Mikkel Heisterberg: Notes/Domino 7.0.2 only a template release?

July 12 2006

When I got into marketing years ago, my then-manager and still Loti Jeanette Barlow was fond of saying "simplify and amplify".  I'm not sure we're always keeping that in mind, but sometimes it works.  The Notes on Linux announcement earlier this week was a great example.  "IBM is releasing Notes on Linux" works a whole lot better than "IBM is releasing a stand-alone Lotus Notes plug-in running atop the IBM Workplace managed client in a self-provisioned shell built on the Eclipse.org framework".

Sometimes the message can be over-simplified.  In my presentations about the upcoming Notes/Domino 7.0.2 release, I've emphasized that the new features are "orthogonal"...that they aren't disturbing the core Notes/Domino code.  So in watching the keynote from the ILUG a few weeks ago, Mikkel Heisterberg wondered:

Not all the 388 fixes listed on Lotus developerWorks are template related. Did I misunderstand what Ed said or were he simply wrong? Did he mean the added RSS functionality was orthogonal to the code?
Sorry about the confusion.  7.0.2 is of course a maintenance release, which addresses SPRs as with other maintenance releases.  There are also new features.  They are optional and don't disturb the core codebase.  In other words, this isn't a "7.1" because it's not a core Domino upgrade...the architecture, features, etc. are all the same as 7.0.0.  

Some companies have policies that new feature releases require more rigorous testing cycles than bug fixes or service packs.  The point in calling the RSS template, blogging template, "Nomad" install "orthogonal" is that out of the box, this is not a feature release.  There are new features that can be implemented, at a template/application level, but nothing new in the core nserver.exe.

Does that help?

Ed Brill | Highland Park, IL USA Category:  Notes/Domino 7  Add/View Comments [13]

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  1. 1  Bruce Elgort http://takingnotes.openntf.org | 7/12/2006 9:41:49 AM

    Maybe you should have called it Notes/Domino 7.5 :-)

  1. 2  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 7/12/2006 9:43:34 AM

    no, the point is, that would trigger customer testing cycles and evaluations and all the stuff associated with a "feature release". The reason I describe it as "orthogonal" is so that those customers who want stability are clear they are still getting stability without needing to introduce new bells and whistles. 7.5 would send the opposite message.

  1. 3  Bruce Elgort http://takingnotes.openntf.org | 7/12/2006 10:15:25 AM

    If that is the case you should have simply released the Feature Pack as just that - a set of templates that you could slap onto your Domino server. Maybe call it Lotus Components ;-).

  1. 4  Mac Guidera http://www.macguidera.net | 7/12/2006 10:32:20 AM

    I think this is similar to the 5.0.2 release that brought us ?ReadViewEntries. A powerful new feature, with no impact on existing applications. As a developer I would have hated to fight admins to install that "Component" on every server.

  1. 5  Sean Burgess http://www.phigsaidwhat.com/ | 7/12/2006 12:42:48 PM

    LMAO @ Lotus Components....

  1. 6  Mikkel Heisterberg http://lekkimworld.com | 7/12/2006 1:20:21 PM

    Yes - thanks! :-)

  1. 7  Irv Schor  | 7/12/2006 2:22:48 PM

    Nowhere in the maint. release (for 7.0.2 or newer) have I found info dealing with the issues in downloading attachments that have a # or & in the name when using IE. This is a BIG issue for our users, and I was surprised when my emails to IBM did not yield a response nor have I seen any updates on { Link }

  1. 8  Mikkel Heisterberg http://lekkimworld.com | 7/12/2006 2:54:17 PM

    @7 Did you talk to Lotus Support? My experience is that queries to Lotus Support are being taken serious though there is no question that having done ones homework (being able to reproduce the issue consistantly and producing a good description) produces the best result. Also keep bugging the representative from Lotus Support via the webpage. Normally a simple "Any update?" comment to the PMR yield results. Not perfect but hey it's the system...

    /lekkim

  1. 9  Volker Weber http://vowe.net | 7/12/2006 3:00:48 PM

    Ed, I see no issues with 7.0.2. But orthogonal was probably to orthogonal.

  1. 10  Volker Weber http://vowe.net | 7/12/2006 3:01:08 PM

    make that "too orthogonal"

  1. 11  Rich Westle http://www.cgsinc.com | 7/15/2006 12:23:22 PM

    How do I get on the 7.02 MAC OSX Beta review group.

    Rich

  1. 12  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 7/15/2006 1:41:54 PM

    @11 email me @ work (ed_brill at us.ibm.com) with reasons for being in the beta and i'll see what i can do. NOTE that the Mac beta code is not yet available...coming in a later beta (hopefully end of the month)

  1. 13  Chris Whisonant http://cwhisonant.blogspot.com | 7/17/2006 12:21:40 PM

    @7 - We're having the same issue as well and have spoken with support. We were told that "the fix will be included in the 7.0.2 release - although this is subject to change until that release is made public." The SPR listed for our call is the same one in the link you mentioned.