times, huh? But the rate of change in those 4 years convinced me that this was going to be a fun ride.
And so it has. The rate of change, if anything, has continued to accelerate since those early days. But that's what keeps it challenging and engaging.
What first turned you on to technology?
Friday, January 26, 2007
Back In It
So, it has been quite some time since I have "blogged" or podcast or journaled or what ever you may call it. Basically, I have been all consumed with finding new, meaningful, employment. Oh, I still am employed, but I wouldn't really call it meaningful. Other than, it pays the bills and keeps a roof over my head.
But, it seems like a good enough time to start back into blogging. This could be a nice diversion from the daily grind of the job search.
I have to say, the methods and market have changed considerably in the last ten or so years. I've been with my current companies sine 1998. Yes, that's right companies. We were first acquired as a start-up, went what felt like a re-org a year, and then went through a "merger of equals" with a 40/60 split.
Way back when, a recruiter was more like a real estate agent. You gave them the specs for your job and your credentials and off they went. Networking with their recruiting and corporate connections to find opportunities for you. Much like a real estate agent will do the leg work for you to find "the perfect home", or at least rule out those where mass murders were committed in the basement.
Now a days, it is totally in the job seekers hands to find the job. I've got a lot of experience, but it's difficult to get past the gate keepers or even get noticed by the gate keepers when the only avenue of entry is an email to a blind job posting.
Don't get me wrong, I have gotten my share of calls & interviews. I've come very close to where it was done to me or an internal candidate. But the truth of the matter is that unless you can tick off every nuance and skill mentioned in the job description, landing the job is a tough nut to crack.
I tend to look for positions where it is a win/win. Yes, a phrase that is too over used, I agree. But if I have already mastered every nuance of a new position where is the personal growth and challenge for me? After all, that is one of the main reasons I started the search. Well that and the fact that it is not really fun being in a company that is continually downsizing.
Ok, enough for today.
Where ever I find myself, that's where I happen to be !
But, it seems like a good enough time to start back into blogging. This could be a nice diversion from the daily grind of the job search.
I have to say, the methods and market have changed considerably in the last ten or so years. I've been with my current companies sine 1998. Yes, that's right companies. We were first acquired as a start-up, went what felt like a re-org a year, and then went through a "merger of equals" with a 40/60 split.
Way back when, a recruiter was more like a real estate agent. You gave them the specs for your job and your credentials and off they went. Networking with their recruiting and corporate connections to find opportunities for you. Much like a real estate agent will do the leg work for you to find "the perfect home", or at least rule out those where mass murders were committed in the basement.
Now a days, it is totally in the job seekers hands to find the job. I've got a lot of experience, but it's difficult to get past the gate keepers or even get noticed by the gate keepers when the only avenue of entry is an email to a blind job posting.
Don't get me wrong, I have gotten my share of calls & interviews. I've come very close to where it was done to me or an internal candidate. But the truth of the matter is that unless you can tick off every nuance and skill mentioned in the job description, landing the job is a tough nut to crack.
I tend to look for positions where it is a win/win. Yes, a phrase that is too over used, I agree. But if I have already mastered every nuance of a new position where is the personal growth and challenge for me? After all, that is one of the main reasons I started the search. Well that and the fact that it is not really fun being in a company that is continually downsizing.
Ok, enough for today.
Where ever I find myself, that's where I happen to be !
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