Quickplace 7 and Mac browser users

December 22 2006

A happy day.  

A customer contacted me recently about a problem with their Macintosh users accessing Quickplace 7 using Safari browsers.  Basically it didn't work, even though IBM announced it as a supported platform.  The initial answer was "SPR'd and being considered for the next release".  I wasn't particularly happy about that answer -- either we were supporting that configuration or we weren't.  So, in the best IBM tradition, I escalated.  I got the development lead for Quickplace involved, who committed to getting it fixed.  

We discovered a few process issues and mis-set expectations in the process, for sure.  I understood the challenges that I got in replies to e-mails and Sametime pings, but kept up with championing the customer's request.

This morning, the customer e-mailed that the hotfix provided has been downloaded, tested, and works.

Merry Christmas, Mike.  And thank you to Satwik and the Quickplace development team for being responsive to this customer's requirements.

Ed Brill Highland Park, IL USA Category:  Machead  Add/View Comments [10]

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  1. 1  Thomas Hinders  | 12/22/2006 7:18:00 AM

    Thanks for going to the mat for the customer.... I wish more customers would tell us when there is some sort of missed expectation, because in the end..... if it makes business sense for the customer (and lack of browser support sure seems to be in that category) and for IBM .... then we do it.

    Steve Mills is right..... "I wish more customers would scream when something doesn't go their way."

    Thanks again...........

  1. 2  Bill Brown  | 12/22/2006 7:39:03 AM

    > Steve Mills is right..... "I wish more customers would scream when something doesn't go their way."

    How loud do we have to scream about Mac clients taking over a year to ship after a major upgrade release? Notes 5, Notes 6. 6.5 was simultaneous if I remember correctly, which gave me hope the IBM/Lotus got things right, and then I had to wait over a year for 7 on the Mac.

  1. 3  Kurt B http://www.onthehoist.com | 12/22/2006 11:19:48 AM

    We were bitten by this issue as well as despite the release notes and marketing materials claiming Safari support in reality there was no RT edit capability.. We lost one of our Quickplace champions to a competitive product as a result.

    Is the hotfix available via support?

  1. 4  Bernard Devlin  | 12/22/2006 12:06:05 PM

    Steve Mills wants users to scream?

    I logged in to Passport Advantage to download the Mac client to see how it had improved. Even though I have a SW entitlement for Colloaboration Express that goes up to Sept 2007, there is zilch, nada, nothing for me to download (no windows, no mac, no nothing - no R6, no R7). I just get told that the "Agreement number does not apply to Passport Advantage Express customers", yet the very same number appears on the Proof of Entitlement as "Passport Advantage express site number". And this is the number that IBM have associated with my IBM ID, not some number that I have entered.

    I buy most of my commercial and shareware software online. But IBM is the only company I deal with that can't get a simple sale and delivery right (it's not the first time I've had problems buying from IBM). Microsoft can get it right. Apple can get it right. Small ISVs can get it right. Shareware providers can get it right. Why can't IBM?

  1. 5  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 12/22/2006 2:51:56 PM

    @3 it should be, yes. Please let me know if you encounter any difficulty obtaining it.

    @4 Doesn't make much sense to me, either. If you want to mail me offline with any e-mail trail associated with this, I'll look into it. Clearly I've already made my name internally on this issue :-P

  1. 6  Mark Dowling http://cork2toronto.blogspot.com | 12/22/2006 5:20:14 PM

    Due respect Ed, it seems YOU were responsive to the customer and the QP team were responsive to you. When you don't have to get involved is when the QP team can be deemed responsive.

  1. 7  Mike Brown  | 12/23/2006 3:54:07 AM

    Merry Christmas to you too, Ed.

    Cheers,

    - Mike "the happy customer"

  1. 8  Bernard Devlin  | 12/23/2006 6:46:23 AM

    >>

    If you want to mail me offline with any e-mail trail associated with this, I'll look into it.

    <<

    Thanks, Ed. I appreciate that. I have emailed the support team for Passport Advantage. If I don't have any joy from them by the middle of January, I'll come back to you on that. I wasn't going to bring up the issue here (I know this kind of thing is way outside your brief), but when I heard that people want users to scream, I thought I'd take the opportunity.

    I hope you have a well-deserved rest over the next week or so.

  1. 9  Rob Novak http://www.LotusRockStar.com | 12/27/2006 11:10:44 AM

    @6 - The QP development team themselves are quite responsive no matter who is the source, believe me. The development team is not as often in direct contact with customers (nor should they be, there are PMs for that) so this escalation and response story is a good example of their internal teamwork.

  1. 10  Chris Graves http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/insrv | 7/25/2008 9:10:38 AM

    Looks like we are running QuickPlace 7 without the safari hotfix - is there a way to still get hold of it? [ see @5 ]