ICON UK - an update (it's going well!)

Well, it's been just under 2 weeks since we announced ICON UK. I'll admit - there was some in-trepidation here as we launched it. LUGs have been around a long time, would our new name scare people off?

Well, it seems not! In the last two weeks we've already had nearly 80 attendees sign up and 6 sponsors (with more waiting in the wings to be added to the site). It seems that our vision of an all inclusive IBM user group event has been well received. Either that, or Brighton was a good choice of city!

In fact, I think that this years' signup rate is rivalling some of our best attended conferences yet. Which prompts me to ask - have you registered? Have you sponsored? I suspect that we will 'sell out' this year - so if you'd like to take part in the largest UK IBM user group event, then make sure you get yourself registered sooner rather than later! And if your company has s product or service in the IBM sector and you want to market it direct to your customers, then get in touch about sponsorship.

Of course, with ICON UK setup and ready to go, we also have a date and venue for No Fix. There's still alot left to do there - but once I get some free time (or someone volunteers...) we'll get that website up too. I have been somewhat distracted lately ;-)

Source: http://www.iconuk.org/UKLUG/UKLUG2013.nsf/...

Announcing ICON UK 2013 - the new name for UKLUG

Well, we said we'd be back - didn't we?

I'm very happy to announce today that the conference formally known as UKLUG will be back in 2013. We are going to be at the;

Brighton Grand Hotel
2nd - 3rd September 2013

But we also have much more than that to tell you. There was a lot of talk at the end of last year as it was announced that 'Lotusphere' was to be renamed as 'Connect' - but with the same great content, speakers and community. In the end of course, it all worked out very well. The expanded event let the traditional 'Lotus' professionals work with all the various IBM software products to create some amazing solutions. This mirrors exactly what we're seeing in the real world - IBM solutions being delivered from multiple stacks.

So, the UKLUG team decided this year that we needed to do the same. Whilst we'll also still have the best 'Lotus' speakers and consultants on hand - we'll also have the best 'IBM" speakers and consultants on hand (hint: they're the same people!). We'll again bring together all of the industry leading solution providers to help you create or manage your IBM solution.

But, in 2013, we'll have a little more. We are opening up the event to include everyone working with the IBM stack. Whether your background is Lotus, Websphere, Tivoli, DB2, Rational or XYZ - we'd like to invite you to ICON UK 2013.

I realise that change is sometimes a little scary, but don't worry. All the usual suspects will be there and we're all looking forward to meeting you in Brighton this September. All you need to do now is register!

We have an all-new registration system thanks to LDC, so you can login with your existing account and register for the event - or create a new account. Once logged in, you can submit abstracts to speak and participate in our forums.

Finally, as always the event is FREE to attend because of he generous support of our sponsors. Sponsorship slots for ICON UK are available now. For more details on that, just email me. Why not join our growing list of sponsors and meet your target market - direct?

Brick City: LEGO for Grown-ups | Brickset: LEGO set guide and database

Brickset review Brick City (that's alot of bricks....) -

“Overall then, this is an excellent book that will appeal to fans of LEGO Architecture in particular, and to non-AFOLs who have an interest in becoming one. Even if you don’t, or can’t build any of the models, it will provide inspiration and ideas for tackling your own projects and might encourage you to start modelling your own local landmarks.”
— Huw Millington

:-)

Source: http://brickset.com/news/article/?ID=6340#...

Brick City - UK book launch event details

If you live in the US and pre-ordered Brick City, then there is a good chance that you might have already received it.

If you're in the UK though, you get your own special treat -  we get to have a proper launch party! Here are the details:

Edinburgh - Blackwells South Bridge, 6pm - 7:45 on the 2nd May. Free, but ticketed.

London - Waterstones on Piccadilly. All day May 6th. Free, just turn up.

I'm going to be at both events, as are a few models from the book itself. We've more space in London, so there's something a little special getting installed during the 6th...

If you'd like to come to either event (and I'd love to see you), then please do come along. The book will be on the shelves and I'll be happy to deface -er- sign it for you ;-) For the Edinburgh event you'll need a ticket so get in touch with me directly for those.

Office 365 or: How I Learned to Stop Worry and Love the Cloud

In case you hadn't noticed, www.uklug.info has been down for a few days (many people did, thanks for letting me know ;-) ).

Anyway, these things happen in datacenters - even with the best will in the world, occasionally things go wrong. In this instance, a BIG thankyou to Bluewave for getting them back up and running as they kindly host the UKLUG servers for me.

Anyway, this brought forward something I'd been meaning to look at for ages. As much as I like Notes, let's say that it isn't the fastest mail client in the west. I've been using Mac Mail, Calendar and Contacts for a long time and they are alot faster to use. Less functionality I know - but I don't need it now. BUT, more to the point, on my own server, I have to administer it. That's not hard, but it does take up my time. And usually, when things need fixing is when I can't get to them and need them the most. Sods's law.

So, with the new job I decided to concentrate on new things and let someone else host my email. I shall move to the cloud. Why not, with the UKLUG servers down, I have no mail!

This was actually a decision I'd made months ago but done nothing about, so now was the time to move. Here's what happened.

Where to move to? Well, I already had a Google account, I use an Android phone and many shared Google calendars. That's surely the best option. So, off I go to open a Google Apps account.

FAIL! I've been a postini user for years (good service), but currently postini is being transferred to Google Apps as well. Good choice - now everything is on one place. BAD choice. It seems that whilst my account is being migrated - which will happen sometime in 2013, they won't tell me when - I can't upgrade. Worse still, I can't cancel my postini account. I can let that timeout, but that's no good.
So I can either wait an undefined period of time to move to Google Apps or not. With no email, I choose not. EPIC FAIL and a lost customer, Google.

Next up, Apple iCloud. Makes sense, I have lots of Apple devices. Except iCloud doesn't let you use your own domain name. FAIL.

OK, IBM Smartcloud (ne: LotusLive). Yes, I should have checked this one first.... I do some digging and remember that Domino doesn't create iCal feeds for your Calendar. So I can't use the Mac calendar client. FAIL. That one's out of the running then (shame, it would have been the easiest to migrate to). Points to Smartcloud for finally allowing me to signup as a 2 user company with a credit card though...

...This brings me onto another point. Why do all the cloud services make it so bloody hard to actually see what you're getting? A simple list of 'here's what clients and protocols we support' would make life so much easier...

Anyway, there is one elephant left in the room - Office 365.

So, I somewhat reluctantly take a look. I get all the client support I want (through Activesync, not ical feeds, but I can live with that). Anti-spam thrown in. DNS management thrown in (I actually would rather manage my name servers myself, but the instructions on how to do that don't work...) - all for next-to-nothing per month. I get Lync IM and video conferencing which might be useful. I even get access to Sharepoint sites, shared mailboxes and a bunch of other stuff I'll probably never need.

Well, I had no mail, so Office 365 is was. And you know what? I really quite like it. Now it's not perfect. For instance, the Outlook client is truly horrible. Buttons EVERYWHERE. But as I said, I'm not going to use that.
There does seem to be an occasional login conflict with my hotmail account - which has the same username as my Office365 account. That seems to be a known issue though, so hopefully that's being worked on. ical feed support in the web-based calendar is clunky. Oh, and Mac Mail has the habit of showing blank emails every so often (I think it's when you send me a MIME message with no plain text counterpart - baaaaaad mail administrators....).

BUT - it works. It took me (and I am not exaggerating) 20 minutes to migrate. That includes my Mac, Kitty's Mac and our iPhone and Android phone. It. Just. Works. And, by the way, I *love* the web interface. It's really clean, simple and does just what I need it to do and nothing more.

So, the moral of the story? Well, I guess the biggest thing for me was realising just what was important to me - as a mail user. I am constantly reminded by Kitty that I'm a user now, not an administrator. It's true - as a user all I need to do is read, reply and delete emails. So a solution that does that well is very important. Especially in my choice of client. The rest... hierarchical keys, multiple server replication, especially complex calendaring etc etc I can work around. As a user.... I just don't care.

Source: https://warren-elsmore.squarespace.com/...

Busy as usual

Yes, my usual standard of ever-constant blogging continues... not ;-)

Actually, things have been very busy here. The trip to Copenhagen was great - amazing models of course and the chance to catch up with many, many friends. You know that feeling when you have hug people goodbye, saying 'see you again - somewhere, sometime? At worst, back here next year?' well, that was the case for me. Lots of pictures here and whilst it's not guaranteed that I'll be invited back again, I'm sure as hell going to try!

Since I've been back though, it's been a bit of a whirlwind of work. I've been asked to help out another IBM Business Partner on a big migration job (lots of systems TO notes!) which is taking up any un-booked time. But around that, I've been planning 3 conferences for this year, sorting out new accountants, a new accounting system, being able to take credit card payments, building a local companies' logo and arranging for the Brick City tour throughout 2013 and 2014.

Talking of which..... the launch date for Brick City is set and we're planning something a little special for the launch. They'll be more details of that once it's all finalised, but it's getting very exciting. There have already been some press shoots and interviews, some exclusive content being created for one publication and lots, lots more. It doesn't stop!

So, my usual apologies for not blogging more often. But then again, what else would you expect? ;-) I do have one little nugget for you though. I'm taking part in 'Project 52' on a photography website that I'm part of. One photo every week for 2013. Take a look here. That one I do *really* try to keep upto date!

Truckin' to LEGOWorld Copenhagen

Yes, it's two weeks after Connect - so it must be time to be in another country entirely already! In fact, make that 5....

This week I'll be at LEGOWorld Copenhagen, exhibiting the Olympics display that was on show in London during the games. Sadly, pallet shipping to Denmark is really very, very expensive - so it's actually slightly easier and cheaper just to drive it there. All 1100 miles there.

So, on Sunday morning I left Edinburgh for Kent. On Monday, I drove from Kent to the tunnel, through that - through France, Belgium (right past the BLUG Antwerp hotel), The Netherlands and into Germany and upto Bremen. Today was Bremen to the port, onto a ferry and then over into Denmark and finally Copenhagen. I'm a little tired :-)

To put that in perspective - it's about the same as driving from Miami to Houston. Or New York to Orlando. Which has given me the exciting opportunity to realise a few things:

  1. Europe is really quite big. Quite big indeed.
  2. The A1 in Germany has finally finished the roadworks that have been going for 4 years!
  3. The A1 in Germany is now very boring
  4. The EU driving regs of 4.5hrs on / 45mins off make alot of sense.
  5. Having your windscreen wiper come loose on the M25 in snow is not fun
  6. Letting your dogs run free from a car parked on the hard shoulder is a recipe for disaster. Lucky dogs, that's all I can say!

Anyway - if you are in Copenhagen - come say hello! We're at the BellaCenter from Thursday to Sunday. If not, I shall post many pictures etc ;-)

The conference with no fixed agenda.... lets get started!

Well, my last blog post seemed to gather a lot of momentum - so I guess we had better continue that on! Whilst I work on UKLUG and its venue (which I am going to suggest we re-use for the first event), there are a few things that this new event will need in particular. As an initial starting point I've setup http://no-fix.org for the conference with no fixed agenda. It's a simple Google group at the moment, but I will happily take suggestions of a better way to collaborate (assuming it's free and available to our non-IBM friends too ;-) ) So - for all those that said they would help, hop on over there and lets see what we can put together. I'm getting really excited about this now!

A week in Florida. I have an idea.

You know that feeling when you know exactly what you want to say, but you can't quite  write it down?

With huge thanks to Kristin, Mike and their kids.

With huge thanks to Kristin, Mike and their kids.

This last week I've been working in Orlando. Not in the area above, but the floor below on the trade floor for Teamstudio. Working on an exhibition stand is something I've done a fair amount of - and as I concentrate more on the LEGO side of my business it's going to increase (LEGO pulls people onto a stand).

The last week in Orlando was something much more than another event. 2013 marked the tenth anniversary year for me - 2003 - 2013. Eleven years of traveling to an event, yes, but far more importantly, 11 years of spending a week with some of my best friends.

This year was different for so many reasons, and working all day at a stand gives you a very different outlook to a week of meetings and presentations. But for me, it brought home one more, important point. It's not about the technology. It's true that for over a decade we've used the excuse to travel in order to learn technical content about the Lotus world. Hell, my (7 year old and still in use) proposal document says that. But for me the past week wasn't about the technology anymore. It was about friends and community. It was about love.

Lotusphere might have been the reason that we came to Orlando, but that isn't the reason we stayed. It doesn't explain why Kitty, Collette, Matt, Joan and all the other husbands, wives and kids have joined us. It doesn't explain why we all fly around the world to visit LUGs, or why I've stayed with other speakers in their houses and we have had them to stay here. That's not the real reason.

Connect will be back in Orlando in 2014, and I'm sure it will go down well. Volker explains it well, and I have NO problem with IBM focusing the event on management, CxO's and analysts and selling the big picture. If there is a reasonable way for me to return in 2014 then I'd love to be there with a badge on. But it won't be for technical learning or customer networking, not for me.

Alan commented on Volkers' blog asking if someone would take on running a technical Lotus conference elsewhere. A Dev or AdminCon I guess. Whilst that's certainly a possibility, I don't necessarily think it's the only way to go. The View and the LUGs cover alot of that ground already - the content is out there. I suppose Lotusphere could be spun out, but without management buyers there, the sponsors will find it hard to justify and without them the attendance costs would rocket.

I have had another idea, and it's one that I'm going to go through with in 2013. It's one I mentioned to a couple of people last week and one that I've wanted to do for well over a year. I've already mentioned to people that UKLUG will be back in September(ish), but I'm going to throw in something else.

I think the real reason we were all so sad to say goodbye this week is that we miss the people, the experiences, the breadth of learning and understanding. We miss the late night conversations and the deep and meaningfuls. We miss the insightful debate and we miss spending time with our friends. Yes, we're all socially awkard geeks at heart, so we like having an event to base things around, but that's all it is - it's a base.

So, I present you with this. Not an unconference, but a conference with no fixed agenda. Immediately before or after UKLUG there will be a new event - with sessions and keynotes and breakouts - but not focussed on Lotus. Not on IBM and not on any real topic at all. Just on interesting things that you want to hear about. Think of the Nerd Girls spark sessions, Tim Clarks' Olympics session this year or my LEGO community session at ILUG - or even the TED talks. Anything goes if you want to present it. Don't have an hours content? That's fine - you can have 15minutes. Want to do a workshop or BOF instead? No problem.

We'll plan the conference as usual. We will have abstract submissions, but we'll let the web vote on what gets put through. We'll have evening entertainments and registration and lunch and all that good stuff. What we won't have is a show floor (probably), so there may be a charge involved to cover our costs. But what we will have is a reason to get together, to learn, to inspire and grow.

I want this event to be something that you bring your husband/wife/mom/dad/sister/brother/significant other to . I want it to be something that you bring your kids to - and I want them to learn from it as much as you do. We will market it far and wide - crowdsource support and management - find a way of getting more and more people involved. Whatever happens, I DONT WANT TO LOOSE THIS HEAD START.

So, what say you, interwebz? The technology is there and so are the people. As much as I could do this alone, I don't want to. If I'm right then there are many people reading this blog and wondering what is next. I am looking for help and this could well be your chance to be part of something very cool. Or, at the least, a weekend with friends. What's not to like?

ps: That photo above, in case you hadn't guessed, is backstage at Connect 13. Kristin Keene and her family were kind enough to allow me to join their backstage tour (OK, I begged her!) after this years' closing session. For me, it rounds out the event and completes it for me. It's something I've wanted to do since year one.

Penumbra signs on for UK NIGHT

That's it, folks - all 10 sponsorship slots are gone. The kind people at Penumbra have taken up the last UK NIGHT sponsorship place so we have a full house!

Penumbra was formed in 1995, as a group of primarily smaller Business Partner firms seeking to collaborate and to share skills, knowledge and opportunities. Currently Penumbra comprises 20 business partner firms, throughout the US and Europe, with expertise across the IBM Collaboration Solutions product range. The Penumbra members are delighted, as well as hosting Penumbra's own events at Connect 2013, to be for the first time sponsoring 'UK Night'.

SO - here is the deal, as always. UKLUG have booked out the bar at Shulas (in the Dolphin Hotel) from 8pm - 10pm on Monday 28th January. That's immediately after the Connect showcase reception. Drinks are on us as a thank you from some kind sponsors to the customers.

TO GET IN - you need two things. One is an English accent (no Mary Poppins' versions allowed). The second is a UKLUG sticker on your badge. These will not be available on the door. To get a sticker, you need to visit one of our generous sponsors who will place a sticker on your badge. These are:

We4IT
London Developer Co-Op
Instant Technologies
HADSL
Crossware
TC Soft Consulting
Epilio
The Turtle Partnership
OpenNTF
and finally, Penumbra.

I would suggest that you make friends with all these people as soon as you get to Orlando! A hint: many of them have showcase pedestals, why not visit them on the show floor as soon as it opens?

OpenNTF joins UK NIGHT

I'm happy to announce that OpenNTF will be joining the group at UK NIGHT. Remember, just a week on Monday, the UK Lotus User group will be throwing our annual reception to celebrate another great year with IBM Software. UK NIGHT is generously supported and made possible by our sponsors so it's great to have OpenNTF on board as well.

That leaves one slot left. Is your company at Connect? Do you want to be able to invite your customers to the best reception of the week? All you need do is email me!

No LEGO Show for 2013

I've just posted on The LEGO Show site to confirm that we won't be running The LEGO Show in 2013. Many (many!) people have been asking for an update on this, and I'm sorry it hasn't happened sooner really.

2013 is already shaping up to be an exceptionally busy year for me. Organising a show like The LEGO Show is a huge undertaking and if we were to be running a show in May, we'd already need to be selling tickets by now. Sadly, that isn't going to happen this year - but it does give me the extra time necessary to work on a few other ideas we're looking at this year and come back for a bigger and better show in the future. The other major factor is that my book is released in May! So I'm already having meetings with the publishers about publicity for that. Doing both things in the same month just isn't feasible.

I've also posted on the AFOLCON site to say that, yes, we hope to run AFOLCON this year. More details on that one as we have it....

Is your business at Connect 13? Looking for a GREAT way to entertain clients?

If so, you'll be pleased to hear that I still have 3 places left for sponsorship of UK NIGHT. Unashamedly (and from a completely unbiased source) the best event of Lotus-Connect-o-sphere!

The format is simple. The nation best known for running bars (ie, us, the British), take over Shulas bar for one evening. The bar tab is covered and you ge the change to invite your best customers in for a drink or three. Entry is by INVITATION ONLY and your company will be giving out those invites. So expect alot of leads as soon as you arrive ;-)

What will this amazing marketing opportunity cost you? Only $500. You could spend more than that at the bar anyway..... To get involved with UK NIGHT (and remember that you don't have to be a British company), just email me: warren@elsmore.net and we'll sign you up! There are just three weeks left....

<UPDATE>

I told you those places don't last long. Please welcome the Turtle Partnership to the party!

Changing slide masters in Keynote

I've been asked this a couple of times, and it's not terribly hard - so let's pretend that you have a slide deck from 'Conf 12' that you want to re-use for 'Conf 13'...

First off, you'll need a Keynote template for 'Conf 13'. Lots of events won't supply that (no idea why not... I do...) which you'll probably get as a 'pot' or 'potx' powerpoint templates. To open that in Keynote, simply rename to ppt or pptx and it'll open straightaway. Now, in Keynote, check the fonts sizes etc look correct, then choose File, Export, and save it as a Keynote template. It will by default suggest the Keynote template directory:

Next up, reopen your 'Conf 12' slide deck. Select all the slides, click on 'Themes' and then select your 'Conf 13' theme - if the original slide was written correctly (ie, you used the placeholders) then it should all change over as expected. Probably bar the title slide. Select the title slide, then go to 'Masters'. Drop that down and you'll see that BOTH the Conf 12 and Conf 13 masters are active. Choose the Conf 13 title master and that should change too.

Voila! Now all you need to do is update the content ;-)

UK NIGHT is back for Connect 13!

And there you all were wondering..... ;-)

Yes - UK NIGHT will be back at Connect 13 (the conference formally known as Lotusphere). We'll again be celebrating the best of the UK in Shula's lounge on Monday evening.

For those of you that don't know, UK NIGHT is an annual get together of UK IBMers, Business Partners and customers. And space is limited! We are sponsored by 10 of the best Business Partners in the business and we can only let 100 people in. So, you can do the maths!

For 2013 I would already like to thank;

   

And that's before I've even announced it! So, with 4 places gone I have 6 slots left. The format is simple, we ask for $500 and in return you get not only the UK's undying thanks - but also the special golden tickets to enter UK Night. Anyone that wants to come to UK NIGHT must get a ticket from you. How's that for an attractive offer?

Interested? All you need to do to add your name to my list is email me. warren@elsmore.net It's that simple!

<UPDATE>

Make that 5 slots left! Thanks to ;

Will your company be number 6?

<UPDATE 2> And then there were 6 - so that's only 4 slots left, you've gotta act quick!Thankyou: 

6 becomes 7 - that's only 3 slots left... thanks to:

Source: https://warrenelsmore.com/

Home time...

Well, that was it. My last day at Bluewave, and probably fittingly, I was onsite with a client in London.

So... what next? Well, this post is almost by way of an apology. What is next is the book. SOLIDY. I did a recap of the spreadsheet today and I have alot of models still to make. Within the next month I have to produce three models a day - seven days a week.

Thinking about it though, that probably doesn't mean much to many of you. So here's what is actually involved. I take a building that we've settled on - Westminster Abbey for instance:

Mini Westminster Abbey

Mini Westminster Abbey

Next, I have to research the building and decide just how it's going to be built in LEGO. Then design it (using pretty much only current parts so that YOU can build it too!), draft it up in CAD, create instructions, check the instructions work, source the parts, build the model and get it to the photographer. Three times a day ;-)

And the apology? Well, that's because I do intend on blogging more often. Except not for the next few weeks. They're going to be a bit busy! Normal, sporadic, service will resume in mid-December. Probably :-)