Post-Christmas Blues - Not too much fun with ATI and Intrepid on the 2007-AE7 Thinkpad T60p

Hot on the heels of my previous posts here  and here, I found that things weren't as smooth as they could be, with Compiz crashing out from time to time.

I've played around over the past two days ( well, what else is Christmas Day and Boxing Day for ) and have taken a slightly different path to the same destination.

Instead of using Synaptic, Envy or apt get install, I chose to download the proprietary ATI driver from here.

This downloads a 80 MB file ati-driver-installer-8-12-x86.x86_64.run. It's necessary to make this file executable ( chmod +x ati-driver-installer-8-12-x86.x86_64.run ) and then execute it with root privileges ( sudo ./ati-driver-installer-8-12-x86.x86_64.run ).

The installer walks you through a series of simple screens, and, following a reboot, you're good to go.

Will continue to play ...

Solved - ATI Catalyst Control Centre not saving configuration

Having solved my problems with the suspend/resume on Intrepid whilst keeping Compiz and spinny things going, I had one final thing to crack.

When I used the ATI Catalyst Control Centre ( amdcccle ) to set my display resolution, I noticed that the changes were not being saved through a reboot. As an example, I could set the resolution to 1600x1200 to get the best out of my Thinkpad's HUUUUUGE screen, when I rebooted, the resolution would be back at 1024x768, which is a bit annoying.

As usual, Google had the answer, Google is my friend. I searched for "amdcccle saving" and found this article - the answer is to run gnome-display-properties and click Apply to save the current configuration ( this applet can be as a command ( ALT + F2 ) or via System -> Preferences -> Screen Resolution.

Strange but true

Parking in Beijing is manic over Christmas

Thanks to the BBC for this

Ubuntu 8.10 ( Intrepid Ibex ) and Suspend/Resume on the Thinkpad T60p ( 2007-AE7 )

Having had this working ever since I upgraded to Intrepid in early November, I somehow managed to break it on Wednesday whilst trying to get a strange projector combination working. I uninstalled/reinstalled the video drivers a thousand times ( ish ) but couldn't manage to (a) get video working on the internal LCD *and* via an external device and (b) suspend/resume Ubuntu.

However, I think I've cracked it - I went back in time in my blog and found this post from September, where I'd fickered with /etc/default/acpi-support and changed: -

POST_VIDEO=true
# RADEON_LIGHT=true
# DOUBLE_CONSOLE_SWITCH=true
ENABLE_LAPTOP_MODE=false

to: -

POST_VIDEO=false
RADEON_LIGHT=true
DOUBLE_CONSOLE_SWITCH=true
ENABLE_LAPTOP_MODE=true

If it helps, I'm using the fglrx 8.54.3 driver which I got via apt-get install fglrx* - as far as I know, this is not a proprietary driver BUT I MAY BE WRONG.

If it helps, this is how I can see what driver I'm using: -

lsmod | grep -i fglrx

returns: -

fglrx                1813960  32
agpgart                42184  2 fglrx,intel_agp

dmesg | grep -i fglrx

[   42.639040] [fglrx] module loaded - fglrx 8.54.3 [Oct 10 2008] with 1 minors

lspci -vv

01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc M56GL [Mobility FireGL V5200]
        Subsystem: Lenovo Device 2007
        Control: I/O+ Mem+ BusMaster+ SpecCycle- MemWINV- VGASnoop- ParErr- Stepping- SERR+ FastB2B- DisINTx-
        Status: Cap+ 66MHz- UDF- FastB2B- ParErr- DEVSEL=fast >TAbort- <TAbort- <MAbort- >SERR- <PERR- INTx-
        Latency: 0, Cache Line Size: 64 bytes
        Interrupt: pin A routed to IRQ 16
        Region 0: Memory at d0000000 (32-bit, prefetchable) [size=256M]
        Region 1: I/O ports at 2000 [size=256]
        Region 2: Memory at ee100000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=64K]
        [virtual] Expansion ROM at ee120000 [disabled] [size=128K]
        Capabilities: <access denied>
        Kernel driver in use: fglrx_pci
        Kernel modules: fglrx

sudo dpkg --list | grep -i fglrx

ii  fglrx-amdcccle                            2:8.543-0ubuntu4                            Catalyst Control Center for the ATI graphics a
ii  fglrx-kernel-source                       2:8.543-0ubuntu4                            Kernel module source for the ATI graphics acce
ii  fglrx-modaliases                          2:8.543-0ubuntu4                            Identifiers supported by the ATI graphics driv
ii  xorg-driver-fglrx                         2:8.543-0ubuntu4                            Video driver for the ATI graphics accelerators
ii  xorg-driver-fglrx-dev                     2:8.543-0ubuntu4                            Video driver for the ATI graphics accelerators

fglrxinfo -display :0

display: :0.0  screen: 0
OpenGL vendor string: ATI Technologies Inc.
OpenGL renderer string: ATI MOBILITY FireGL V5200
OpenGL version string: 2.1.8087 FireGL Release

Having got fglrx installed and having hacked acpi-support, I can now suspend and resume.

I can also switch to a single or dual display ( using my Sharp Aquos 26" LCD display ) using the  ATI Catalyst Control Centre ( command is amdccle ) to switch between screens.

I'll test a real projector later today ....

Woot, scrolling in Firefox on Ubuntu using middle mouse button

Thanks to Pete for this tip - with his help ( and some Googling ), I was able to configure the middle mouse button ( on a Thinkpad T60p ) to allow me to scroll through a web page in Firefox.

Simply put, open Firefox, navigate to the address bar and enter the URL about:config. Assuming you're happy to proceed past those dragons, change the setting general.autoScroll to true. Once you restart Firefox, you're good to go.

More about Site Analytics in WebSphere Portal

Following on from my earlier post about SA, here is a W-I-P of my notes and observations thus far.

Sun xVM VirtualBox - My First Few Hours ...

I installed VirtualBox using Synaptic on my Thinkpad T60p ( running Intrepid Ibex ) earlier today, and built my first Windows XP virtual machine. So far, so good.

Only one little niggle - USB support didn't work; I was getting

Failed to access the USB subsystem.

Could not load the Host USB Proxy Service (VERR_FILE_NOT_FOUND). The service might be not installed on the host computer.

Result Code:
NS_ERROR_FAILURE (0x00004005)

when I attempted to edit the virtual machine's configuration.

However, as usual, Google had the answer ( and is my friend ).

As per this post, there are some post-installation incantations that you need to run.

Once done, we're good to go.

Next, I'm going to install WebSphere Portal or, perhaps, Lotus Connections onto the VM and see how it performs ....

WebSphere Portal 6.1 and Site Analytics

Just working to show how WebSphere Portal's Site Analytics service works, in terms of generating logs in the NCSA Combined Log format that can then be analysed by an appropriate tool, such as the free-as-in-beer GPL tool AWStats, Nihuo  or a chargeable product/service such as WebTrends.

I'd previously set this up in an earlier release ( I even found a developerWorks forum post from myself back in 2006 ), but had forgotten precisely how to do it.

I confused myself by reading the formal documentation so ended up hacking around and stop/starting the portal several times.

In the end, the trick was to: -

a) Amend C:\IBM\WebSphere\wp_profile\PortalServer\config\SiteAnalyzerLogService.properties and add/change: -

SiteAnalyzerFileHandler.fileName=logs/$APPSERVER_NAME/sa.log
SiteAnalyzerPageLogger.isLogging=true
SiteAnalyzerPortletLogger.isLogging=true
SiteAnalyzerSessionLogger.isLogging=true

( there are a number of other isLogging parameters to choose from )

b) Push the updated properties into the portal configuration, using the command: -

ConfigEngine.bat update-properties

from the directory C:\IBM\WebSphere\wp_profile\ConfigEngine.

c) Restart the portal

Once this has been done, you can see/change the properties by logging into the WebSphere Application Server administration console ( https://localhost:10041/ibm/console ) and then navigating to Resource > Resource environment providers > WP SiteAnalyzerLogService > Custom properties as per the screenshot.

Having restarted the portal, and logged in, I now see data such as: -

192.168.44.1 - - [17/Dec/2008:11:33:14 +0000] "GET /Page/6_CGAH47L0082M302B566VO730M6/null HTTP/1.1" 200 -1 "" "Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-GB; rv:1.9.0.4) Gecko/2008111318 Ubuntu/8.10 (intrepid) Firefox/3.0.4" "pSite=http%3A//www-304.ibm.com/jct03001c/services/learning/ites.wss/us/en%3FpageType%3Dcourse_description%26courseCode%3DPW510;sasidp=S420311311229505852077;90130510_clogin=l=1229505853&v=1&e=1229514686475;CoreID6=62742661401312295058533;ibmSurvey=1229505848905;sauidp=U420311311229505852077;satst=test"
192.168.44.1 - - [17/Dec/2008:11:33:14 +0000] "GET /Portlet/5_CGAH47L0082M302B566VO730E4/Login_Portlet?PortletPID=5_CGAH47L0082M302B566VO730E4&PortletMode=View&PortletState=Normal HTTP/1.1" 200 -1 "http://stargate.uk.ibm.com/Page/6_CGAH47L0082M302B566VO730M6/null" "Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-GB; rv:1.9.0.4) Gecko/2008111318 Ubuntu/8.10 (intrepid) Firefox/3.0.4" "pSite=http%3A//www-304.ibm.com/jct03001c/services/learning/ites.wss/us/en%3FpageType%3Dcourse_description%26courseCode%3DPW510;sasidp=S420311311229505852077;90130510_clogin=l=1229505853&v=1&e=1229514686475;CoreID6=62742661401312295058533;ibmSurvey=1229505848905;sauidp=U420311311229505852077;satst=test"

being logged to C:\IBM\WebSphere\wp_profile\logs\WebSphere_Portal\sa.log.

I can now use my log analyser tool to see what's going on within my portal.

I'm actually using AWStats on my Ubuntu host whilst the portal is running within a VMware image.

I'll use the AWStats documentation as well as this excellent article from Stefan Liesche on developerWorks.

Introspecting Lotus Quickr Services for Lotus Domino

Note to self - the URL to use is: -

http://hostname.domain.com/dm/atom/introspection?login=true

to force authentication to Quickr, and allow one to see the list of
Quickr places, whether public/anonymous or not.

This is useful when using the REST model/portlet within WebSphere
Portlet Factory.

Oh my gosh, Lotus has gone a bit wiki

Thanks to a colleague for posting this on his internal blog. I've referenced a number of the various Lotus product wikis, including those for WebSphere Portal and WebSphere Portlet Factory.

This useful page on developerWorks listing all the available wikis, together with their URLs.

Nice, wiki'd but nice.

More on WAS ports

Following my own earlier post about WAS administration ports, it's also worth noting that WebSphere Portal 6.0 and 6.1 have differing default ports: -

WebSphere Portal 6.0

Portal         http://hostname:10038/wps/portal
WAS Admin      https://hostname:10039/ibm/console

WebSphere Portal 6.1

Portal         http://hostname:10040/wps/portal
WAS Admin      https://hostname:10041/ibm/console

Hope this helps me next time oldtimer's kicks in.

Woo, Genii Software do it again

Have just downloaded the most excellent Lotusphere 2009 sessions
database from Genii Software's website here: -

http://www.geniisoft.com/showcase.nsf/LS2009_SessionsDB

I used this last year ( well, this year 'cos we're still in 2008 ) and
found it be of great use in planning my way around.

This year, I notice that they also have iPhone and Blackberry versions;
will try the iPhone version as well.

Even more fun with the Web Application Integrator portlet on WebSphere Portal 6.1

Having blogged here about my success with the WAI portlet on WebSphere Portal 6.1, I was kinda surprised when I was unable to get it working earlier this week, on a couple of WebSphere Portal Express 6.1.0.0 installations; both on Windows - one native and one on VMware.

Despite my best efforts, I never saw the portal/page navigation appear on the imported web page, even though I made a conscious effort to place the JavaScript code immediately after the body tag.

Instead, I saw: -

[12/12/08 17:05:40:640 GMT] 00000041 SystemOut     O Inside-Out, Default.jsp: Exception raised: java.lang.NullPointerException

When I looked at the fix list for WebSphere Portal 6.10.1 at: -

http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?rs=688&uid=swg27014411#6101

I can see: -

PK74444     WebAppIntegrator throws a NullPointerException when urlFindInTheme tag is used in a Portal 6.1 theme

so I immediately went looking for the fix - sadly, it's not available as a standalone fix, but only as part of the fixpack.

Given that I wanted to get 6.10.1 installed, I started the download - thanks to the power of broadband, this 400 MB file didn't take too long.

However, whilst I was waiting, I was fickering around with my portal, trying to reproduce another issue with SSL/HTTPS. As part of my fickering, I toggled the theme for the top-level Content Root -> Home page from Portal Default Theme to PortalWeb2 and back again.

This seemed to "kick" WAI into life, and it's now working perfectly.

I can only assume that the theme toggle forced one of the theme JSPs to be recompiled or, perhaps, magic occurred.

In either case, WAI is now working WITHOUT needing to apply any fixes or fixpacks.

A Desktop that's Virtually "Free" ( as in beer not air )

Thanks to Ed Brill for posting this

IBM and Business Partners Introduce a Linux-Based, Virtual Desktop

IBM (NYSE: IBM), Virtual Bridges and Canonical today announced general availability of a Linux-desktop solution designed to drive significant savings compared with Microsoft-desktop software by amplifying Lotus collaboration software and Ubuntu to a larger user base through virtualization.

This solution runs open standards-based email, word processing, spreadsheets, unified communication, social networking and other software to any laptop, browser, or mobile device from a virtual desktop login on a Linux-based server configuration.

A virtual desktop looks like a traditional desktop but is not limited to a single physical computer. Instead, many virtual Linux desktops are hosted on a server. The combined solution includes: 

• Virtual desktop provided by Virtual Bridges called Virtual Enterprise Remote Desktop Environment (VERDE);
• Ubuntu, the worldwide leading Linux desktop operating system, from Canonical; and
• IBM Open Collaboration Client Solution software (OCCS) based on IBM Lotus Symphony, IBM Lotus Notes and Lotus applications. IBM Lotus Symphony is built on the Open Document Format (ODF).
  

http://tinyurl.com/5wo9d4

WebSphere Portal 6.1.01 Ships - December 2nd 2008

Oooo, nearly missed this one.

This fix pack includes a cumulative collection of fixes and updated support for several underlying components. This fix pack updates the IBM WebSphere Portal 6.1 (6.1.0.0) level to the 6.1.0.1 service release level. This fix pack can be used to upgrade the IBM Workplace Web Content Management 6.1 (6.1.0.0) level to the 6.1.0.1 service release level. This fix pack can also be used to upgrade IBM WebSphere Portal Express 6.1 (6.1.0.0) level to the 6.1.0.1 service release level.

http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg24020387

The complete list of fixes integrated into this refresh pack may be found in the technote Fix list for WebSphere Portal Version 6.1 and an updated set of system requirements.

Send it now, darn it

A colleague asked me why Lotus Notes was no longer sending emails immediately when he was working from a replica copy of his mail file.

It was a most excellent question to which I didn't have an immediate answer. However, thanks to my social network ( actually knowing the man who knew and finding him on Sametime ), I was able to help solve it.

It turned out to be a location preference/setting, which can be set as follows: -

a) Choose File -> Preferences -> Locations
b) Edit the location that you usually use
c) Navigate to the Mail tab
d) Set "Transfer Outgoing Mail If X messages pending" to 1
e) Click OK to save the location change
f) Click OK to save the preference change

Hope this helps someone as it helped Mike and I

( with thanks to Chris for his most timely and excellent help )

RAR not Roar

Want to open RAR files using Ubuntu ? Got files over 4 GB ? If so, make
sure you install the non-free version of RAR via Synaptic Package Manager.

Initially, I installed the free version ( unrar-free 1:0.0.1 ) but got
the following error message: -

unrar-free: invalid archive 'RenovationsSoftv1.rar': Value too large for
defined data type

when I attempted to extract files from a 6.8 GB archive.

Once I installed, and used, the non-free version ( unrar 1:3.8.2.1 ),
all was well.

:-)

AMD/ATI Control Center on Ubuntu

The young Mr Wylie posted this with regard to the ATI Control Centre on Ubuntu, so I thought I'd repost the link for everyone's edification. Thanks John, you're 8-)

Problems with Virtual Portals and missing Administration link - don't Google it, Wiki it

Tomorrow, I'm seeing a customer who is having an issue with a missing Administration link in their Virtual Portal, using WebSphere Portal 6.1.

I've reproduced the problem ( or so I hope ) using WebSphere Portal 6.1 on openSuSE 11 ( it may or may not important, but I've recreated the customer's environment by installing two instances on the same application server, and securing both against OpenLDAP ).

After some digging around, I've resolved my problem ( and, I hope, my customer's problem ), thanks to the nice people who maintain the WebSphere Portal Family Wiki here.

The specific article ( WebSphere Portal 6.1 Admin Installation Virtual Portal Initialization ) describes how the problem occurs ( on instances where one installs WebSphere Portal in (ironically) administration mode ( a slimmed down installation with far far fewer applications and portlets ).

I, and (I'm hoping) my customer, have used this lightweight installation - it's a good way of creating a development or demonstration environment. I usually install WebSphere Portal Express 6.1 which can take 2-3 hours depending on the hardware ( bearing in mind that DB2 UDB and WCM are installed, along with a host of portlets and services ), whereas the slimmed down installation took 30-40 minutes ( on an openSuSE 11 VMware image running under my beloved Ubuntu ).

It highlighted how little I know about Virtual Portal creation - under the covers, an XMLAccess script is executed ( whereas I thought it was Harry Potter at work ). It transpires that the XMLAccess script neglects to add the Administration link to the theme of the newly created VP ). The article provides an updated script which fixes the problem.

More for me to learn ..... and to find out whether this does, in fact, help my customer tomorrow ...

Cross my fingers :-)

Wiping my BlackBerry

Am sending my BlackBerry back to Vodafone as it's still dropping calls, despite my upgrading it to the latest pertinent firmware level. On a 30 minute call, the phone disconnected me six or seven times. Having used the Vodafone SIM in my trusty old Nokia 6021, I know it's the device rather than the network.

I called Vodafone today, and they were very helpful - a courier will meet me in London on Thursday with a new device; I need to retain the SIM, battery and back cover.

I wanted to wipe my data off the phone before sending it back, but wasn't sure how to achieve this.

Thanks to some Googling, I found this which was of some use - the trick ( for my 7130v ) is, from the menu, to navigate to Settings -> Security Options -> General Settings -> Wipe Handheld. Once selected, I chose Continue and then entered the word "blackberry" to confirm.

After a few moments, the device is back to the oob defaults, prompting me to use the setup wizard, and showing the 'orrible default theme.

Let's just hope that the replacement unit does the trick ( now how can I persuade them to give me a Storm instead of a 7130v ? )

More on Mounting ( including my enthusiasm )

Having overcome my challenges with my failure to install VMware Tools in an openSuSE VM, I now had to work out how to mount a shared folder ( shared from VMware Workstation in the "normal" manner.

Despite my best intentions, nothing ever auto-mounted, and I didn't see the share on the X11 desktop ( when I bothered to start X ).

In the end, I found I needed to run: -

mount -t vmhgfs .host:/ /mnt

which would automagically mount my shared folder ( called Ubuntu ) as /mnt.

FWIW I also found the vmware-hgfsclient command which (merely) displays the shared folders by name e.g. Ubuntu in my case.

One step further forward ...

Trouble trying to mount ...

a USB drive under openSuSE :-)

I've chosen to run my openSuSE VMware image at runlevel 3 ( e.g. no X11 ) by changing: -

id:5:initdefault:

to: -

id:3:initdefault:

in /etc/inittab.

This means that mounting USB drives is a bit more difficult, as I have to remember the syntax of the mount command ( and/or use /etc/fstab ).

Therefore, although I was able to mount my NTFS-formatted Lenovo USB drive via the command mount /dev/sdc1 /mnt, I wasn't able to edit files or change file permissions.

Of course, the solution was to change my mount command to mount -t ntfs-3g /dev/sdc1 /mnt and ... I'm good to go.

openSuSE 11 - My First Day Out ...

Downloaded the DVD ISO image of openSuSE last night, with a view to building a lightweight portal demonstration using WebSphere Portal Server ( limited installation with less portlets than normal ).

Having downloaded the ISO image, I installed it into a VMware image using VMware Workstation 6.5, but wondered why I couldn't get VMware Tools to install.

Happily I found this blog post from a whizzy City dude, and my problems are over.

Apparently, SuSE have included an open-source VM tools package ( open-vm-tools-2008.04.14-21.1.i586.rpm ) which is automagically installed when the VMware image is built.

Nice !

Cracked It - Web Application Integrator Portlet and WebSphere Portal 6.1

I'd tried, and struggled, to get the Web Application Integrator portlet working within WebSphere Portal 6.1.

I had previously blogged about this whizzy little portlet, when I had it working with WebSphere Portal 6.0, but thought I'd hit a bug feature with the new version of Portal.

The last few times out, I was able to deploy the portlet without huge problems, created the URL link against the external page/site, generated the JavaScript tag, added it to the external page and ... nowt. I was able to access the URL as a new portal page, but there was no portal navigation presented.

I re-read the documentation, re-read a few wiki posts ( here and here ) and, eventually after patience, tea and biscuits, I got it working.

The trick was to add the the JavaScript tag immediately after the BODY tag.

I can now use the WAI portlet to integrate other applications, such as Lotus Connections and Lotus Quickr.

Adobe Flex and WebSphere Portal

Can't remember who asked me about this on the Portal PoT today, but here is a pertinent article, Using Adobe Flex in JSR-286 Portlets, that may be of use.

<snip>
This article shall show you how the Adobe Flex SDK can be used in a Portal environment to enhance the user interface for a Portlet. It has also previously been possible to use Flex with JSR-168 Portlets and alike, but with the new Portlet 2.0 specification (JSR-286) some things have improved, such as the support for asynchronous requests, public render parameters and events. Support for the JSR-286 specification has been available in Websphere Portal since version 6.1. It will be shown what is possible with the technology combination Flex/Portlets and where the limits are. The article builds around a Flex demo Portlet example, which is available for download below.
</snip>

Samba not salsa

Back with WebSphere Portlet Factory on Ubuntu again, as per my earlier post - this time around, the installation was far more smooth. I simply downloaded  Eclipse 3.3.2 from here, and installed it in my user's home directory ( /home/hayd/eclipse ). I then installed WPF into the same directory structure ( /home/hayd/WDF ) and pointed the installer at the Eclipse location.

I'm now trying to get WPF to work with WebSphere Portal 6.1.0.1 beta, which is running in a SuSE VMware image on the same box.

Therefore, I need to map a virtual drive from my host Ubuntu OS to my guest SuSE VM. I ended up using Samba to facilitate this ( although I could have used NFS which would be a more Unix-friendly approach ).

In short, I needed to set up Samba to share the /opt folder from SuSE ( this is the directory structure within which WebSphere Application Server and WebSphere Portal are installed ). I chose to do this as root (!) so added the following to /etc/samba/smb.conf: -

[WAS]
path = /opt
write list = root
browseable = yes
read only = no

However, before I could go any further, I needed to install the Samba client software onto Ubuntu using the following command: -

sudo aptitude install -y smbfs

( although I could have also used Synaptic Package Manager or similar ).

I then "simply" mounted the Samba share from Ubuntu using the command: -

sudo mount -t smbfs //172.16.17.132/WAS /mnt/was -o username=root,rw

Once I'd entered my root password (!), I was good to go.

With thanks to a couple of other sites: -

http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-213703.html

and: -

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=255872&highlight=mounting+shares

Ubuntu - it actually rocks :-)

IBM WebSphere Portal Version 6.1 Tuning Guide

A number of folks, including John,  have posted this most useful document which is available on developerWorks, via the WebSphere Portal wiki.

VMware Workstation 6.5 on Ubuntu 8.10 - Good but keyboard no go

'tis now sorted, thanks to a fellow blogger's post here.

In essence, there's a missing VMware configuration file that needs to get popped into the user's home VMware directory ( ~/.vmware ).

This saved my life ( metaphorically speaking )

One of my colleagues moved a server that was running DB2 UDB and WebSphere Portal to Active Directory.  The server had previously been a standalone server, and now became a member of an AD domain.

This caused DB2 UDB to stop working because the local wpdb2ins user was no longer available. There was a bunch of errors on boot, including SQL1022C which (wrongly) implies that DB2 is running out of memory ( even on a 3 GB machine ).

I've done a more full job of writing this up as a PDF ( can share if needed ), but Vivek's blog post saved the day.

Customising Lotus Quickr Services for Lotus Domino

Thanks to Stu for sharing this, and for Amy for reminding me, to further share: -

Customizing themes in IBM Lotus Quickr services for IBM Lotus Domino 8.1

Customizing Lotus Quickr Wiki

My thoughts about the BBC and the most recent events ...

No, no, no, not Jonathan Brand and Russell Ross, this is far far far more important.

I remember reading that there was going to be some kind of tie-up between the BBC and Canonical.

Well, I'd like to report that all is well; I should be able to play BBC iPlayer content via the Totem movie player, as per this and this.

Sadly, it's not quite that simple; I end up seeing: -

The program 'totem' received an X Window System error.
This probably reflects a bug in the program.
The error was 'BadAlloc (insufficient resources for operation)'.
  (Details: serial 46 error_code 11 request_code 140 minor_code 19)
  (Note to programmers: normally, X errors are reported asynchronously;

when I attempt to access some content e.g. Radio 5 Live via the BBC playlist within Totem.

A quick dig around the 'net showed that this was some kind of memory issue or conflict between Totem, the ATI graphics card in my Thinkpad T60p and the Compiz plugin.

And, by the way, this is all the latest stuff .................

Still, mustn't grumble .............. oh well, just a bit. Grumble Grumble Grumble Mutter Mutter Darned Stoopid Totem Doh!

More post-Ubuntu 8.10 changes

This time, this is the stuff I did to tweak Lotus Notes 8.5 beta 2: -

Enabling application installation ( so that I can install the Catbox plugin )

Edited /opt/ibm/lotus/notes/framework/rcp/plugin_customization.ini and added: -

com.ibm.notes.branding/enable.update.ui=true

Enabling file transfer via the integrated Sametime client

Edited /opt/ibm/lotus/notes/framework/rcp/plugin_customization.ini and added: -

com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.policy.sametime/allowP2PFileTransfer=true

Improved the overall performance/perception of the client

Edited /opt/ibm/lotus/notes/framework/rcp/eclipse/plugins/com.ibm.rcp.j2se.linux.x86_1.6.0.20080709-200808151631/jvm.properties and changed: -

vmarg.Xmx=-Xmx1024m

to: -

vmarg.Xmx=-Xmx256m

( as per my earlier experiences posted here )

and ... to really really sweeten the pudding: -

Disabling the annoying beep when doing stuff in an xterm window

Opened up an xterm window and ran: -

echo "set bell-style none" >> ~/.inputrc

( thanks to Ray for the last tip )

Hah, Google has the answer, Google is my friend

Within a few minutes of my previous post, I think I've cracked the "wireless failing to resume after suspend" issue.

I chose Connection Information from within the Network Manager applet ( the thing that shows the active network connection on the top right-hand corner of the screen ). This showed me that I was using the ath_pci driver.

I Google'd for the search string "ath_pci 8.10" and, c'est voila, the second hit was the Ubuntu 8.10 release notes here.

Specifically, the release notes contained this section: -

---

Wireless doesn't work after suspend with ath_pci driver
Wireless devices that use the ath_pci kernel driver, such as the Atheros AR5212 wireless card, will be unable to connect to the network after using suspend and resume. To work around this issue, users can create a file /etc/pm/config.d/madwifi containing the single line:

SUSPEND_MODULES=ath_pci

This will cause the module to be unloaded before suspend and reloaded on resume.

---

I'll try this circumvention, and report back ....

Installing and Using Ubuntu 8.10 on my Thinkpad T60p

In no particular order, an aide memoire for me if when I next install Ubuntu.

a) Used Synaptic Package Manager to install CompizConfig Settings Manager ( search for ccsm or simple-ccsm to find it )
b) Used simple-ccsm to set the display profile to Ultimate to get the really really whizzy special effects in Compiz
c) Added http://ppa.launchpad.net/openoffice-pkgs/ubuntu to Software Sources to get Open Office 3
d) Added http://packages.medibuntu.org/ to Software Sources to get Skype ( amongst other things )
e) Installed VMware Workstation 6.5 build 118166 ( as per http://www.davidmhay.co.uk/2008/10/ubuntu-810-intrepid-ibex-and-vmware.html )
f) Installed Lotus Mobile Connect 6.1.1.0 and AT&T Global Network Client 2.0.1.3000 ( having two VPN clients may just be greedy, but it's nice to have a backdoor to a backdoor )
g) Installed Lotus Notes 8.5 beta 2

Still not totally happy with my wireless after a suspend/standby, but that may be just me, as Rob didn't have similar problems on a similar T60p. Will check the drivers etc. for the wireless card.

Suspend/resume does work though, even when I close the lid on my laptop ( which could be fun if I forget ).

Right, that'll do for now ...

Good article on Newsnight - Global warming by computer

Here for those who have a spare 13 minutes to watch

http://tinyurl.com/6zddgr

Ubuntu 8.10 ( Intrepid Ibex ) and VMware Workstation

Just tried to install VMware Workstation 6.5 ( VMware-Workstation-6.5.0-110068 to be precise ) onto my freshly squeezed installed Ubuntu 8.10 machine, and hit a nasty surprise. In essence, the script that runs when you first run VMware ( used to be called vmware-config.pl ) failed to run with a "File not found" error. I did a quick Google, and found this known Ubuntu bug.

In essence, it directed me to download a new build of VMware Workstation, build 118166, from here.

Once done, alle es goede.

Migrating from Portal Document Manager (PDM) to Quickr Document Libraries

Here's a nice summary of the options involved in moving your document
libraries from Portal Document Manager in WebSphere Portal v6.0 ( and
below ) to Lotus Quickr in WebSphere Portal v6.1.

The article is located on the WebSphere Portal wiki here: -

http://www-10.lotus.com/ldd/portalwiki.nsf/dx/migrating-from-portal-document-manager-pdm-to-quickr-document-libraries

More from the land of the Ibex

Well, following on from my earlier post I've just popped my Vodafone 3G PCMCIA card into my Thinkpad and, quelle surprise, Ubuntu recognised it as a mobile broadband card WITHOUT NEEDING TO INSTALL ANY OTHER SOFTWARE.

This is amazing, considering the fun n' games that I've had in the past with Vodafone drivers on Windows XP. Even under Hardy Heron and Gutsy Gibbon, I had to download and install "special" Vodafone drivers.

Added to this, suspend/resume *appears* to work oob ( after one test thus far ).

Right, in Starbucks for the final coffee of the day, whilst I update Facebook :-)

Intrepidly going where no one ( apart from an ibex ) has gone before ...

Well, I had some free time this PM, so I downloaded the Release Candidate code for the next Ubuntu release, Intrepid Ibex ( aka 8.10 ), from here.

Seems good so far - interestingly, I had 110 MB of updates to install once I'd installed the RC code, which kinda makes sense given that the GA is due in three days time.

Network Manager seems to have improved somewhat, although it still didn't want to work with my company's LEAP wireless network. Will see how it manages when I'm back on the road later this week.

Other than, it looks pretty good - Firefox 3.0.3 installed oob, along with Evolution ( which I'm going to try and get along with as an alternative to my favourite client, Thunderbird ). Interestingly, Open Office 2.4 is still included, rather than 3.0. Again, this might be a RC vs. GA thing.

Will see whether the suspend/resume and projector support has improved and update this post later in the week.

Have just installed the beta of Notes 8.5 so am going to fire up and see if I've got any real work to do :-)

Another nice error message ......

Proving Technology

Those nice folks at IBM Hursley Park are hosting a pair of Proof of Technology (PoT) events in November: -

10-12 November Discovering the value of IBM WebSphere Portal V6.1

Introduction

Web portals allow partners, employees and customers to choose their user experience, with personalized applications based on role, context,
actions, location, preferences and team collaboration needs. IBM® WebSphere® Portal software provides a composite application or business
mashup framework and the advanced tooling needed to build flexible, SOA-based solutions, as well as the unmatched scalability required by
any size organization. IBM portals also provide the ideal platform for addressing the needs of varied audiences, via accelerators that simply
‘snap-on’ and extend the capabilities of your portal implementation as needed. In addition, a wide range of IBM Business Partner
solutions and IBM services are available to further address your needs. Accelerators for WebSphere Portal help deliver business value and
faster time-to-value by addressing specific project needs.

• Business Process: An end-to-end solution comprised of electronic forms, workflows and portlets to accelerate process automation.
• Collaboration: Instant messaging, Web conferencing, team services and social networking.
• Content: End-to-end enterprise Web content management and search.
• Dashboard: Real-time, active, performance dashboards.
• Enterprise Suite: Integrated set of capabilities supports multiple portal projects. Includes Web content management, collaboration, electronic
• forms, dashboards, and rich client support.
• Learning: A portal-based solution that delivers learning resources on the desktop.
• Self-Service: Direct access to personalized self service information and transactions.

This Proof of Technology (PoT) offering is designed to demonstrate the exceptional user experience provided by WebSphere Portal software
with a focus on business value and solutions, and the exciting new web 2.0 features it enables and leverages, Additional focus areas include
administration, infrastructure and development topics. Participants will receive a hands-on experience of the WebSphere Portal product as well
as the integration capabilities found in the WebSphere Product Family. This offering also shows how WebSphere Portal can be used to
implement a responsive and easy-to-use portal that has rich function delivered from the secure and scalable infrastructure of WebSphere
Application Server.

Objective

The objective of this session is to demonstrate how IBM WebSphere Portal allows you to customize your work environment to the needs of your
business and present content and applications in a consistent fashion. Portal gives you the ability to easily provide a highly personalized user
experience based upon the end user’s previous interactions with your portal, their personal preferences, as well as attributes from their user
profile or any other source.

[PDF] Agenda is here

20 November IBM Mashup Center - A Proof of Technology

Muddled by mashups ?
Worried by widgets ?
Feeling curious aboutfeeds ?
Puzzled by portlets ?

IBM has the answer for you – please book yourself onto this 1-day workshop at Hursley Park, near Winchester in Hampshire, which aims to answer all of your questions about the recent advances in mashup technology.
IBM Mashup Center is an exciting new offering from IBM, designed to provide both business users and IT with the key capabilities needed to quickly and easily create, share, customize, and secureEnterprise Mashups.
With this lightweight enterprise mashup environment, organisations can unlock and transform enterprise, Web, personal, and departmental information into consumable or "mashable" assets, including information feeds and widgets.
These assets can then be dynamically assembled, at-the-glass, into new applications thataddress daily business challenges, allowing organisations can reduce their application backlog and improve productivity by empowering line of business, self-service application development.

Via a series of presentations and hands-on labs, our team will take you through the product portfolio, which includes: -

Lotus Mashups delivers the browser-based assembly tooling and widget creation environment
InfoSphere MashupHub provides the data connectors and feed generation + transformation capabilities
Lotus Widget Factory a powerful widget creation environment that enables developers of all skill levels to rapidly generate widgets without coding

The workshop will also focus on the integration points between mashups ( tactical, departmental )and portals ( strategic, enterprise ), and demonstrate how mashups and widgets can be delivered via a secure role-based, personalised portal environment, using WebSphere Portal.

Interested ?

If so, please let me know.

WebSphere Portlet Factory and SAP Together

Just starting to play around with the "free" implementation of Mini SAP
that came with my copy of "ABAP Objects - An Introduction to Programming
SAP Applications" that I bought a couple of years ago.

I installed it without too much difficulty, and was able to get
WebSphere Portlet Factory to connect using the supplied jCO.jar classes.
I can retrieve a list of BAPI objects, but haven't got a clue what to do
with them, or what data to use for my input queries.

Am also trying to work out if Mini SAP also offers a SAP Business
Workplace ( SAP BW ) implementation as well.

More fun to come .... watch this space.

Updating the iPod Touch

Back in September, I blogged about the error messages that I was seeing when I tried to update my iPod Touch to the most recent software level ( 2.1 ).

I was getting errors 1602, 1604 and 2002, despite plugging/unplugging, booting/rebooting, installing/reinstalling etc. I'd tried most everything, but nothing seemed to work.

Last night, I cracked it - following a blog post, I temporarily disabled my Symantec Anti-Virus ( File System Auto-Protect ) and Symantec Client Firewall. This allowed me to restore the iPod to the v1.x software stack. I tried the v2.1 update again this AM, and it failed - again, I disabled firewall and anti-virus, and ..... voilá it worked.

Not sure whether I did need to disable both or one of the Symantec services, but it worked, it worked, it worked.

PS In case it helps, I'm running iTunes 8.0.1.11 on Windows XP SP2

Lotus Notes 8 - Performance or Perception ?

Thanks to Darren, I found a link to this on Dogear, and followed the guidance to increase my Notes 8 JVM heapside - it SEEMS to have improved the performance and responsiveness of the client, but is it just me ? Am I seeing what I wanted to see, or is it just perception ? Red pill or blue pill ?

Mashups and Portals Together

Am making some progress - I've now got my Mashups server and my Portal server wired up to the same Domino LDAP server, offering me single sign-on via LTPA. I can add a widget to the Widget Portlet and display "Hello World!" from the widget onto a portal page. Not bad after over a week of hacking ......

More to come, including a document ........

CWWIM0515E The 'CN=wpsadmin,O=ibm' entity is not in the scope of the 'defined' realm

Have been getting this dratted error message all day, since I migrated my WebSphere Application Server 6.1.0.13 server ( running Lotus Mashups 1.0 ) to a Domino LDAP server.

I think I've done everything right, but I'm still getting: -





each time I try and log in to Mashups.

There is a corresponding message in SystemOut.log: -

CWWIM0515E The 'CN=wpsadmin,O=ibm' entity is not in the scope of the 'defined' realm.

The WAS 6.1 Information Centre refers to the message here but merely states: -

Explanation

The operation cannot be performed because the specified entity is not in the scope of the realm.

Programmer Response

Ensure that the unique name of the entity is specified correctly. If a realm name is specified in the Context object of the input object, ensure that the name is spelled correctly.

Am still digging into it - applying fixpacks and fixes like a mad thing ..........

A suitable JVM could not be found

Whilst trying to apply a WAS 6.1 fixpack, I kept seeing this error: -





despite trying various options, including: -

update.exe -is:javahome "c:\Lotus\Mashups\AppServer\java\jre"

and: -

update.exe -is:javahome "c:\WebSphere\AppServer\java\jre"

In the end, I created a log file using the command: -

update.exe -is:javahome "c:\WebSphere\AppServer\java\jre" -is:log c:\foobar.txt

This log file showed a series of messages: -

...
Searching for Sun Java 1.4.X for Windows using path hints
Check path hint Relative C:\Lotus\Mashups\AppServer\updateinstaller\.\java
Verifying JVM at C:\Lotus\Mashups\AppServer\updateinstaller\.\java\bin\java.exe
for JVM: Sun Java 1.4.X for Windows
C:\Lotus\Mashups\AppServer\updateinstaller\.\java\bin\java.exe does not exist
Check path hint Relative C:\Lotus\Mashups\AppServer\updateinstaller\.\java\jre
Verifying JVM at C:\Lotus\Mashups\AppServer\updateinstaller\.\java\jre\bin\java.exe
for JVM: Sun Java 1.4.X for Windows
C:\Lotus\Mashups\AppServer\updateinstaller\.\java\jre\bin\java.exe does not exist
Check path hint Relative C:\Lotus\Mashups\AppServer\updateinstaller\..\java
Verifying JVM at C:\Lotus\Mashups\AppServer\updateinstaller\..\java\bin\java.exe
for JVM: Sun Java 1.4.X for Windows
...

which suggested, to me, that the fixpack installation requires JVM 1.4.X whereas I'm using JVM 1.5.0.

On further reflection, I realised that I was trying to use a WAS 6.0 Update Installer to update my WAS 6.1 instance.

Can you say "Doh" ? I bet you can ....

In the meantime, I'm downloading the correct Update Installer from here.

IBM WebSphere Portal 6.1 Beta - NEW AND UPDATED

Yes, you heard it right - IBM has released a NEW and UPDATED beta for WebSphere Portal 6.1; namely 6.1.0.1, with the following features: -

• WebSphere Application Server (WAS) 7.0 (toleration level support as the underlying Application server)
• IBM DB2 9.5
• Oracle 11g R1 11.1.0.6
• Windows Active Directory 2008 (excludes Application mode),
• Firefox 3 browser
• Apple Safari 3 browser
• Opera 9.5 browser (on Vista OS)
• Windows IIS 7
• Apache HTTP Server 2.2 (for use with WAS 7 environments only)

The beta is available as a VMware image, which is rather nice :-)

There is also a new "drop" of the Rational Application Developer V7.5 beta as well.

Please see this page for details.

****UPDATED 5 OCTOBER 2008****

Having following the link for the RAD 7.5 beta here, it's now clear that RAD 7.5 was GA as of September 30, so I guess I'll have to go and download it from the normal PPA site

****UPDATED 5 OCTOBER 2008****

Lotus Widget Factory - Setting the credentials for publishing widgets to Lotus Mashups

After a long time a-looking, I found the credentials here that LWF uses to publish widgets to the Lotus Mashups server. It was driving me crazy, because I couldn't find them in the project or model, or in the workspace directory ( I even resorted to searching the file system ).

In short, choose Window -> Preferences and, under, Lotus Widget Factory Designer, choose Widgets and complete the Mashups Server username and Mashups Server password fields.

Sweet

Ooops, missed this one - WebSphere Portlet Factory Fixpack 6.1.0.1 Now Available for Download!

Check here for details.

Another useless error message ... this time from iTunesh

If the error is unknown, how the heck am I supposed to fix it ?

Useful webcast by HSBC and IBM covering Portal Solutions for Retail Banks

Retail banks are in a state of transformation all over the world, from
integrating new wireless mobile device access, and remote payment
systems, to digitizing process integration, updating credit management,
risk/exposure analysis, and Internet banking delivery. WebSphere Portal
can deliver information to the appropriate users in the proper context
to support decision making, by empowering all the people in your banking
organization including customers. Tune in to the launch of the WebSphere
Portal Banking Initiative, and learn from IBM and from customer use
cases how WebSphere Portal addresses the needs of retail banks today.

Presented by: John Armistead, Head of Core Systems, HSBC; Larry Bowden,
VP Portals and Mashups, IBM

http://www-01.ibm.com/webcasts/WCPGateway.wss?jadeAction=WEBCAST_LAUNCHPAGE_HANDLER&WCP_WEBCAST_ID_KEY=0830010
<http://www-01.ibm.com/webcasts/WCPGateway.wss?jadeAction=WEBCAST_LAUNCHPAGE_HANDLER&WCP_WEBCAST_ID_KEY=0830010>

BBC Radio 4 on Ubuntu

Since I've been using various versions of Linux over the past 6-7 years ( going back to Mandrake, Sid and Sarge way back when ), I've always struggled to listen to the BBC radio stations working reliably. I've played with Real Player and it's imitators, and usually end up spending a lot of time on Google.

However, this morning, I did the whole thing in far less time, thanks in part to James Cridland's blog here.

Whilst I didn't have a lot of success with the Real Player and Helix, given that I'm using Firefox 3.0.1. However, there was one very useful posting here: -

<snip>

Mark said at July 1st, 2008 at 8:11am

I’m not in any way a hacker so I don’t know how good this method is, but rather than installing yet another media player I’ve made files

VLC can use;I’ve uploaded the files; You can download them from http://www.tupple.net/radio/ I’ve done BBC1,2,3 and 4 and open any of them with vlc. It sometimes takes a few seconds to connect.

</snip>

I skipped to the chase and opened up VLC ( goodness, I love that little player on Windows *AND* Linux ), and opened the MMS URL for Radio 4: -

mms://wmlive-acl.bbc.co.uk/wms/radio4/radio4_nb_e1s2?BBC-UID=74a7c929ba1d1db781e46027205005eb90d10a7f1040912444dfe8117ceae58f_n&SSO2-UID=  

Not sure who Tupple is but .... thanks !

I've now gone really librarian poo, and created a link to VLC with the above URL ( and have even added the BBC Radio 4 logo to boot ).

Hey, I'm happy ( and drinking coffee ) - what else can I say ?

Cracked ? Suspend/Resume on Thinkpad T60p using Ubuntu "Hardy Heron" 8.04

I *think* I've cracked it - having rebuilt my T60p ( 2007-AE7 ) a few weeks back, I wasn't able to get suspend / resume to work. To be more specific, suspend works OK, but the laptop wouldn't properly resume - blinkenlights etc. but nowt on the display.

After some Googling, I made a few changes to /etc/default/acpi-support - from: -

POST_VIDEO=true
# RADEON_LIGHT=true
# DOUBLE_CONSOLE_SWITCH=true
ENABLE_LAPTOP_MODE=false

to: -

POST_VIDEO=false
RADEON_LIGHT=true
DOUBLE_CONSOLE_SWITCH=true
ENABLE_LAPTOP_MODE=true

Of all the changes, the DOUBLE_CONSOLE_SWITCH one appeared to do the trick, but it may well be a combination of all four.

When I suspend, I use the [FN][F4] combination, rather than that the Gnome Log Out button.

I'll keep playing and see how consistent the "fix" is......

Nokia 6021, PC Sync and Notes 8.5

Not sure if I mentioned this before, but this helped me in my search to get Nokia PC Sync working with Notes 8.5 beta 2: -

Force PC Suite to use specific notes.ini

In essence, I created a new registry key called notesini under [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Nokia\PCSync\Settings] pointing PC Sync at NOTES.INI as follows: -

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Nokia\PCSync\Settings]
"LastApp"=dword:00000010
"notesini"="c:\\Lotus\\Notes\\notes.ini"

How's about this for a name - IBM WebSphere Portal Widget Portlet

"...IBM WebSphere Portal Widget Portlet provides customizable,
personalized, and managed access to widgets that are compliant with the
iWidget Specification, thus extending the existing capabilities of
WebSphere Portal to provide flexible integration with web components,
independent of their technology. With the IBM WebSphere Portal Widget
Portlet, users can leverage widgets on their portal pages side by side
with portlets, Gadgets or other web components, enabling the creation of
portal-based mashups tailored to the situational requirements of an
enterprise.

Using IBM Websphere Portal Widget Portlet, an end user can view a
predefined widget, modify its preferences in the widget's edit mode, or
even select a widget from the Lotus Mashups toolbox, the IBM Mashup
Center catalog, or any other widget providing server for display on a
portal page. The user's level of flexibility can be controlled by an
Administrator who can configure the portlet to suit the user's
requirements and also manage the access to the widgets by using
WebSphere Portal's fine grained access control.

IBM WebSphere Portal Widget Portlet Editor (part of the package) can be
used by Administrators to conveniently provide a set of predefined
widgets to the portal users. Administrators can control access and
permissions for widgets in portal. Based on their level of permissions,
users can drag and drop these widgets from the portlet palette to their
portal pages like any other portlet..."

http://www-01.ibm.com/software/brandcatalog/portal/portal/details?catalog.label=1WP1001PI

I have yet to download the portlet, but am advised that there should be
two WAR files within the downloadable ZIP file; one WAR is for WebSphere
Portal 6.0 ( and uses the Java Standard Portlet API 1.0 aka JSR 168 ),
the other WAR is for WebSphere Portal 6.1 ( and uses the Java Standard
Portlet API 2.0 aka JSR 286 )

More error message funnery

Following on from my last posting ( courtesy of Mr James S ), here's another one

I've seen this three or four times when I try and send an email.

This has started appearing since I got  PCSync working with Notes 8.5 - not sure if that's a coincidence or not. I've run NCOMPACT and NFIXUP on my mail file, and we'll see if it recurs.

Synchronising my Nokia 6021 with Lotus Notes 8.5 beta 2

Well, as I posted previously, I'm back to my trusty old Nokia 6021, having (sadly) given up on the BlackBerry 7130v - nice PDA, not-so-nice mobile telephone.

I really need to have my Notes contacts and calendar available to me on my phone, as I'm on the road a lot, and cannot always afford the time to power up the Thinkpad.

Therefore, I re-visited the Nokia PC Suite again - this time I downloaded v7.0.8.2: -



and installed it on my Windows XP partition ( note to self; find Linux alternative )

Having hooked it up to my phone and to my Notes mail file ( local replica ) and address book, I dived in for a sync.

Hmmmm, the first issue that I saw was that it wouldn't sync with my mailfile whilst Notes was open: -



showing the message: -

"This database is currently in use by another person or process, and cannot be accessed at this time"

Now I recognise that as a Lotus Notes error, but am 100% sure that I've done this before. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

The simplest solution was "merely" to shut down Notes, and carry on.

However, things didn't proceed nicely; I then started seeing "PC Sync has encountered a problem and has terminated the synchronisation" as it read through my Notes calendar. I proved this by successfully synchronising my contacts in isolation.

I faffed around for a while ( even returned to a previous solution I'd used before by deleting C:\Documents and Settings\hayd\Application Data\Nokia\PCSync\SynchData ) but to no avail.

In the end, I found the solution/circumvention - syncronise the calendar and contacts separately; it seems that PCSync "chokes" with too much data if you try and do both at the same time.

Hey, it's not elegant but c'est la vie ....

WebSphere User Group

In Edinburgh today ( after a long but pleasant drive up yesterday ) for the WebSphere User Group meeting.

Sitting in the hotel atm dosing up on coffee before I head out into the rain. Briefly met some colleagues/partners for a drink last night, but wimped out after a few beers, as my bed was calling me.

Should be a good day today - a lot of good speakers, IBMers and real people :-)

Although I'm a portal guy ( and, therefore, kinda bonded to Lotus ), there's a lot of overlap; WebSphere Portal is a WebSphere-based product within the Lotus Brand; it runs on WebSphere Application Server and, therefore, aspects such as performance, security, web services support etc. are relevant. In addition, Mashups are coming around the corner as tactical/prototyping tools, so there's an obvious WebSphere link there also ( along with other bits of IBM software ).

In addtion, it's a good learning opportunity, and a chance to meet/greet people ( and, as importantly, enjoy a stroll around one of my favourite cities ).

Right, one more slurp and I need to hit the street ....

Mashups and Portals

Just starting to get my head around this whole new world of mashups,
widgets, iWidgets etc. in the context of my first(ish) love, portals.

Will post more when I get it totally sorted, but it's looking good so far.

The one thing that I did prove this weekend is that Lotus Widget Factory
can produce widgets, which can be exported as .MODEL files directly into
WebSphere Portlet Factory. Think of LWF as a sub-set of the WPF
capabilities.Once imported, it's a simple matter of removing/disabling
the Widget Adapter and replacing it with a Portlet Adapter.

The other thing that I'd learnt ( at the Lotus TechJam ) is that I can
produce a mashup using Lotus Mashups - think of this as a simple(ish)
way to integrate data from various sources, perform a certain amount of
normalization, parse data into the right formats and then expose the
mashup as an ATOM feed .... which I can then consume using Lotus Widget
Factory or, in theory, using WebSphere Portlet Factory's REST Services
builder.

As I say, these are interesting but exciting times ..... watch this space.

Another fine example of an error message ....

with thanks to James S for providing this most excellent illustration of
Notes at its most literal ....

Gartner Portals, Content and Collaboration Summit 2008

Attending the PCC conference with the team - looking good thus far. More
to follow ....

Busy, Busy, Busy

Well, I haven't been blogging much recently as I've been zooming around
the country; Leeds on Thursday, Edinburgh on Friday, Aberdeen on
Saturday, home on Sunday, Devizes on Monday. Off to London tomorrow ......

Had some great client experiences in the past few days, and have learnt
shed-loads as always.

More stuff to follow ........

Upgrading Lotus Quickr Services for Lotus Domino 8.1 to Hotfix 19

Well, I went through this three times before I got it working. Mainly it's because I'm a Londoner a muppet, but I was getting very confused.

In the end, I went with: -

1. Install Lotus Domino 8.0.1
2. Start the server to perform the initial configuration, allocate an administrative user ( domadmin ), load the HTTP task etc.
3. Stop the server
4. Install Lotus Quickr Services for Lotus Domino 8.1 ( I opted to use the same user ID - domadmin - and password for the Quickr installation, even though my first act would be to configure it to use Domino Directory )
   
5. Start the server
6. Open a browser to the default Quickr home page: -
   
   http://hostname.domain.com/LotusQuickr/lotusquickr/main.nsf
   
   
7. Log in using the domadmin user ID and password
8. Configure Quickr to use Domino Directory
9. Log out
   
10. Stop the server
11. Copy 8.1-Quickr-Domino-HF19-ENGLISH.jar to C:\Lotus\Domino\jvm\lib\ext
12. Add C:\Lotus\Domino to the Windows system path
13. Execute the JAR file and point it at the notes.ini file in C:\Lotus\Domino
14. Once installed, start the server
15. Unlock and upgrade the Quickr databases: -
    
    load qptool unlock –a
    load qptool upgrade -f –server
    load qptool upgrade -f –a
    
    
16. Job done
    

When I start the HTTP task, I can see that Hotfix 19 is applied: -









as well as in the page source: -

Using the Lotus Quickr sidebar in Lotus Notes 8.5 beta 2

Well, this one passed me by, until I installed the Notes 8.5 beta 2 code on a Windows XP machine and thought "Hey, where's the Quickr sidebar gone?". I fiddled and faffed around deinstalling/installing the Quickr Connectors ( qkrconn.exe ) but to no avail. I was just about to give up and go back to 8.0.2, when I found this on Stu's blog : -

---

As many of you will be aware, the public beta for Notes/Domino 8.5 kicked off last month, and many of us will be running Notes 8.5 as our main clients from now on (yes I know, it's beta code...).

One of the downsides of doing just that is that the Quickr connectors were not supported in this new client release.  However, as part of Quickr/Domino Hot Fix 11, there is a new version of the connectors that slots into the 8.5 beta client.

Just head over to IBM Fix Central to grab the download.

---

Stu acknowledges Bram Withaar for the tip, and I'm acknowledging Stu for helping me find Bram which helped me find the hotfix .................... did I also mention that I found Stu via Matt Newton's internal blog post ??

WebSphere Application Server Admin Console

Note to self - if running the server1 instance of WAS 6.1, the admin.
console can be accessed via: -

https://hostname.domainname.com:10003/ibm/console

whereas the HTTP servlet container can be accessed via: -

http://hostname.domainname.com:10000/servlet/SnoopServlet

Nice !

WUG 2008 - Will You Be There ?

'cos I will.

For further information, go here and check out the agenda.

IBM Lotus Notes/Domino 8.5 Beta 2

Please see here: -

http://www-10.lotus.com/ldd/nd85forum.nsf/DateAllThreadedWeb/2af77f70817fab8d852574b40061d30f?OpenDocument

for the full details, and here: -

https://www14.software.ibm.com/webapp/iwm/web/preLogin.do?lang=en_US&source=swg-lnd85
<https://www14.software.ibm.com/webapp/iwm/web/preLogin.do?lang=en_US&source=swg-lnd85>

for the download code, and here: -

http://www-10.lotus.com/ldd/nd85forum.nsf/7756aedc25e6d81285256324005ac76c/7141eeb6eeaf482c852574b40064e1fb?OpenDocument

for details of the release notes.

Lotus Notes 8.5 beta 2

According to Ed, here it comes ...............

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Mythbuntu

This weeks, I spent a few hours with one of our friends, and had a chance to play with his new Sony Vaio Media Centre ( looks like a great big white hat box - if you're old like me - or a great big white chocolate box - if you're optimistic ). This is a Windows Media Centre device, that runs Vista, and allows him to store/play audio and media files.

He's not yet got around to hooking it up to live TV, and is considering a Freesat adapter as his next purchase. He's already added a USB/SATA docking station, which allows him to simply plug in new SATA drives without a huge amount of reconfiguration - he paid about £50 for ~500 GB, which is pretty neat.

So what's this got to do with Mythbuntu ?

Well, I decided to have another dabble with PC/TV combinations, having bought a Hauppauge WinTV Nova-T USB 2.0 nadger last year ( and not really got into it in a big way ). Not wanting to invest much money at this time ( credit has crunched ), I decided to use my 4-year-old AMD Athlon64 monster ( transparent case, lights, fans, 4 GB RAM etc. called ORAC ).

I'd also tried ( and failed ) to get MythTV working on SuSE 9 last year, but had come across Mythbuntu on a random wander across the 'net.

I went here and downloaded Mythbuntu 8.04.1 ( which, quelle surprise, is based upon Ubuntu 8.0.4 "Hardy Heron" ) as a ~500 MB ISO image, cut it to CD, and installed it onto ORAC with little or no configuration.

Having done this, I fired it up, plugged in the Nova-T and ...... nowt.

Sadly, I had to do a little more configuration. Happily, I didn't need to recompile my kernel or use VI ( like Marmite, it's a love/hate thing ) to manipulate a whole bunch of shell scripts and CONF files.

This page on the MythTV wiki helped a lot.

In essence, I opened a console, cleared the message log ( sudo dmesg -c ) and then plugged in the Nova-T. When I checked the message log ( sudo dmesg ), I saw a series of messages which indicated that I was missing a firmware file for the device.

I needed to download a firmware file ( dvb-usb-nova-t-usb2-02.fw ), and finally found it here, thanks to Google. I placed this in the /lib/firmware directory, and unplugged/plugged the Nova-T. This time, sudo dmesg showed me that the device was now working.

I had to do some fiddling around with the MythTV back-end configuration, and will post more details about.

However, at the moment, I can watch live TV via Freeview without any major problems - I get a good picture, and can receive all of the Freeview channels. I've also recorded a few snippets of TV ( some inadvertently ) and seem to be able to record one channel whilst watching another ( which is nice ).

PS I didn't use this but it looks quite good.

Lotus Notes 8.0.2 - Looking Good, Coming Soon

Lotus Notes 8.0.2 offers the following: -

• Significant improvements in launch time, both from a first launch and a subsequent launch
• Changes to the start-up sequence (which contributes to the above)
• Reduction in the overall memory footprint (please note, this does not change our recommended system requirements) -> Lotus Notes 8.0.2 - Detailed system requirements
• Inclusion of Office 2007 file viewers
• iNotes Ultralite - browser-based e-mail specifically designed for the Apple iPhone interface and accessed thru the iPhone or iPod touch's Safari browser
• Performance improvements for Domino running on IBM System i

Also... Lotus Notes 8.5 beta 2 is expected before the end of August - not only does this offer some great new client features and server capabilities, but I'm also seeing a reduction in the memory usage compared to 8.0.1 (and that's with an unofficial daily build).

Searching with Domino Web Access 8.0.1

Initially, I wondered where the Search bar was in Domino Web Access ( Full or Lite ).

Then I realized that I needed to set the Enable full-text indexing for searching flag in my mail file preferences: -














Once done, here's the search bar: -












Nice :-)

QS4LD Hotfix 19 - Lessons Learnt

In short, RTFM or, to be more specific, RTFR ( Read The Flippin' Readme ).

Having downloaded HF19 as a JAR file, I did the usual (l)user thing of simply double-clicking on the JAR; saw a nice GUI but not much more.

In the end, I actually read the readme and realized that: -

(a) I hadn't copied the JAR to \Lotus\Domino\jvm\lib\ext
(b) I hadn't added \Lotus\Domino to my system path

Once I did both these things, I was able to double-click on the JAR and perform the installation which, after a couple of minutes, ended successfully with: -








PS The thing that finally triggered me actually reading the readme was the error: -

java.lang.NullPointerException
at java.lang.String.contains(Unknown Source)
at NamesFinder.runNotes(NamesFinder.java:83)
at lotus.domino.NotesThread.run(Unknown Source)
at FileMover.backUpSystemFiles(FileMover.java:209)
at FileMover.startMove(FileMover.java:48)
at Chooser.<init>(Chooser.java:115)
at ThreadLabel.main(ThreadLabel.java:122)

in \Lotus\Domino\HF19Backup\error.log.

Plugging someone else's stuff for a chance - KeyText - does what it says on the ...... website

Save time by using KeyText to automate typing and other repetitive tasks on your computer. KeyText is a useful keyboard macro and Windows automation program. It's bloomin' useful, and has made my life much much easier over the past few years. Sadly, it's only available on Windows, which is a shame, given that I'm spending more and more of my time in Linux but ..... c'est la vie.

If you need it, buy it here.

PS Did I mention that the authors, MJMSoft, are based in not-so-sunny-when-I-flew-in-this-AM Edinburgh ? Well, I just did ...

Open Mic Call - Using Lotus Quickr Connectors in Lotus Quickr Services for Lotus Domino ( or, as I call it, LQS4LD or QS4LD )

IBM Support will host an Open Mic conference call with Lotus Development and Support Engineers on the topic of using the Lotus® Quickr™ Connectors with Lotus Quickr services for Lotus Domino® on 27 August 2008.
 
The Open Mic call will be held on Wednesday, August 27, 2008, at 10:00 a.m. EDT (2:00 p.m. GMT). The call will last 60 minutes. Please dial into the call 5 minutes before the scheduled start.

This conference call is designed to be an open question and answer format, so bring your questions. There will be no formal presentation.

More details here ... with more about the Open Mics (!) calls here.

Domino Web Access ( aka iNotes ), Sametime Standard and Firefox together

I set up a combined Domino/Sametime demo today, and was wondering why IM/PA did not work within Firefox when it worked perfectly in Internet Explorer. Thanks to my friends at IBM, I found the answer here: -

Enable the Domino Web Access Contact List client for Mozilla Firefox

http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/domhelp/v8r0/index.jsp?topic=/com.ibm.help.domino.admin.doc/DOC/H_SETTING_UP_SAMETIME_FOE_INOTES_WEB_ACCESS_OVER.html

Simply put, I needed to add the line: -

iNotes_WA_DisableFirefoxAwareness=0

to NOTES.INI and restart the Domino server.

Once done, all works like a dream.

Nice :-)

PS Am using Domino 8.0.1, Sametime 8.0 and Notes 8.0.1 on WinXP

Unread email indicator in a WebSphere Portal Theme

Potentially, a useful feature that I know at least one of my customers has been waiting for ..... here's a document from my colleague, Vince Perrin, that describes how to show an unread email indicator within the WebSphere Portal theme.

WebSphere Portal Theme Development with a focus on REST services Webcast - 4 September 2008

IBM Support is hosting a Tech Exchange webcast and call on the topic of WebSphere Portal Theme Development with a focus on REST services. This presentation will take place on Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 10:00 AM US EDT (2:00:00 PM GMT). Open Mic calls are Question & Answer focused sessions with a panel of subject matter experts covering your questions without going thru a slide presentation. Webcasts are slide presentations by a single presenter followed by Questions & Answers related to the material covered, as time permits.

See here for details.

DWA Lite on the Greenhouse - Lookin' Good

Lotus TechJam II - The Agenda - Tuesday 2 September 2008 @ IBM Staines

The event will cover the following topics, and will be delivered by a
team of Lotus technical experts from the UK and Europe.


- General Lotus Update - the technical vision

- Websphere Portal - a view from the Boeblingen Labs

- Mainsoft - Lotus and Microsoft SharePoint Coexistence

- Lotus Connections - Under the hood

- UC2 Demo - linking Sametime with VoIP

- Mashups - what the heck is it? How can it help me?

Here's the invitation

DB2 tuning for WCM JCR v6 database

Some good advice and guidance here from one of our French colleagues, Enguerrand Spindler, including some useful links to WCM performance documents on the IBM website.

Nice !

What's Coming in Lotus Notes and Domino 8.5

Saw this on Ed's blog and thought, hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, that looks like something my customers can read .....

IBM's gone wiki-d - Welcome to the WebSphere Portal family wiki

Welcome to the wiki where you can find and contribute information about installing, administering, and using IBM WebSphere Portal and all the offerings in the WebSphere Portal Family such as WebSphere Portal Enable, WebSphere Portal Extend, WebSphere Portal Express, Lotus Web Content Management, and IBM Accelerators for WebSphere Portal.

Want to see more ? Well, go here.

Interim Fixes for WebSphere Portal 6.1

    Fix name:     6.1.0.0-WP-Multi-IFPK68671
    Abstract:     For Fixing Incomplete/partial policy value sets in case path is not found in cache

    Fix name:     6.1.0.0-WP-Multi-IFPK67104
    Abstract:     Authentication problems

    Fix name:     6.1.0.0-WP-Multi-IFPK68184
    Abstract:     Theme Policy Tracing needs improvement


All available from Fix Central.

Agenda for Lotus TechJam is confirmed (ish)

• General Lotus Updates e.g. Notes 8.0.2 and 8.5, Symphony, OSX, Linux, iPod / iPhone and DWA ( iNotes )
  
• WebSphere Portal - from the labs
• Mainsoft - from Microsoft to Lotus
• Lotus Sametime and Telephony Integration
• Connections - from the labs
• Lotus Mashups and Composite Applications

More to follow .....

Cumulative Fix for IBM Lotus Web Content Management 6.1 is here ....

Thanks to Stu and others for sharing this.

IBM has released a cumulative fix ( aka iFix or PK68139) for WCM 6.1,
which fixes a number of issues around syndication, migration and
versioning. It also wraps up a number of existing WCM APARs ( Authorized
Program Analysis Report, in case you were wondering.

It can be downloaded from Fix Central here: -

http://www.ibm.com/eserver/support/fixes/fixcentral/swg/quickorder?fixes=6.1.0.0-WCM-PK68139

Enjoy !

Bundles of fun with VMware Workstation

My beta of VMware Workstation 6.5 ( e.x.p build-91182 ) ran out a few
days ago, meaning that I needed to go back to VMware.com and download a
more recent version. During the process, I pulled down a so-called bundle: -

-rw-r--r-- 1 hayd hayd 345935635 2008-08-01 07:42
VMware-Workstation-e.x.p-99530.i386.bundle

This left me thinking "Hmm, how do I install this puppy as it's not a
normal executable file".

It actually proved to be a pretty painless process - it turns out that
the bundle is actually packaged with its own installation script, so I
"merely" needed to run: -

$ sudo sh VMware-Workstation-e.x.p-99530.i386.bundle

as per: -

http://communities.vmware.com/click.jspa?searchID=-1&objectType=2&objectID=979277

etc.

Hardy does Java

Downloaded a copy of WebSphere Application Server Community Edition ( aka WASCE ) the other day as I continue to play with WebSphere Portlet Factory on Ubuntu.

The

However, I found two very useful documents that helped me with the installation: -

WebSphere Application Server Community Edition Documentation Project - Installing a server

http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/wasce/V1.1.0/en/Tasks/Install/Installing.html#Linux_install_from_wasce_setup-version-unix_bin

IBM - Ubuntu-specific installation instructions for WebSphere Application Server Community Edition

http://www-1.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?rs=2359&uid=swg27009332

For me, the trick was to download the full-fat version of WASCE which includes the IBM Java2 SDK: -

http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/wasce/V1.1.0/en/Tasks/Install/Installing.html#Linux_install_from_wasce_ibm150sdk_setup-version-ia32linux_tar

and then convert it using Alien: -

$ sudo alien ibm-java2-i386-sdk-5.0-2.0.i386.rpm

and then install it using Dpkg: -

$ sudo dpkg -i ibm-java2-i386-sdk_5.0-3_i386.deb

Job done.

TGiF

Thankfully, have now reached the end of the week, having traveled many many miles, from southern England to northern Scotland, via Glasgow, Dundee and Edinburgh.

Spent most of the week talking about, and showing, WebSphere Portal ( 6.0 and 6.1 ) and also WebSphere Portlet Factory 6.1. Learnt a few lessons ( using WPF eventing to have one portlet trigger a SQL query/report in another portlet using a drop-down selection box ).

Just downloading an updated VMware Workstation 6.5 beta, as the license key on the earlier beta had expired :-(

Am also going to look at VirtualBox as time allows .........

Ah well, carpe diem, tempus fugit, drinkus coffeeus .............. next problem - how do I get from my hotel to Starbucks in the rain without a jacket or an umbrella ......

BlackBerry 7130v - The Lurv Is Gone

Well, I've tried and tried again ( as per my Mother's recommendations )
but I cannot love the 7130v. After two months of persistence, tears and
a H*U*G*E volume of dropped calls and simple fade-out, I've reverted
back to my trusty Nokia 6021.

Switching the Vodafone SIM to the Nokia was pain-free, and I was able to
participate in an hour-long conference call with no dropped connection;
the call quality did fade at one point but I simply walked from one side
of the house to the other ( interestingly switching telephone STD codes
during the process ).

Will need to download and re-discover the joys of the Nokia sync.
process with Lotus Notes, but c'est la vie.

Sorry, BlackBerry, I did try - perhaps another phone would've done it
for me, but the affair is over.

:-(

Problems with Windows Update - SORTED

During the final shake-down of a "reconditioned as new" PC at the weekend, I was very frustrated to find that Windows Update refused to, er, Update Windows. I got no obvious error message; it would list the fixes, and then simply fail to install them.

As always, Google had the answer, Google is my friend. I dug around and found this: -

http://forums.microsoft.com/TechNet/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=3308206&SiteID=17

In essence, after installing Service Pack 3, there seems to be a problem with the module C:\Windows\System32\Wups2.dll.

It's necessary to re-associate this module with C:\Windows\System32\Regsvr32.

Once done, Windows Update runs without problems.

Now isn't it nice when stuff (almost) works.

Ding Ding, Round 2 - Lotus TechJam! - Tuesday 2 September 2008 @ IBM Staines

Building on the success of the first event, the IBM Lotus techies are running another LTJ event in September. The agenda is being polished up, but it'll be similar to this: -

This will be a technical session, aimed at technical people or, in the words of the invitation, those who are: -

    * Nuts about Notes
    * Salivating about Sametime
    * Quackers about Quickr
    * Potty about Portal
    * Confident about Composite Applications
    * Excited by Expeditor
    * Caught by Connections

      or simply Wowed by Widgets

Interested ?

Let me know :-)

Installing WebSphere Portlet Factory on Linux - in pictures

here

WebSphere Portlet Factory on Linux ........... wooo, my life just got a whole lot better

As per my earlier posts, I'm in the transition phase from Windows to Ubuntu Linux. One of the final challenges was that I had to boot into Windows in order to use WebSphere Portlet Factory Designer.

Well, one more obstacle has been removed with the recent release of WebSphere Portlet Factory 6.1.

It's worth noting that IBM does not formally support WebSphere Portlet Factory on Ubuntu - the two supported Linux platforms are: -

• SUSE Linux Enterprise SLED 10
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux release 5.1

as per the Announcement Letter here.

In my particular case, I'm using WebSphere Dashboard Framework (WDF), which extends WebSphere Portlet Factory (WPF) with a set of dashboarding capabilities, including my favourite - the Summary and Drilldown builder.

I went to the software catalogue, and searched for WebSphere Dashboard Framework. This returned: -

IBM WebSphere Dashboard Framework 6.1 Multiplatform Multilingual eAssembly (CR5PMML)

which contained: -

IBM WebSphere Dashboard Framework 6.1 Multiplatform Multilingual (C13T6ML)
   
Size     477mb
Date posted     30-Jun-2008
       
IBM WebSphere Dashboard Framework 6.1 Linux Installer Multilingual (C1J1FML)

Size     197mb
Date posted     03-Jul-2008

and downloaded the latter as C1J1FML.zip.

It's worth noting that the Linux version is way smaller than its Windows counterpart, because IBM does not package Eclipse or WebSphere Application Server Community Edition with the Linux download.

Therefore, I needed to download and install Eclipse 3.3.2 before proceeding.

I made a few mistakes here; I used Synaptic Package Manager which installed a slimmed down version of Eclipse, which didn't include the necessary Java development tools.

In the end, I downloaded: -

eclipse-jee-europa-winter-linux-gtk.tar.gz

from here: -

http://www.eclipse.org/downloads/download.php?file=/technology/epp/downloads/release/europa/winter/eclipse-jee-europa-winter-linux-gtk.tar.gz&url=ftp://ftp.mirrorservice.org/sites/download.eclipse.org/eclipseMirror/technology/epp/downloads/release/europa/winter/eclipse-jee-europa-winter-linux-gtk.tar.gz&mirror_id=96

I then extracted Eclipse into /opt/eclipse: -

mkdir /opt/eclipse
cd /opt/eclipse
tar -xvzf eclipse-jee-europa-winter-linux-gtk.tar.gz

Once this was done, I extracted the WDF ZIP file into /tmp to find two files: -

WDF.bin
installer.properties

The .bin file should be an executable file - in my case, ls -al WDF.bin returns: -

-rw-r--r-- 1 hayd hayd 219263608 2008-06-22 22:59 WDF.bin

which meant that I had to change the file attributes to make it so: -

chmod +x WDF.bin

ls -al WDF.bin

-rwxr-xr-x 1 hayd hayd 219263608 2008-06-22 22:59 WDF.bin

before I could execute it: -

sudo ./WDF.bin

Preparing to install...
Extracting the JRE from the installer archive...
Unpacking the JRE...
Extracting the installation resources from the installer archive...
Configuring the installer for this system's environment...

Launching installer...

The GUI installer is pretty simple, and merely asks for two locations; one for WPF ( /opt/IBM/WebSpherePortletFactory ) and one for Eclipse ( /opt/eclipse ).

I've taken screenshots of these, and will upload them when I get some time.

Having completed the installation, I was able to use WPF/WDF to create a project, model etc.

My next challenge is to install WAS CE or similar as a J2EE runtime/test environment.

More to follow ...........