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The following article is by Libby Nicole Ingrassia, VP, Marketing and Communications WorkFlow Studios. Libby, as many of you may know, was a large part of growing LotusUSerGroup.org and formerly served as the LotusUSerGroup.org Program Director. Libby is giving a special session at Lotusphere this year and LotusUSerGroup.org asked her to write something about it...
LOTUS POSITIONS FOR LOTUS GEEKS
If you're anything like me, you usually run around Lotusphere tired and in pain most of the week, after overdoing it on the first day or two. You then stumble through the week and go home sick and ready to collapse. You may make resolutions before the show, saying you won't stay out too late, won't drink too much, and absolutely will NOT get sick this year. Ummhmm. I've been there.
This year, I have a new solution, and one that will let you take home new skills to put to use immediately (that's the holy grail of session promises, right?). For the first time, we're offering Lotus Positions for Lotus Geeks: geek-friendly yoga down by the Dolphin poolside, every morning from 7:00 am to 7:50 am.
I'm pausing for the grumbles, dissatisfaction, and complaints.
The idea may be a little bit outside of the norm, but let me make a few points. First, I know from reading your blogs and listening to your tweets that many of you are doing "get in shape" types of things, such as those of you who will be showing off your push-up prowess at the show. Yoga fits right in to this - an opportunity to connect with the community while keeping up your commitment to fitness - no easy task at a conference. Second, while you may think that you need special clothes, special equipment, or to already be fit or flexible, I'm here to tell you that it just isn't so. Come dressed however you like (although those in skirts and heels will have to do a modified version of some of the activities). It would make the most sense to come in something a little bit loose and comfortable, but jeans and a t-shirt will do fine. As for equipment - if you were to bring a towel or an extra t-shirt as props, it would make some things easy and fun, but the truth is that if we're going to do yoga that you can do wearing whatever you like, we're not going to be using a lot of props. That said, if you have a yoga mat (because you already do yoga) and would like to bring it, you may feel more at home. And for those of you worried that yoga requires you to be fit or flexible already...see the previous comments that you can do these poses wearing your normal clothes if you like. So, how contortionist do you really think we can get? That's not to say I couldn't do some headstands or splits or various other pretzel poses... but those aren't really what our geek bodies need to start out with.
Our jobs force us to sit for long periods of time, sitting at computers or listening to conference calls, or attending meetings. Our hips get tight. Our wrists and forearms get achy from typing. Our necks get stiff from holding our heads in one place for too long. Our lower and upper backs get tight and sore from sitting in less-than-ideal chairs, holding our arms in less-than-ideal positions, and retaining all the stress of our careers. The Lotus Positions for Lotus Geeks sessions will show you how to alleviate some of this pain and discomfort - not only when you have a whole workout area, but also when you're sitting at your desk.
Yoga means "union" - specifically the union between the mind and the body. We rely on our minds to be sharp - that's how we make a living. Yoga helps me to keep my focus and awareness by making my body a better support system for my mind. It also gives me techniques - through breathing and (yes, I'm going to say it) mini-meditation moments to keep frustration and other emotions under my control.
Finally, the show itself is hard on our bodies and our minds, even while we're having so much fun. Many of the yoga poses we'll do can feel more like a massage than a workout, and we'll pay special attention to the headaches, footaches, sore hips, and sore shoulders that come from the activities you're likely to be doing at the show.
When I leave a yoga class, I feel tall, graceful, and happy. Since I'm neither of the first two, physically speaking, there must be something about the class itself that engenders this feeling. So I challenge all of you to take at least one morning off from the BoFs to join me at the Dolphin pool and learn a new skill that will make you feel great.
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DON'T MISS OUR 1ST VIRTUAL USER GROUP MEETING AND PRESENTATION OF 2009
The first LotusUserGroup.org virtual user group meeting of 2009 happens in just a few days, on January 14th.
The January meeting is hosted on LotusUSerGroup.org and is presented by PSC Consulting group. It will include a presentation by John Head leading Lotus guru John Head and long time expert Alexander Kassabov. This live, online presentation will introduce you to some unique and time saving techniques for the integration of Lotus Notes and Domino with Microsoft Office, .NET technologies, and Lotus Symphony. No matter what version of Notes you're running (even 8.5) all the way back to 6.5, you'll come away with a solid plan for Mail Merge, exporting to a spreadsheet, charting, presentation building, and integration on the Web. You'll learn some advanced topics such as Visual Studio Tools for Office integration with Lotus Domino Web Services. Plus, we'll show you live demos on how to use Notes & Domino 8.5 to improve your integration options. Finally, we will touch on how the Integra for Notes reporting and integration framework can reduce your cost to provide your users with the reports they need to get their jobs done.
The presentation is free to LotusUserGroup.org members (and membership is free) but requires pre-registration. Please register today at http://www.LotusUserGroup.org/VUG
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LOTUS NOTES AND DOMINO 8.5 RELEASED, INCLUDING MAC AND LINUX VERSIONS
At Macworld last week, IBM announced the availability of Lotus Notes 8.5 collaboration software with social computing features for all Mac OS X Leopard-powered computers. In addition, IBM's free Lotus Symphony document, spreadsheet and presentation software will be available later this month for the Mac. In addition to availability for the Mac, IBM Lotus Notes 8.5 software is also available for Windows and Linux devices. It also works more efficiently with Lotus Sametime for collaboration and unified communications and Lotus Quickr for file sharing among work teams at various levels.
For the full story, go here: http://www.lotususergroup.org/submissions.nsf/ContentSpotlight/59A7CFB45D4A7FF186257539004DA289/?OpenDocument
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Monitoring Extended Server Environments with GSX Monitor V9
Gain a unified view of your Domino, Sametime, Exchange, and Blackberry Servers. An article from THE VIEW, a highly read and valued, technical journal for Lotus IT professionals, is featured on LotusGroup.org this month.
Alexandre Guillot, vice president of business development and marketing, GSX Groupware Solutions, wrote an article for THE VIEW's January issue, debuting at Lotusphere next week. In the article, you find out how you can institute an aggressive monitoring and alerting system without having to install any software on the servers and applications you’re responsible for. This article introduces you to GSX Monitor V9, which enables monitoring, alerting, and advanced reporting on extended IBM Lotus Domino, Sametime, Exchange, and Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES) environments that include instant messaging and other servers. Understand the capabilities of the tool, gain insight into how administrators can configure it for fine-grained monitoring and reporting, and get an up-close look at its streamlined interface for flexibly monitoring complex server infrastructures.
Check out the complete article here (you can download it for later rading too): http://www.lotususergroup.org/submissions.nsf/ContentSpotlight/D39F09C1FAD7CD0E86257539000A0B67/?OpenDocument
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GURU TIPS
The following tip is provided by Warren Elsmore, Senior Architecture Consultant for BE System, based in the UK. He's been working with Notes and Domino since release 3 and is a regular conference speaker throughout the world, including Lotusphere. His expertise covers Lotus Notes, Domino, Sametime and Quick Administration and especially mobile devices.
Customize Preset Feeds for Client Upgrade Packages
Here’s a tip for those of you putting together your client upgrade packages (you do package up each new client version, don’t you?). Did you know that you can customize the RSS feeds that the user finds in the ‘Preset feeds’ section of the Notes RSS reader? Why not add in the RSS feeds for Lotususergroup.org, or an internal blog?
All you need to do to add these feeds in, is modify a single file. You’ll need to extract the installation files from the compressed download first. Then, look for a ‘deploy’ directory in the install files. In that deploy directory is an ‘extras’ directory - and in there is a file called ‘presetfeeds.opml’.
This OPML file is an XML file containing the list of feeds available as preset feeds. It’s a standard type of file - so you can use any existing OPML file you have, or create a new one by following the format of the sample feed. Just add in your new entries. All your users then need to do is to click on the ‘Subscribe to Preset Feeds’ button in their RSS reader to access your customized news!
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SPONSORED BY LOTUSPHERE 2009, REGISTER TODAY
It's not too late. Lotusphere 2009 takes place at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, from January 18 - 22, 2009. Lotusphere is the premier event for the Lotus and WebSphere Portal community worldwide: developers, administrators, IT and business professionals looking to drive business results through collaborative software and solutions.
Register today at http://www-01.ibm.com/software/lotus/events/lotusphere2009/register.html
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EVENTS & USER GROUP MEETINGS
This Week's Spotlights:
The Real World of Integration
Meeting Date: January 14, 2009 12:00 pm Eastern (GMT -5)
Meting Location: Online
URL: http://www.LotusUSerGroup.org/VUG
Lotusphere 2009
Meeting Date: January 18 - 22, 2009
Meeting Location: Orlando, FL USA
URL: http://www-01.ibm.com/software/lotus/events/lotusphere2009/
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ADMIN2009 Boston
Meeting Date: April 15 - 17, 2009
Meeting Location: Boston, MA USA
URL: http://www.viewadmin2009.com/
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Lotus Developer2009 Boston
Meeting Date: April 15 - 17, 2009
Meeting Location: Boston, MA USA
URL: http://www.lotusdeveloper2009.com
There are more events in our listings. Visit the home page at LotusUserGroup.org for a full events list, including conferences, seminars, and user group meetings. If your group is planning a meeting or event, you can apply for a listing online through our "Search Events" page (you must be logged in to see the "Add an Event listing" link: http://lotususergroup.org/eventsall.nsf/Search/$SearchForm?SearchView
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WEEKLY SURVEY
This Week's Survey: Rate your anticipation for Lotusphere 2009
Let us know at http://www.lotususergroup.org/submissions.nsf/UGSurveyLogged?OpenForm to answer the survey question.
Last Survey: How did you bring in the new year?
To find out what your peers had to say, visit http://www.lotususergroup.org/glug.nsf/LkupView/SurveyResults
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TRIVIA
This week's Trivia Question: At Lotusphere 2008, how many different presentations were scheduled during the breakout sessions?
Answer the question at http://www.lotususergroup.org/submissions.nsf/UGTriviaLogged?OpenForm to be eligible for a monthly drawing for a free practice exam from CertFX, the leader in Lotus certification practice exams ( http://www.certfx.com ).
Last Trivia Question: At which Lotusphere was Bootcamp added as a new feature?
See the answer at: http://www.lotususergroup.org/glug.nsf/UGTriviaView?OpenView
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MEMBERSHIP AND SITE INFORMATION
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