Rebuilding a laptop is like Converting to Exchange

Sorry, laptop ran out of batteries and caused some problems. Here is the post.
It's just painful, especially when you didn't plan properly(we know it wasn't YOUR fault).
For admins even more painful is the magnitude of problems they will face.
Especially if you have missed a step or in my case a file or maybe 2.

Clients don 't think about the fact you now have to manage multiple servers compared to one previously(or multiply by at least 2 for moving off Notes to Exchange if ALL you want/use is Exchange, otherwise multiply by at least 4 to get the full package).

In my case I have multiple backups and drives now after getting my HP laptop returned with a new screen hinge, and a new drive(thanks tigerdirect for the 320GB for $60, maybe even get one for my ideapad) but these are killing me as none will "fix" vista. Not that XP is better, but I am better prepared now for the next backup. Bought an external 2.5" case and that works really well. But I digress.

So you have to get your whole network updated to 2008. But you knew that going in...didn't you? No? Your Microsoft rep forgot to tell you that one? And your Business Partner suddenly hit you up for extra consulting fees too? All this to change email platforms, now you have to upgrade your whole infrastructure of Microsoft pieces or nothing will talk to properly? You don't say.

Likewise I am reinstalling drivers and software and it is taking MUCH longer than expected. If I had only made the effort before hand to test my backup I would have noticed the thing missed some open files. Or had the external case.

I know some of you are thinking loser, and you are right. But there is no fun like reinstalling anything Microsoft. So much so I am tempted to try the MAC osX idea and dual boot my machine.

The moral of this story is I brought this mess on myself because of the following reasons(in no particular order) and most of the same goes to you if you are moving off of Domino:

1) I trusted my backup solution (The White House lost emails are legendary, they should have stuck with Lotus)
2) Microsoft told me their software could back up my drive and transfer my data and I believed them, well i wanted to at least, figured they could get this right...WRONG.(I could put almost anything here I guess that Microsoft says which is never reality for 2 more releases....or 5 years)
3) Listen to your friends on Twitter every time or Sametime.
4) HP made me do it, I didn't want to send them my hard drive (Substitute your favorite quote from lousy analyst companies and blame them)
5) It was done on the cheap and may just end up as a cutover and not a migration(how MANY migrations from Lotus end up this way because companies "suddenly" realize what they got into and can't change their budget(for 2-3x more) later in the cycle?
6) I read that other business people (Thanks Bilal for your tale of woe)sent their laptops back and had problems but this would never happen to me. (Other companies committed to Microsoft and never moved or have taken YEARS to do so, that won't happen to us....Riiiiight)
7) I like my new Ideapad so much I just can't go back to the old laptop. Just kidding, I do love it, but working on it the last week or so has reminded me why it is for TRAVELING. And the Ideapad is inheriting the 120GB from the HP soon and that is really needed on it.
8) My kids(clients) like the new stuff. (If you don't keep your server updated NOW by running older versions of Domino, what makes you think you will keep it updated on the new solution? Right you HAVE to otherwise the rest of your infrastructure will stop talking to each other)

So learn from my woes, spend the $10 and get an external drive case to do a perfect backup of your drive next time.

If only I could cluster my laptops, but that's a whole other post.

S10e Update, Ideapad to the Rescue

I started my review of the Ideapad from Lenovo and while Lotusphere will be the true test, I have some feedback to everyone.
Especially @olufsphere who really wants one.

1st I have a 3cell battery. Do I care? No, because on full power it lasts for over 2 hours .....easily.
On extreme power saver(or whatever you want to call it) it seems to last forever. Again, Lotusphere 2009 will be the test, live blogging indeed!

So for those that ask, it runs an Atom processor, you know I bumped the RAM up to 1.5GB total and comes with a paltry 80GB drive. Note to Lenovo, small doesn't mean limited disk space! There are larger drives, ahem, available, but my guess is they are more than this cost($50 more upfront if I could get that model, not likely to be $50 to upgrade the drive). Still if any Lenovo people will be at Lotusphere I would be happy to test drive your larger drives on a long term basis.

So how did I test it? Well I loaded Lotus Domino 8.5, Lotus Notes 8.5 and Admin client, throw in twirhl(my Twitter program), Skype, Norton whatever came with it(being removed as I write), plus the usual pieces and parts and was running it along with Firefox on a site with a video on how to remove your door panels for a 2002 Camaro, hint, don't do this while your baby daughter(1.5 yrs) is sitting in the from driver's seat. Although she learned a lot about wiring and taking the door apart :-)

I had to replace my front passenger side speaker, um, blew it playing something too loudly, toss up between Hendrix, Guns n Roses, Aerosmith and Billy Squier. But the new speaker sounds beautiful, maybe I will review that one day, in any event I couldn't drive to Lotusphere with a bad speaker for 2.5 hours could I?! Taking Notes Podcasts would sound horrible.

So all this was running in the background, occasionally closed the lid for sleep mode when busy, but worked on battery power alone at the lowest energy configuration and after about 2 hours only used 25% of the battery life. And Domino was still running processes for me in the background.

So the answer from me is go get it and have fun!
Or if you are in the US, or don't mind a US keyboard I should say, I have a deal for you coming out in a day or 2 which you might appreciate.

A Lotusphere Must Have

I rarely write reviews of products, in fact this might be the only one.
But as some know I received my Lenovo Ideapad (netbook)S10e on Friday. E stands for education.

Unfortunately for me some server issues cropped up and I was not able to really enjoy the unit until late in the day and the weekend.

It's small, light, moderately fast at processing, good battery life, webcam, built in mic and speakers(loud), wi-fi works well too, has an option to open up a browser or some apps without starting the full machine. Haven't got that to work yet, wireless issues it seems.

Stuck an extra 1GB ram in it, max is 1.5 anyway on this XP home version.
80GB drive, which is only 72gb accessible and about 50Gb free before i do too much to it.

I don't like the mouse pad buttons. They make a loud annoying click, prefer the thinkpad soft touch. Screen is a tad small, but then what did I really want to do with this device anyway, its about convenience and weight for me.

This will make my life so much easier in Orlando. Live blogging or just taking notes it will be much smoother and also on my back. Leaving the 17" monster at home.

Pricing for it is about $375(you can find it on lenovo site for $349 at times or via discounters. Mine is black, not pink or the other colors but for the price(dealer rate plus an end of 2008 $100 off and some other discounts put it in a range that we could not turn down. Plus clients will want this once they see it.

So if you haven't seen it or used it, catch me in Orlando.