SnTT - IBM Lotus Quickr Connectors in 8.5.x can act like 8.2

A few days ago I was with a client and we were going over how their files will look in Quickr 8.5.1.

Using the Quickr Connectors I noticed something which was not how my laptop was working with them.

If he double clicked on a file in the explorer list, it did not open the file...but opened the Quickr site and the file page. If he then wanted to view or edit it he had to right click or click on the drop down or the item and then preview to see it.

My laptop just opened the file.

I realized my Connectors had not been updated. So I updated them.

And they did it too!

As Darren Duke and I discussed via Skype, this is working as designed. Some have said this only happens in specific cases. And so it seems, this is that case.

What normally should happen is one should see this screen:

Ok, fine. But I, and my client, are not seeing it and want the old way back.
In this case rebuilding 1,000's of documents was not feasible.

I searched and did not find anything about this.

I did find someone inside IBM on the Connector team who emailed me back a solution, which works for me, but no guarantee it will work in all cases. YMMV

The behavior was changed to allow for the connectors to add/edit custom metadata to documents. By doing this, we needed a method to allow management of attachments on a document type page.

One thing you can try, is to modify the server version in the registry ON YOUR PC(my addition). The old behavior is in the code, but we get the server version from the registry when you manage places ... and we update it accordingly. What you you can try is to change the following key:

in the registry ...
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\IBM\Lotus Quickr\Desktop Integration\Servers\
and change the Version to 8.0.4

The flag for the code is for server API version 8.0.5 or greater ...
No guarantees this will work and it can change back when you manage places on that server ... and you lose some of the new features (such as required metadata prompting).

So it worked for me and hopefully for you as well. No idea if it will revert back or not after a day or 2 or reboot or next time I login but so far today it's worked as expected.

EDITED with an update 1/7 Noon: It seems that if you add a place it reverts back. Still testing if I don't add a place what happens. So this may or not really work in the end. Perhaps just installing a Connector from 8.2 is best?

Computer Use on Shabbat

This post has nothing to do with Lotus or IBM. It does have to do with computers and technology and a different view of making use of them. Do not take my references to religious guidelines as fact for the beauty of Judaism is much of it is open to discussion.

The Jewish Press arrived today, better late than never after last week's snow but we usually get it after the weekend.

In the 12/31 issue on Page 10 are 2 articles of interest.

The first is a reprinted article from June 2009 which is available online and titled "IDF (Rabinate) Developing Shabbat-Friendly Keyboard, Computer Screen".

The second, which is available online from the Jerusalem Post, is titled "Siddur Going Digital, But Not For Shabbat"

The first article is about צהל or the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) trying to come up with a way for a computer, among other items, to be used on Shabbat. There are whole sections of the Israeli army that are full of Shabbat observant people and this is not an easy issue to grapple with for some of them. It should be noted that in case of danger to one's life or others they can break Shabbat, "normal" times on base or in the field pose other questions.

While I can not debate all the halachic(religious legal reasoning) reasoning, suffice it to say that there are in effect boundaries that can be leveraged for these situations. It is not to say that just anyone can use them, although some may argue to do so, but these are for specific circumstances and go talk to your Rabbi or Rav if you have questions. Many are on Twitter by the way should anyone be interested.

Now what is of interest to note, especially in the 2nd article, is Artscroll, the leader in Judaica print houses, will not put their Shabbat siddurim and Chag machzorim in digital print...for now. The reason is:

But ArtScroll’s most popular books - its Shabbat and High Holidays prayerbooks -- will not be coming out for e-readers like the iPad and Amazon’s Kindle. The reason?
The Shabbat prohibition against using electronic devices is a major barrier.
“The vision of people coming to shul on Shabbat with their e-siddur just doesn’t cut it,” Rabbi Meir Zlotowitz, president of the Orthodox-run publishing house, told JTA.

The view Artscroll is taking is deliberate and probably appropriate for the time being. One should not cause another to break the laws of Shabbat, no matter whether you argue there are Torah laws or Rabbinic in nature.

If, for example, an iPad or similar device could be designed in a way that could conform to halachic standards, would it be "in the spirit of Shabbat"? This is an altogether different issue.

One can watch TV on Shabbat or listen to the radio, but not change channels or volume or do anything else with it, is it in the spirit of Shabbat? Are discussions about work or anything not to do with Shabbat acceptable or not?

It is not an easy discussion to have.

While many in the print publishing world say everything is going digital, there is still a percentage of people who love the feel of a book in hand. Or for religious reasons can not or will not use the electronic devices. For many it is not an issue, and never will be. Personally I enjoy not knowing what is on or happening anywhere or if there are problems at work for 25 hours a week. It is also a time when I can catch up with my reading.

To close with a media related societal reference, in the "Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan " movie, Spock gives Kirk an antique copy of a Dickens classic, "A Tale of Two Cities", as a birthday present and proceeds to read it after a brief dialog.

KIRK: Oh, by the way, thank you for this.
SPOCK: I know of your fondness for antiques.

I guess life just may imitate art...someday.