Benjamin Chodroff

Now that I am running the AT&T VPN client in Vista to connect to IBM, the next step is to get my work tools installed.

I went to the IBM Standard Software Installer webpage and installed the standard client for Windows XP. It installed correctly, but the only way I could get it to actually run was to run the browser (Firefox or IE7) as Administrator so it could launch the program that installs the application. [Reminder: to run a program as admin in Vista, right click the executable and select "Run as Administrator" – some links won't display this option – find the physical executable if necessary].

Once I run the browser as Administrator, I can launch the ISSI and it begins to grab the packages. The only problem is that when I try to log in using my IBM intranet username and password, I get this error:

ISSI Logon: Server error validating logon information. This error can occur if the time and date on your workstation is incorrect. Check the time and date on your workstation and correct if necessary. Select OK to retry logon or Cancel to Exit.

Of course, my time and date are set correctly (Unless Windows Vista now uses GMT as the internal clock – and that’s causing the error? Maybe?) Most likely, it’s a bug and I’m just out of luck until they write a real ISSI client for Vista.

Screw ISSI – I never liked it. A package manager should never stop the power user from getting the actual files they’re looking for. I’ll just hunt down the executable the old fashion way and try installing Lotus Notes manually.

Waste of time? Maybe.

Updates:

I just read on an internal forum that Lotus Notes 7.0.3 is expected to be fully compatible with Windows Vista.

IBM literally just launched an internal early adopter program for Lotus Notes 8 – which probably supports Windows Vista? Here’s the internal signup page http://reswat2.research.ibm.com/projects/notes8/noteseahome8.nsf

I found the reason for the ISSI error in Windows Vista:

“ISSI cannot work in Windows Vista at the current time because of a bug in
IBM Tivoli Directory Server running on bluepages.ibm.com, which prevents
secure LDAP authentication from working for applications running on Vista
which use the Windows LDAP APIs.”

Being a techno geek requires me to use the latest and greatest software available. Really, it does. Unfortunately, not everything works with the latest and greatest. For those IBMers who have tried installing Windows Vista, the hardest part of completing the puzzle is getting a remote VPN connection to IBM working with Windows Vista.

The two options that are available at this time are AT&T Global network client and Lotus Mobility Client (the client formerly known as IBM Mobility Client formerly known as WECM). The IBM Standard Software Installer (ISSI) only has the old version of both of these clients and neither of them works with Windows Vista.

The Lotus Mobility Client version 5.1.1.4 will install correctly in Vista, but it never connects. This problem is documented on the IBM Support pages. They state that a new version is in the works that will be compatible with Windows Vista and to “Please watch the WebSphere Everyplace Connection Manager Support page News & FLASHES for when this updated client becomes available.”

The AT&T Global Network Client version 5.09.2 will install somewhat correctly, but when you reboot Vista – you’re left with a permanent Blue Screen of Death. Ewww, not cool at all.

After doing some searching, I found this AT&T Global Network Client community website that allows you to install the AT&T Global Network Client v7 alpha which is supposedly somewhat Vista compatible. It won’t work with the Vista firewall settings and you’re s@#$ out of luck if you run the 64 bit version of Vista. To download the alpha version, you have to register with the forum AND have a valid IBM email address (use your IBM email address when registering – registration for alpha testing the client for non-IBMers appears to be closed at this time).

Until recently, I have been using the Mobility Client to connect to work. It was fast, java (so it worked in Linux too), and had persistent connections so that if I unplugged and went wireless, I didn’t have to re-login (I’m honestly not sure how it does that). Recently, the connection has been *incredibly* slow – to the point where Lotus Notes would take 5 minutes to open a single email and w3 took 10 minutes to load. I switched back to AT&T Global Network Client, even though they charge some exorbitant fee to the department just for having an account.

I am still waiting for approval for the alpha version of the AT&T client, but I will edit this post once I get access and try installing it on Vista. For now, I am stuck using vmware to emulate Windows XP to do my IBM related work.

Update:

Success! I am now using the AT&T Global network Client v7 alpha 52 and I can connect to the IBM w3 homepage! IBM users only need to install the VPN component in order to get remote access – not sure what use the rest of the alpha versions are for. Just register with that forum listed above and you’ll be set up in no time! I like the slick new interface.

Yep, I want to make a buck off my photos.

I want to stop offering my high resolution pictures for free. I want to watermark the low resolution images and provide the “add to cart” feature, but make users go through a Paypal payment system before they can download the items as a zip. This new paypal payment module will check to see if there is a listed price for the photo in a custom field, otherwise it will charge a standard price – maybe $3.

PHP Gallery2 has a user contributed Paypal Checkout cart – but it is not set up in the way I need it. This module offers the ability to add photos to the checkout cart and purchase them through paypal. Unfortunately, I then have to physically email file to the customer since the module was set up to handle physical prints, rather than digital downloads. I’d rather have the user download the original copies (and perhaps a copy of my fair use license text file) in a zip file. This saves both of us time.

There is a zip download module that is included with the default installation. I just wish someone would insert a license agreement module and paypal payment module in front of the zip download. This paypal payment module could use the Custom Fields module to set custom prices for pictures or, optionally, use a default price if no price is given for the photo.

The other option is to ditch Gallery2. I’m toying with this idea mostly because there are existing open source E-Commerce sites that can do what I am talking about with no modules. The downside is I would have to import the photos into this new system. An upside to that downside is it will force me to narrow the number of photos and create a much easier to browse selection of finer quality photos. A downside to that upside to the downside is that I have no time to do this.

This summer my Extreme Blue team submitted ten patent disclosures. Four of them went on to be published, but one of them was selected to be reviewed. The IBM patent process works in the following way:

1. Inventor(s) submits an idea
2. Idea is investigated by a panel of experts
3. Idea is either closed, published, or reviewed
   1. Closed – idea is either public knowledge, not novel, or not in IBM’s business
   2. Published – idea is novel, but either not in IBM’s business or not worth patenting
   3. Review – the idea is sent on to IP lawyers who further research the idea
4. After review, the idea is either closed (likely), published (likely) or filed (rare). If the idea is novel and in IBM’s best interest to patent, the idea is filed for a patent
5. A patent request is submitted and weeks, months, or years later… the idea is either patented or rejected by the patent office

One of our ideas from this summer just made it to the point where they will file the patent! This is very exciting! It would be very cool to have a patent with my name on it. They plan on submitting the patent at the end of April. Given that we have not submitted the idea yet, I cannot say what the patent is about other than it deals with the work we did on our project last summer.

After reading an article about a PC World writer who goes without a PC for twenty days, I was inspired to try it out for myself. The question is…how?

Unlike the writer, I am not doing this for a good story but rather for my own benefit. I spend countless hours in front of a computer. In fact, I would be willing to estimate that I spend well over a third of the time I’m awake using a computer. Yes, it really is that bad. Ask my girlfriend about my email addiction. I respond to emails in *seconds*. I have every aspect of my life connected to the slickest Web 2.0 gizmos and open-source gadgets and spend each waking moment contemplating the latest computer news story or beta testing the newest product or…. Is this really what life’s all about?

This holiday break I am going to Costa Rica with my family. I think this would be the perfect opportunity to unplug. Granted, it is somewhat of a cop-out period to do this experiment since I will be on vacation. You have to start somewhere. I might be thousands of miles away from home, but I’d find a way to get my computer fix.

I am trying to think of everything this experiment will impact. No more DVD’s on my media center. I’ll have to contact my advisor via phone about my non-existant progress on my masters project. Eek - that’s going to be a sore subject. I’ll miss many important emails from work regarding the plans for my trip to India. However, I think I can do this.

My last final is on December 20th. I leave for Costa Rica on the 31st and will be gone for a week or so. Classes start back up on January 16th. If I stop using the computer December 20th at midnight, I can (hold on - let me check Google Calendar)….start using computers again on January 9th at midnight. Perfect! That gives me just under a week to catch up before classes start. No sweat! I will try to keep a written journal of my daily thoughts during this time.
The only problem I’m anticipating will be uploading pictures I take during my vacation. I think it’s fair to allow my father or someone else to do this for me so I can continue taking pictures.

December 21st is just around the corner and I have to start exporting my life to analog ASAP. I announced my plans to my roommate and he said, “You’re not going to last.” With that said, let the games begin!