Ed Brill

Post a Comment

1. 1  Erik Brooks  | 7/27/2009 12:06:55 PM

   Great!

   But, ugh, potentially *October* for 8.5.1?

   It's a shame we're going to have to wait nearly two years after announcement before we've *finally* got the infamous revamped LS editor. Actually, it's flat-out horrible. I can understand that, with xPages in the Notes Client, there is an enormous amount of testing that has to take place, but - wow.

   Compound that with the glitch-tastic DDE in 8.5.0, and taking a good 10 months later to get those bugs fixed in 8.5.1... Ouch. I hope some serious developer love (and direction) comes from IBM moving forward to 8.5.2 and beyond.

   Is there any idea when the formal list of fixes will appear in the Fix List database? Or do the release notes have a full list?

1. 2  Keith Brooks http://www.vanessabrooks.com | 7/27/2009 12:21:38 PM

   October is fine.

   "we have a lot of efforts driving towards what will be a key update to all of the Notes/Domino products."

   Everything will now use the same code stream? Java version? WAS rev's?

   Or do you mean the downloads will have proper normal names going forward?

   seriously though can you just get IBM to update the external server to accept ST802 clients?

1. 3  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 7/27/2009 12:27:41 PM

   @1 Erik, I would argue that the length of time being invested in 8.5.1 is, in fact, "some serious developer love". Here is a release with new features and updates, some admittedly hoped for earlier, and it's less than a year after the 8.5 release. To me that's fast, not slow. And some of the "glitch-tastic" bugs you report are fixed in this fixpack.

   Are you in the managed beta for 8.5.1?

1. 4  MarvinK  | 7/27/2009 12:41:52 PM

   We're also struggling with deciding whether to do 8.5 or just wait for 8.5.1. There are some pretty substantial problems with 8.5 that aren't fixed in the fix pack. One that is messy to apply a manual fix to is the word wrap if you have IE8 installed. It's too bad the fixpack couldn't include some logic to use the right CSS file for the browser engine Sametime uses.

1. 5  MarvinK  | 7/27/2009 12:51:51 PM

   Do the downloads actually work for anyone? We've tried it from a couple computers and Firefox gets blank screens, IE gets 404 errors.

1. 6  Scott Marchione  | 7/27/2009 1:02:15 PM

   No, there seems to be some issue with the links... I've tried 2 computers and 3 different browsers (firefox, IE7, and Chrome)and all I get are 404 errors as well...

1. 7  John Turnbow http://www.recondite2.com | 7/27/2009 1:06:49 PM

   Will there be an open Beta between now and the release of 8.5.1?

1. 8  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 7/27/2009 1:09:00 PM

   @7 no, but the managed beta is taking a large number of participants. You can self-nominate at https://www-304.ibm.com/software/earlyprograms/surveys/cust/nomination.wss?id=1163

   @5/6 I will check the links.

1. 9  Roland Reddekop http://www.bleedyellow.com/blogs/sanitycheck/ | 7/27/2009 1:29:49 PM

   I suspect the links are dead because of the change to make the filenames friendly. Still dead as of 2:30 PM EST.

1. 10  Laura Schmalgemeier  | 7/27/2009 1:41:35 PM

   What about sametime 8.5? Same time line? Thanks

1. 11  Ben Langhinrichs http://www.geniisoft.com/showcase.nsf/GeniiBlog | 7/27/2009 1:44:19 PM

   @1 - While I may not agree with every choice made for 8.5.1 (starting with a wish that it were called 8.6), there is no doubt, absolutely no doubt, that a ton of serious "developer love" has been invested. Without going into details (and angering the NDA gods), I will say that IBM is working incredibly hard to make xPages and the DDE usuable and approachable. There is still work to go, and there are certainly already efforts underway to set the stage for 8.5.2, or whatever it will be called, but the last thing I'd do is fault IBM for the amount of developer love in 8.5.1. IBM undertook a huge effort to utilize Eclipse in the first place, arguably even biting off more than they could chew, but they are now hellbent on making it work. It should be very encouraging for anybody who has had doubts about IBM's commitment to the Notes/Domino product line.

1. 12  Jim Casale http://www.jimcasale.net | 7/27/2009 2:39:39 PM

   @10 I heard they are shooting for 4th quarter but no definite date

1. 13  Jon Schultz http://Prominic.NET | 7/27/2009 2:44:01 PM

   Is the fix list database still being used?

   { Link }

   They list 8.5 FP1 as an upcoming release (I know it's out...), but there's nothing regarding the SPRs for this, or 8.5.1.

   Thanks,

1. 14  Dale Cybela  | 7/27/2009 3:12:44 PM

   Is there any documentation (presentation) of what new features will be in 8.5.1? Specifically I am looking for integration with Active Directory.

   Thanks,

   Dale

1. 15  Roland Reddekop http://www.bleedyellow.com/blogs/sanitycheck/ | 7/27/2009 4:00:47 PM

   Download links still dead as of 5 PM EST. I got my copy on Saturday, but wanted to go back today to get the Mac and Basic Client fixes for my users. Either there was an issue with renaming the downloads to english filenames or FP1 has been pulled temporarily.

1. 16  Sean Cull http://www.seancull.co.uk | 7/27/2009 5:56:20 PM

   Cannot access the download even though I did successfully download it on Saturday

   Fix list page also describes it as being at Gold i.e. not yet released

   Whats going on - has it been pulled ?

1. 17  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 7/27/2009 7:33:42 PM

   My sense is that the file names are the issue - not aware of any other reason that they would have been pulled. Looking into it.

1. 18  Mike Robinson http://www.invcs.com | 7/27/2009 7:47:28 PM

   Links still don't work...

1. 19  Wolfgang Haderlein  | 7/28/2009 2:11:55 AM

   Same here: Links don't work

1. 20  Manu  | 7/28/2009 3:03:23 AM

   any release date for other languages? french for example :)

1. 21  Ben Rose http://www.jaffacake.net | 7/28/2009 3:05:36 AM

   None of the downloads work and no fixlist...not what I would call available.

   I was led to believe this would be out last week and all I have the week after is a load of dead links. It's all about setting expectation.

   Seriously, if changing a filename is this much hassle I'd rather have the useless filename and working downloads.

1. 22  Henning Heinz  | 7/28/2009 4:38:38 AM

   @Manu(20) The FixPack supports localized versions. I don't know if all languages are supported (but for sure french was mentioned). Installed it over a german client and it did not complaign.

1. 23  Michael de Haas  | 7/28/2009 4:55:31 AM

   I used a search URL found on a blog, not sure who's. So as a workaround for now:

   { Link }

   @Manu: The FP1 applies to all languages - although please confirm this.

1. 24  Henning Heinz  | 7/28/2009 5:02:22 AM

   @3

   Maybe less than 1 year is fast but the 8.5 Designer lacks a lot. It feels (and behaves) like a beta version. The feedback so far that 8.5.1 will fix many (if not all) of those issues does not make it easier to wait. To me it would have been fair to release a public beta. That is what I currently use it is just named differently.

1. 25  Ben Rose http://www.jaffacake.net | 7/28/2009 5:23:01 AM

   @24 - Agreed. I can't think of a single client beta that had a Designer client that wasn't less buggy and faster than the one included with R8.5

1. 26  Ben Rose http://www.jaffacake.net | 7/28/2009 5:41:14 AM

   @23 - Aren't Lotus trial versions timebombed now?

1. 27  Mike Brown  | 7/28/2009 6:46:58 AM

   Yay! I have now have text again on my Workspace icons for Ubuntu 9.04!

   There's a definite feeling of some more spit and polish that's been applied on the Ubuntu client too. (The default font size is still way too small though).

   Good stuff!

   Cheers,

   - Mike

1. 28  Pascal St-Cyr  | 7/28/2009 7:29:03 AM

   Links are working fine now :-)

1. 29  Sean Cull http://www.seancull.co.uk | 7/28/2009 8:03:10 AM

   @27 - thanks for that Mike, I have been living with that on a secondary machine and now I can fix it !

1. 30  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 7/28/2009 9:19:32 AM

   @21 you were only lead to believe this would be out last week because I tweeted it ;-) We made no formal announcement. Technically, it was out last week -- it was available for download on Saturday. Not sure what burped yesterday but seems like all is OK now.

1. 31  JFranchetti  | 7/28/2009 9:31:30 AM

   Any real reason there is so much inconsistency with the notes.net fix list / download site. Fix lists are not properly maintained (there isn't even one for 8.5 FP1). It doesn't even reference 8.5.1.... etc.

   A very valuable tool. Not sure why it would exist in a half-way state.

1. 32  Frédéric Fanchamps  | 7/28/2009 9:35:45 AM

   Still in "Upcoming release Gold build" and not in "Views release" on { Link }

   ?

   Fred

1. 33  Trevor Rea  | 7/28/2009 10:03:32 AM

   If I have installed any Interim Fixes (eg. the IDVault fix) do I need to remove these or can I install over the top?

   TIA

1. 34  Erik Brooks  | 7/28/2009 10:22:12 AM

   @Ed - No, not part of the managed beta yet. All of our "new tech" resources are involved in troubleshooting an 8.5.0 regression SPR that's keeping us from being able to fully test the server.

   We were all over the public beta of 8.5.0 though, and the flakiness of DDE on 8.5.0 Gold is nearly as bad as it was on Beta 2.

   Ben's comments about 8.5.1 are reassuring - it sounds like this may be the "real" 8.5. It's just an agonizing wait. But I'm a bit worried that there will be more regressions (or still unresolved 8.5.0 regressions) keeping us from upgrading to that, too.

   A useful Fix List database would be nice.

1. 35  Ben Rose http://www.jaffacake.net | 7/28/2009 1:09:24 PM

   @30 - I don't work weekends ;O)

1. 36  Michael de Haas  | 7/28/2009 1:27:31 PM

   @26. Not sure if the trials are timebombed, I do not use them. Thanks for the heads up, I did not take note of the title, thinking that FPacks are not part of trials! Guess I was wrong and should've taken note.

1. 37  Charles Robinson http://www.cubert.net | 7/28/2009 1:36:31 PM

   @1 - Don't get too excited about the new LS editor. It's only for agents and script libraries, not forms, views or actions. This was announced at Lotusphere 2008 and I haven't heard anything to contradict it but I'd love to be surprised. :-)

   @11 - I didn't think people who were in the managed beta of 8.5.1 were even allowed to discuss that fact, much less offer any opinions of the quality of the efforts so far.

1. 38  Mike Brown  | 7/28/2009 3:50:27 PM

   @37

   >> Don't get too excited about the new LS editor.

   >> It's only for agents and script libraries, not

   >> forms, views or actions

   That suits me just fine. Most of my heavy duty code is class-based and is in libraries anyway. I don't need a super-duper LS editor for the dribs and drabs that are in forms, let alone views. YMMV of course.

1. 39  Chuck Hauble  | 7/28/2009 4:03:12 PM

   Any idea if 8.5 FP1 will be packaged as a Smart Upgrade Kit?

1. 40  Mike Robinson http://www.invcs.com | 7/28/2009 4:39:49 PM

   Okay it's only been an hour of use but I do *feel* a difference. Someone used the words "polished" I think that's appropriate. I fired up designer since that was the most quirky (the mouse and screen flickering before were so annoying, clearly a lot of chatter b/w eclipse and core notes). Seems to be greatly reduced. Just navigating between elements seems a lot easier and more efficient.

   Starting to feel the joy again, dare I say I can move away from 8.0.2 basic mode back to 8.5 FP1?

1. 41  Scott Leis http://www.isw.com.au | 7/28/2009 10:42:04 PM

   I notice two of the downloads still have the part number as the whole file name. I don't need them personally, but the affected ones are the server fix packs for i5/OS V5R4 and V6R1.

1. 42  Ben Rose http://www.jaffacake.net | 7/29/2009 6:17:59 AM

   Fixpacks downloading now, thanks for your effort on the filenames - it is a lot better now.

1. 43  Ben Rose http://www.jaffacake.net | 7/29/2009 8:15:48 AM

   "Notes hotfix did not install. Error encountered while installing Notes Core Hotfix component."

   Is there a hotfix for the hotfix?

1. 44  Ben Rose http://www.jaffacake.net | 7/29/2009 8:39:36 AM

   After a reboot it installed cleanly. I now get an error when I try to run Notes:

   "This application has failed to start because ndgts.dll was not found. Re-installing the application may fix this problem."

   My world is not a good place to be right now.

1. 45  Greg  | 7/29/2009 11:45:12 AM

   Please maintain the release status page on notes.net so it at least mentions 8.5.1. And please add the fixes in FP1 to the fix list database there. Thanks,

1. 46  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 7/29/2009 2:50:32 PM

   @43-44, Ben, what did Support say about your issue? (I know you know how to reach support ;-) )

1. 47  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 7/29/2009 4:01:45 PM

   Final fixlist is up: { Link }

1. 48  Ben Rose http://www.jaffacake.net | 7/29/2009 5:01:41 PM

   @46 - Just venting...I doubt there are many people who love Notes/Domino more than I do and, when even I get stressed about poor QA, I truly worry for all the others.

1. 49  John Head http://www.johndavidhead.com | 7/29/2009 5:10:45 PM

   @48 Just FYI - I have installed the FP on 8 machines without any issues. You do need to make sure NSD and the Nlservice (single sign on) tasks aren't running.

   Hope support fixed your problem

1. 50  Frédéric Fanchamps  | 7/30/2009 1:02:22 AM

   What is the "Expeditor" category in the fix list? And especially why is SPR MCHZ7FZHBY in the "Expeditor" list and not "Client"?

1. 51  Ben Rose http://www.jaffacake.net | 7/30/2009 2:12:36 AM

   @49 John, Thanks for the feedback. I would normally read release notes or readme files for this kind on information, there wasn't any. Is it not improbable that the installer could stop any conflicting services BEFORE it began? Surely this kind of stuff should be found in testing? I know many software installers that pop up a message similar to "stopping required services" before the begin. This avoid problems.

   It's this kind of stuff that has given Lotus Notes a reputation for being a "black art" and, more seriously, causes internal support to raise Helpdesk tickets to level 3 as things "don't work".

   I can go along and say "oh, you just need to make sure xxx and yyy aren't running" but, realistically, how are they supposed to know that?

   Other, much smaller, vendors can develop decent software installers - why not IBM?

1. 52  Frédéric Fanchamps  | 7/30/2009 4:10:08 AM

   Has anybody tried to drag the right side of the title of the sender column of the 'Sent' view in mail, to make the column almost as wide as the window in 8.5 FP1?

1. 53  Frédéric Fanchamps  | 7/30/2009 4:56:21 AM

   FP1 is not available for all windows client, only XP and vista.

   And especially it is not available for Lotus Notes claint on Windows server 2003 (running citrix).

   When will it be available?

1. 54  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 7/30/2009 5:33:38 AM

   We don't build a separate kit for Citrix - you use the standard Notes client for Windows XP/Vista.

1. 55  Frédéric Fanchamps  | 7/30/2009 7:30:22 AM

   @54: thanks for the info. This is not the case to install Lotus Notes we have to use a specific product C1SQ5EN which is not the corrected Notes client CZ34GEN.

   Are you sure we can install CZ34GEN FP1 on top of C1SQ5EN?

1. 56  Chris Gleeson  | 7/30/2009 7:33:14 AM

   "Since shipping 8.5, the development team has been aggressively addressing SPRs"

   ... Perhaps for the ones that they've chosen to include in FP1, but for others that have been reported? Same issue as I had last year when I contacted you Ed, PMRs escalated to development for a fix and then several MONTHS later, no movement at all.

   For the past 18 months I've found development to be slow and ineffectual at addressing problems with existing code. We are currently being mandated to look at Exchange to fit in with the rest of the university, so at least I can have the fun of 'Exchange'-ing our problems for something new. (And it would be the third Notes to Exchange migration I've been involved with, so can't be total FUD on the MS front).

1. 57  Charles Robinson http://www.cubert.net | 7/30/2009 10:03:49 AM

   @55 - C1SQ5EN is "IBM Lotus Notes, Designer, Admin Client 8.5 (standard configuration) for Windows English". Designer and Administrator are not supported on Citrix so I don't know why you think you have to install that package on Citrix.

1. 58  Scott Vrusho  | 7/30/2009 10:31:36 AM

   @4 - IE8 Wrap was fixed in 8.5 FP1 - SPR# JOGA7NNRQA - IE8 breaks word wrap in embedded Sametime IM Client

   @5/6/16/18/19/21/31 - links should have been fixed as of Tuesday and fix list was updated Wednesday under view notices. Apologies for the hiccups and delays

   @13/45 - use the "view notices" link on the right hand side of fix list link you posted. That's where you get the notices for fix packs with a list of fixes all in one document. We also updated the status page earlier this week for 8.5 FP1 to indicate it shipped

   @20 - Others already responded, but just to close officially: Fixpacks are always language independent and wil linstall on any language version

   @33 - The fixpack will uninstall the interim fixes and replace it with the fixpack. The good news, all 8.5 public interim fixes for server and client were included in 8.5 Fix Pack 1 so you should be covered.

   @26/36 - Fix packs are not trials and are not time bombed

   @39 - The webkit posted for the fixpack is what you use in Smart Upgrade

   @41 - Thanks. We are examining this for i5/OS V5R4 and V6R1.

   @50 - Thanks for the feedback. Maybe Expeditor is too techie and really should just be under client. Notes 8.5 is comprised of many different components, like Sametime, Symphony, and Expeditor. But Expeditor is more of an underlying eclipse platform so having it explicitly grouped may not make sense

   @53 - The windows release of basic and standard 8.5 FP1 is for all supported Windows platforms.

   @55 - Are you sure we can install CZ34GEN FP1 on top of C1SQ5EN? CZ34GEN can be installed on top of 8.5 Standard Notes Client or 8.5 Standard Notes/Designer/Admin client. But @57 is correct that technically 8.5 Standard Notes/Designer/Admin client is not supported on Citrix.

1. 59  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 7/30/2009 10:46:25 AM

   @56 the list for 8.5.1 is much longer. Much.

1. 60  Scott Vrusho  | 7/30/2009 10:52:22 AM

   @41 - Turned out to be an issue. We have fixed, but won't be updated until 2pm EST.

1. 61  Ben Rose http://www.jaffacake.net | 7/30/2009 11:10:21 AM

   @58 - Thanks.

1. 62  Paul Blackman  | 7/30/2009 10:29:21 PM

   I'd like to second Dale Cybela's request for information on Directory Independance, specifically in regards to Active Directory. I'm looking at an 7. to 8.5 or 8.5.1 upgrade.

1. 63  Bart Severein http://www.eniac.nl/essentials | 7/31/2009 3:45:46 AM

   I'm very happy to see the release of another beta 8.5.1 Traveler software today, including better support for iPhone and Nokia. Well done!

1. 64  Chuck Hauble  | 7/31/2009 12:44:56 PM

   @62, @14

   Count me in too on wanting to know more about directory options... Long time ago I thought I heard that was coming in 8.5.2

1. 65  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 7/31/2009 12:49:57 PM

   Re Directory assistance -- a limited amount of the functionality is in technical preview in 8.5.1, but the overall implementation is targeted at 8.5.2.

1. 66  Joshua Holt http://www.kellycommunity.org | 9/4/2009 3:41:22 PM

   I had the same issue, but a clean boot didn't fix it. I then found a comment on the IBM site for a similar error when installing FP 2 for version 8.0.2.

   What this comment recommended is to rename the RCHBackup folder in the %program%\IBM\Lotus\Lotus folder. I did this and the install worked like a charm.

1. 67  Joshua Holt http://www.kellycommunity.org | 9/4/2009 3:42:41 PM

   My apologies, my comment number 66 was a reference to the problem reported in comment 43

1. 68  Sean http://ussposco.com | 2/18/2010 10:45:44 AM

   I have a question regarding Fix Pack installations that I can't seem to find the answer online. I recently installed FP1 for Domino 8.5.1, and we discovered a new issue since applying the fix pack. We looked for an option to uninstall the fix pack but could not find the fix pack listed under Add/Remove programs in Windows. Can you uninstall fix packs?

1. 69  James White http://www.brazentech.com | 2/19/2010 3:08:14 PM

   @66, @67 - I actually don't have an RCHBackup folder. I've tried a reboot and still get the error mentioned in 43.

1. 70  Paul Garbett  | 4/12/2010 3:56:19 PM

   I have the same Issue - Trying to Install FP2 on a Ts server.

   server. "Notes hotfix did not install. Error encountered while installing Notes Core Hotfix component."

   Single Sigon and diagnostics are both stopped. server rebooted still the same. Notes appears to be working ok though. No RCHbackup folder.

1. 71  Kirill Kutogribov  | 5/27/2010 3:00:57 AM

   Try to unpack the distr *.exe (I used Total Commander with plugins). After run fixpack.exe in deploy/hotfix folder and it will say the name of process, which doesn't allow to install the hotfix. It was the antivirus for me.

1. 72  Jeffer03  | 9/30/2010 11:17:24 AM

   @49 - thanks for the tip, I just encountered the same problem as Ben and that is after many successful installs, so I checked and found not 1 but 2 nsd processes running, killed them both and viola - install successful. But still, little things like this can be annoying and little annoyances can add up. I could go on about that subject but I'm sure you've all got more important things to be doing. :)