FP1 for Domino and Lotus Notes V14 just released!
I continue to be surprised at how prolific HCL is in code generation. It’s been only 4 months and they already released FP1 for Notes/Domino V14.0. 4/15/2024. You can find it easily at the new download website:
https://my.hcltechsw.com/downloads/domino
And if you want to know what’s in FP1, look here:
https://help.hcltechsw.com/domino/14.0.0/admin/wn_140FP1.html
And the complete release notes are here:
https://support.hcltechsw.com/csm?id=kb_article&sysparm_article=KB0112431
And a reminder that you can find these and all the most important links in my page of
All Essential Lotus Links.
The Power of the Pause: The Secret Sauce of Great Public Speaking
This presentation is all about a crucial tool in public speaking that is missing from Toastmasters:
The Pause.
In this presentation, I demonstrate the importance of pauses in everything from telling a joke to playing music. You may find it helpful to first download the Pause Counter form with the explanation of pause types so you have it to follow along while listening. http://bit.ly/pausecounterform
Pauses are found in many places. A long distance swimmer pauses between strokes to go further faster. In music, there may be many notes played at one time, but when a rest note is played, it stands alone. Driving in traffic, a stop sign creates a pause to add safety. When you look for them, you can find pauses everywhere in our world. Pauses are the natural substitute for that infamous Toastmaster Taboo: the filler word. Elimination of filler words is a good goal, but Toastmasters has put the focus on the problem, not the solution. What if, instead of focusing on what to avoid — the filler words — we focus on what we want in their place — pauses? If you focus on adding pauses, the filler words will naturally disappear.
Not all pauses are created equal. There are many different types of pauses which I have been able to separate into 2 categories: Incidental and Intentional.
Incidental pauses are those that come naturally and are used in conversational speech. They generally give the speaker a chance to breathe or to think. They are usually dictated by punctuation, such as commas, semicolons, periods, question marks. Incidental pauses are also used as a replacement for a filler word – or rather, a filler word is often used where a pause belongs. This is “the silent filler.” These pauses are essential to being clearly understood and a basic part of speaking. The Ah-counter in Toastmasters is essentially focused on these, but instead of listening for pauses, they are listening for when pauses are replaced with filler words.
Intentional pauses make up the second category of pauses. These are the pauses that serve a greater purpose than just giving the speaker time to breathe or think. These pauses add seasoning and spice to your words. Most people go through their day never using these pauses. But if you listen carefully, you will find that the most interesting people tend to use many of these pauses as a staple part of their vocabulary.
Types of Intentional Pauses
Here is a breakdown of the different types of intentional pauses that I have identified so far. I’m sure as you study and observe, you will come up with more of your own, either nuanced differences from these or entirely new styles of pauses. If you have an idea, post it in a comment.
Pre-emptive Pause: Pause before starting to speak. This allows the speaker to gather their thoughts as
well as draw in the attention of the audience. A powerful start to any speech. Extend this pause for 5 or more seconds to build anticipation in your audience. Remember in Toastmasters, the timer doesn’t start until you start talking.
Punchline Pause: Humor has more impact when a pause is made before delivering the punchline. Watch a few standup comedians online to see how they use pauses. A wonderful example can be found in this performance by Stomp entertainment group. Their silence is palpable and the pause itself even becomes the punchline.
Audience Pause: Also known as Laugh Pause and Applause Pause. This is used to give the audience
time to react. Generally, the larger the audience, the longer the Pause. Do not step on their reaction or
cut it short. Like popping popcorn – It’s not done until it slows down enough, but don’t overcook it.
Thoughtful Pause: Allows the audience time to digest what was just said. In storytelling, it allows them
time to use their imagination; in technical talks, it allows them time to understand.
Emphatic Pause: Used to add emphasis to what precedes or follows the pause.
Indefinite Pause: When Finished speaking or when waiting for the listener to respond. Do not speak again until the listener responds. It is very important to not give in and speak first if the audience doesn’t respond as quickly as you expect. Get comfortable with this one so you can let it get uncomfortable for the listener. This is especially useful in negotiations. This specific usage is described in the book “Never Split the Difference” by Chris Voss.
Here are a few more resources that I mentioned in my video presentation above. These are 3 winners of the International Speech Contest, so they should be a great way to practice counting the various pauses. Even among winning speeches, I think you will find a direct correlation between the number and length of the pauses and the perception of the speech. You can do this with any speech. For comparisons, try to use speeches of similar lengths. That is where contest speeches are handy. They are all 5-7 minutes. Also be aware that speeches given to an online-only audience won’t have any audience pauses. Those only occur with a live audience in the room. This is why talk shows are “filmed before a live studio audience” and why sitcoms have laugh tracks. This is also why I am a strong advocate for practicing your speaking before a live audience. If all you do is speak to a camera, you are missing out on the most important part of Public Speaking: the audience.
You might also check out the second video on my 2019 blog post showcasing the Stomp acting group video demonstrating pauses.
In fact, pauses can be treated as words in your vocabulary. The more types of pauses you learn, the more fluent your vocabulary will become. Shift the focus from what to avoid — filler words — to what you want to include — pauses — and watch how quickly your public speaking improves.
Call To Action:
– Share this with your Toastmasters club and friends.
– Create a Pause Counter meeting role for your club meetings.
– This is just getting started. Add your suggestions for growing Pauses in the comments below.
You might enjoy these related blog posts:
Video: Stomp performers are masters of body language and pauses
Video: 20 Things You Forgot About Giving Speeches in Person
Video: Worst (and Best) Practices for Giving Speeches Online
The Power of the Paws, inspired by and in memory of Freddy the Bassett.
Deep Dive Video of (Lotus) HCL Domino V14
Watch this Deep Dive of Domino V14 video hosted by the Product Managers.
While you’re at it, you might click the link on the video to open it in YouTube and then subscribe to their channel. Also, don’t miss these upcoming sessions. Click on the image below to visit the calendar and registration page.
HCL Domino /(Lotus Notes) V14.0 is now available!
Ahead of schedule, HCL has released V14.0 of HCL Domino and HCL Notes (Lotus Notes as most of us still like to call it). Numerous major new features, like the new auto-update for the software. Find a detailed list of what’s new here: https://help.hcltechsw.com/domino/14.0.0/admin/wn_140.html
You can also watch the official release event (which covers a lot more) here: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/3240097374153477467
If you dislike flexnet as much as most people, you can download the software at the very user-friendly site: https://my.hcltechsw.com/downloads/domino/domino
As you plan to upgrade your Notes clients to V14, keep in mind that there is no 32 bit version of V14, so unless you are already running 64 bit V12.x, you will need to uninstall the software before installing V14. If you’re using Panagenda’s MarvelClient for handling your upgrades, that will also take care of it.
All Essential Links for Everything Notes/Domino in One Place
Here is a collection of links to everything you could possibly want for Domino and HCL Notes (#LotusNotes)
I have many more links to add, so consider this a starting point and bookmark this one page for reference and return to it often.
Use this shortened URL that is easy to remember:
If you know of a link that I should add to this list, please post it in the comments and I will get it added.
If you find a link is broken, also let me know what the new link is or if it should be removed.
HCL websites
NEW!!! HCL Software Downloads Homepage: https://my.hcltechsw.com/
HCL Ambassador Program: https://www.hcltechsw.com/about/hcl-ambassadors
SoFy HCL and 3rd party software store and test drive sandbox https://hclsofy.com/
HCL Business Partner Registration: https://registration.hclpartnerconnect.com/general.nsf/welcome?open&login=1
HCL Business Partner Portal: https://www.hcltechsw.com/resources/partner-connect
HCL Idea Portal: https://domino-ideas.hcltechsw.com/ideas
HCL Customer Service- knowledgebase, documentation, forums, support tickets: https://support.hcltechsw.com/csm?id=csm_index
Your HCL Portal for personalized links: https://id.hcltechsw.com/app/UserHome
HCL Software downloads: https://hclsoftware.flexnetoperations.com/flexnet/operationsportal/startPage.do
HCL Domino Beta Program: https://registration.hclpartnerconnect.com/D11Beta
HCL Domino Volt Beta Program: https://help.hcltechsw.com/domino_volt/beta/welcome.html
HCL Domino Leap Complete Resources: https://hclwiki.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/HDV/overview
HCLSoftware U: (the new academy) https://hclsoftwareu.hcltechsw.com/
HCL Software Blog: https://blog.hcltechsw.com/
HCL Sandboxes for Leap, Sametime, and Nomad Web: https://start.myhclsandbox.com/
HCL Notes/Domino Release Fixlist per release: https://ds-infolib.hcltechsw.com/ldd/fixlist.nsf
HCL Notes/Domno Release Schedule: https://ds_infolib.hcltechsw.com/ldd/fixlist.nsf/Progress?OpenView
HCL Open Source Repositories: https://opensource.hcltechsw.com/domino
HCL public Sametime Community: PENDING
HCL public Connections Community: PENDING
HCL Notes.net Domino Server for Notes client connections to resources: PENDING
Other resources
Planet Lotus Blog aggregator: https://planetlotus.org/
OpenNTF: https://www.openntf.org
Collaboration Today: https://collaborationtoday.info/
3rd Party Software (Please tell them David Hablewitz sent you):
Crossware: https://crossware365.com/hcl-domino-email-signatures/
RPR Wyatt Vital Signs: https://rprwyatt.com/vitalsigns/
Panagenda: https://www.panagenda.com/
Ytria: https://www.ytria.com/ezsuite/
Maysoft SpamSentinel: http://maysoft.com/spamsentinel-for-hcl-domino.html
Libraesva https://www.libraesva.com/
Prominic: https://www.prominic.net
Belesoft: https://belsoft-collaboration.ch/en/
User groups:
CollabSphere: https://collabsphere.org
Engage: https://engage.ug/
C3UG: http://www.c3ug.ca/
DNUG: https://dnug.de/en/
Let’s Connect Nordics: https://nordics.letsconnect.world/
sutol: https://sutol.cz/
Spanish Domino User Group: https://www.slug.es/
Social Media
Facebook Groups:
HCL Notes Domino App Store https://www.facebook.com/groups/domino.app.store
HCL Software – Digital Solutions Business Partners – Worldwide https://www.facebook.com/groups/135983955430
HCL Notes Domino Administrators https://www.facebook.com/groups/LotusDominoAdmins
HCL Notes Domino etc Enthusiasts https://www.facebook.com/groups/hclenthusiasts
HCL Notes Domino Developers https://www.facebook.com/groups/dominodev
Twitter
https://twitter.com/HCLAmbassadors (2K followers)
https://twitter.com/HCLSoftware (40K followers)
https://twitter.com/HCL_CollabSup (1K followers)
https://twitter.com/HCLDigital (47K followers)
LinkedIn pages
https://www.linkedin.com/company/hclsoftware/ (400K followers)
https://www.linkedin.com/company/hcltech/ (5.5M followers)
LinkedIn groups
Messaging & Collaboration Professionals – Lotus https://www.linkedin.com/groups/37836/ (26K members)
HCL Domino, Notes & XPages https://www.linkedin.com/groups/25044/ (10K members)
Youtube
https://www.youtube.com/c/HCLSoftware/videos
https://www.youtube.com/@HCLDigitalSolutions/videos
https://www.youtube.com/@OpenNTF
HCL Notes/Domino V14 Early Access Program release 3 is available today
EA3 of HCL Notes/Domino V14.0, probably last EA release before the final version is released later this year, was released today! Try out their new website for software downloads while you’re at it. Visit https://my.hcltechsw.com/downloads
I will say this new website is a joy to work with. From here, it is easy to download the components you want to try out. Then be sure to give feedback on the product before it is released. Post your feedback here: https://registration.hclpartnerconnect.com/domino14forum.nsf/allDocuments.xsp
#LotusNotes #IBMNotes
How to disable the alternate FROM fields in Notes V12
A new feature in mail for Notes 12 is the ability to send messages using different FROM addresses. If your company has a rule prohibiting this, you will want a way to disable this new feature. Have no fear, they thought of that already. Just push out the Notes.ini setting via User Policies: $DisableShortNameFrom=1
Fixpack 1 for Notes and Domino 12.0.2 is Released
The software factory is churning away. Now Notes and Domino 12.0.2 FP1 has been released. Read HCL’s official announcement for more details.
This release has about 73 fixes, so if there was a bug you wanted to see resolved in 12.0.2, check the the fixlist database to see if it’s there.
Fixpack 7 for Notes and Domino 11.0.1 is released
Read HCL’s official announcement for more details.
I do like the pace we are seeing for software updates. FP6 was just released back in September of last year.
There are actually 89 fixes in FP7. The documentation is still getting updated with all the fixes. You can see more details of what each fix is in the fixlist database.
If you were wondering, no, there is no parallel release in the 12.0.2 code. This is strictly for 11.0.1
HCL Software Certification Tests are now Available
The opportunity is prove your skills in HCL Domino 12 Administrator is finally here, along with
HCL Volt MX 9.x Associate Developer, HCL Volt MX 9.x Developer, and
HCL BigFix Platform 10 Professional
Note that the Volt MX Associate Developer is a practical skills rather than a written test and it is NO CHARGE.
Learn more and get registered for a test here.
Be sure to check out their education resources to prepare for the test. They can be found at the HCL Software Academy.
There Will Be No V13.0 of HCL Notes/Domino (formerly Lotus Notes)!
If you viewed my previous post, I asked HCL leadership the question: “Will you skip V13.0?” at the HCL Factory Tour. The conversation quickly went down a rabbit hole and I never got a clear answer. But the answer is quietly revealed on this website listing the fixes. You will notice there are already entries posted for V14.0.
While I’m here, I was looking at the historical data to see any trends or other noteworthy facts. HCL purged the data before 9.0.1 FP7, but I happen to have the original Notes database taken from when we could use Lotus Notes to access the Notes.net website and from that view you can see the following data going back to version 7 and earlier:
There is also a view of the number of fixes for each release and it becomes evident the number of fixes per year has dramatically increased since HCL took over. As I look back at the history, it also tells the approximate release dates for major releases. Can you tell where HCL Software took over?
In the beginning, Lotus was in control and putting out a major release about every 3 years. IBM maintained this pace until 8.0 was released in 2007. After that, IBM all but shut down feature development, taking nearly 11 years to produce the next two releases before development was taken over by HCL. With HCL, the development team was let loose and the results have been a new major release in a bit over once per year. Major versions are where the new features are introduced. What I find most impressive is that HCL also had to deal with the transition of taking over the business in those first 2 years and then COVID hit in January of 2020, right after the release of 11.0. The software development aspects have clearly improved with the transition to HCL. It looks like there will be no V13, but I expect we will see V14.0 sometime in 2023.
Coming soon, I will address Question #2 from Ask HCL Anything session: Why doesn’t HCL host a centralized location for this community to congregate and collaborate, using HCL software to drive it?
Ask HCL Anything Session at HCL Factory Tour Sept 2022
As a reminder that I’m not here to ask the easy questions. I am here to ask the tough questions. I consider myself as much an ambassador of the customers and business partners as an ambassador of HCL. Thank you HCL for the transparency to allow me to moderate this session.
0:00 Introductions
2:52 Question #1: Will you skip V13?
8:34 Question #2: Can you give us Greenhouse again?
12:42 Question #3: Give us material to share your vision
16:07 Question #4: HCL Ambassadors deserve recognition
20:20 Question #5: Mac Notes client chronic problems
26:55 Question #6: How will you attract the next gen developers?
31:47 Question #7: What features do you wish would get more use?
37:36 Question #8: Where’s the app store?
39:52 Question #9: Adoption will not come from developers
44:58 Closing
Question 1 from David Hablewitz: Will you skip version number 13?
Meant to be a humorous question making light of superstitions, this went down a path I wasn’t expecting.
Question 2 from David Hablewitz: The community formerly known as Lotus has become fragmented and scattered, gathering online in many disconnected and hard-to-find places where we communicate, share knowledge, find resources, try out software, etc. For instance, there are groups on Skype, Slack, Discord, Facebook, and LinkedIn. There is the HCL support forum; there is a sandbox for Nomad web; there is a community for trying out and discussing the early release of Notes / Domino 12.0.2; OpenNTF; the HCL Academy and youtube channel; the HCL blogs; the software documentation website, not to mention an entirely separate website for downloading software. All of these are fragmented and difficult to find. Furthermore, HCL has is no community at all to bring business partners together or to support them. Why don’t you have this all in one place and use the products themselves to host it as a proving ground of its capabilities?
Response: To summarize, the answer wasn’t clear, but I think with more discussion and clarification of what I am looking for from HCL, we could get somewhere. I will pursue this further.
Question 3 from John Shultz, Prominic (off camera): How do you empower us to leave this event with tactical and tangible information to share with my team? Something I can share with people in my support and marketing teams so they can share your vision?
Response from Francois Naser, Go to Market Leader: You will be receiving an invitation to training for business partners within the next 3 weeks. 3 sessions: 1. Domino & Sametime; 2. Volt MX; 3. MX Go (I can confirm this happened. Video recordings are available.) This will also be presented in person at the Milan Factory Tour.
Question 4 from David Hablewitz: When are you going to start recognizing the HCL Ambassadors for the value they bring to the community with HCL Ambassador branded gear?
(Note: until I asked this question, the HCL Ambassadors had not been mentioned or recognized at all for the entire 3 days at the Factory Tour.)
Background: When IBM was involved, IBM Champions were given items such as a plaque to put on the wall recognizing their service, jackets, shirts, and other items with IBM Champion logos. At conferences like this Factory Tour They would get special lanyards for their name tags that clearly identified them as IBM Champions. HCL has had the Ambassador program for 4 years now without giving any recognition to these individuals. One of the dinners at the Factory Tour We were served Maine lobster. Surely if HCL truly valued the dedication of these people, they could find funds to support the program.
Response from Maria Nordin (off camera) “We might have a solution, but I do not want to promise anything because I know how that feels. Maybe in 2 or 3 months, we may have something. I am working on it very, very hard.” Richard Jefts added “we were able to get for T-shirts for the HCL staff at this event, so there may be something they can do.
In addition, Richard Jefts went on to say regarding marketing [paraphrasing] “Meanwhile, HCL Tech has signed on as one of the sponsors for the Metlife Stadium where the New York Jets and New York Giants football teams play. HCL Software plans to follow suit with branding on F1 racing and European Cricket and sponsorship for the World Cup in Qatar. There are discussions about having Domino branding in geo-specific airports in places like Frankfurt and Tokyo.”
While the brand awareness somewhat matters, I applaud the efforts to advertise the Domino product. IBM was infamous for making the mistake of building brand awareness and ignoring promoting products. Without product marketing, brand marketing is a waste.
In any case, if you can spend hundreds of thousands to put your name on a stadium or an F1 car, it only makes sense to invest in the most dedicated people who unselfishly support and promote your business. Research has proven a loyal fan base is an essential component of product success.
Question 5 from Bill Malchisky: [paraphrasing] While we appreciate all the new products and features, where is your commitment to making the existing Notes client software stable, in particular the latest problems with the Mac Notes client?
Response from Andrew Davis: Apple has introduced regression bugs and we’re working with them to resolve. Meanwhile, please create a support ticket so we can work to resolve them.
Response from John Paganetti of Client Advocacy group: You can also reach out to your client advocate if you have more.
In addition, if you are not already in the Client Advocacy Program, contact Deronza Sanders or John Immerman, or John Paganetti. Every customer should have a contact in this program.
Question 6 from Bob Ascott: Who will be filling in for the next generation of developers in this software?
Response from Luis Guirigay (off camera): The HCL Academy will be releasing 80 to 120 hours of education for new software developers. They will be releasing similar education program for administrators. Along with this are certification tests coming out soon which will further legitimize it.
Response from Jason Gary: This is why the development in the product to translate code
Response from Michael Alexander: We are also working on producing documentation and other assets and why they are embracing languages like Javascript.
Question 7 from Carl Tyler: What features of the product do you wish were more widely understood and used by customers?
Response from Andrew Davis: Domino Domain Monitoring
Response from John Paganetti: ID Vault and Transaction logging
Response from (person off camera): Notes Stream and the stream class, a feature under used by developers
Response from Richard Jefts: Leap is not being used widely to build NEW apps. Also, Nomad is under-used.
Question 8 from David Hablewitz: Platforms are only as good as the ecosystem they support. When are we going to get an app store and make it accessible directly from within the Notes client?
Response from Andrew Manby: HCL is working on their next generation of SOFI. Their intent is to move it to become their full marketplace to have one location to handle apps for all products: DX, MX, Domino, They are working on it, though it is taking longer to develop than they expected.
Thomas Hampel: We have an internal prototype already running and it is already on the roadmap.
This is an awesome response!
Question/Comment 9 from Jamie Magee: Developers won’t be the ones picking and choosing to use Domino. It will be assigned to them. The marketing will determine the adoption by business owners which will lead to developers building apps in it.
Richard Jefts: We don’t have a true CSM (customer success manager). We call our inside sellers who handle renewals CSMs, but they are not CSMs. The only product we have a true CSM organization for is Volt MX. There should be a team at HCL ready so when a customer buys, for example, HCL Volt (Leap?), we have someone who will engage the customer and help them build their first apps. This where I see we have a gap. We still have that IBM mentality where after the sale, the next time they hear from us is when it is time to renew their software licenses. KK (VP at HCL) has just become aware of this gap and is onboard with creating this resource.
Final comment from David Hablewitz: My tap water comes from the Cascade mountains in Washington state where I get 100 cubic feet of water for $3.24. A local bottled water company takes that same water, packages it into bottles, and resells it for $15,000. What is the difference between my $3.24 of tap water and the bottled water that makes it worth $15,000? Marketing. THAT is the value of marketing.
The Notes Guy in Seattle 