“Connect to Compete”

Announced today by the chairman of the FCC, an initiative called Connect to Compete is being launched in conjunction with Microsoft, Best Buy, careerbuilder.com and monster.com to try to increase the broadband footprint in America.  The intent is to improve internet literacy and general computer skills for students and working individuals.  This will come in the form of support from Geek Squad providing classroom training in conjunction with groups like Goodwill, Boys and Girls Club, and a few others; Microsoft offering free training and certification on-line; and the career sites providing job skills training, resume writing, and other job related training online for free.  The most positive byproduct that I can personally connect with is the intent to also increase funding for public libraries and school computer labs to provide the means for after class time training. 

Being a technologist, I would love to see greater computer skills training, but is this really just a ploy to get more potential buyers into Best Buy stores and online to support Microsoft’s initiatives?  I hope those involved remain true to the spirit of this initiative and give us reason to applaud these efforts as they progress.  Good luck guys…

Announcements!

As many of you are already aware, IBM announced ND8.5.3.

http://www-01.ibm.com/software/lotus/notesanddomino/nd85.html

Beyond the typical fixes, we now have access to Connections Profiles and Files as Domino customers.  This is all in an effort to help businesses on their road to becoming social businesses.  This is great because there are Notes plugins for these features, bringing this content to the users at no additional cost.

We already have access to Portal at no additional cost if it is used to drive content for Notes clients and not a Portal implementation.  (limited use for ND customers)

What about Activities?  I would love to see activities added to the list of entitled software, but we need to take these things one step at a time.  Thanks IBM!

ND 8.5.3 also brings us an improved Traveler experience for the Droid community.  With greater attention to the Android platform, we now have support for newer devices and better overall security through feature leveling across platforms like partial device wipes.

It has been hinted that this is likely the last major release in the 8.5.x code stream.  This means it will soon be time to look for ND9?

We also heard that IBM has a new offering, the XWork Server.  This is an application only (XPages driven) server that allows you to deploy up to 4 applications (not just 4 NSF files, mind you) within the limits of this flat fee license.  This means that there is no abacus required as you try to calculate your PVUs.  Ed Brill covered this in a recent blog post.

http://edbrill.com/ebrill/edbrill.nsf/dx/introducing-ibm-xwork-server

There are numerous applications that I can think of for this server.  I believe this could be a good thing for IBM.  This reminds me of a recent conversation on LinkeIn where someone had suggested that IBM separate apps from mail in the Domino product line-up.  Offering an applications only approach to maybe embrace (SHUDDER) another email platform along side of Domino as your RAD environment.

Buried in the Inbox, besides these important announcements, LS12 is ramping up.

Heads up: Get out your social calendar.  It's time to add Lotusphere 2012 to your agenda!
Lotusphere, IBM's premier collaboration event, kicks on on Sunday, January 15, 2012.  As in past years, Lotusphere 2012 promises to be content-rich.
Whether you are interested in Social Business strategy or product features and capabilities, the event promises to offer something for just about everyone.  Attend and:
- Listen in on over 300 sessions
- Pick up technical tips and tracks
- Hear about best practices and see live examples
- Tour the Solutions Showcase and see real-world solutions firsthand
- Socialize with your peers, Business Partners and IBMers
Are you ready to expand your social circle?
Register for Lotusphere 2012 today: http://www-01.ibm.com/software/lotus/events/conference/index.html
I look forward to seeing you in Orlando!

Did we already start collecting session abstracts?  Where have I been?!?

Well, kids… this is definitely a very short summary of this busy week in the Lotus camp.  Good luck, and happy socializing.