BC's Focus on Innovation

LDAP Import Pros and Cons

Is the way NGES handles LDAP/AD integration a strength or a weakness?  Lets look at the pros and cons.

Pros:

• Only syncs with specified users and/or groups.
• Has a configurable sync interval.
• By bringing the users and/or groups into NGES, a loosely coupled connection to the directory is created; so processing impact and connectivity issues on the network are minimized.
• Since Single Sign-on (SSO) is done with cookie based authentication, NGES has very little performance impact on the directory once the administration sync is done.
• Since the connection to the directory is configurable, the level of redundancy and network cost can be centrally controlled.
• With the optional auto activation feature (available with an enterprise license) users can add themselves to the application (and directory sync) simply by visiting the Intranet welcome page.
• Integration to the directory is simply a matter of pointing the server to a LDAP/AD catalog with read access.
• Changes to the directory are automatically reflected in NGES every time they sync (Ex. Group membership changes) and nested groups are supported.

Cons:

None that I can think of.  Comments?

del.icio.us Tags: Newsgator, NGES, Enterprise, LDAP

Enhanced SharePoint Functionality with Social Sites

I was talking to a customer the other day and they were very interested in the Tag Cloud in Social Sites.  The question came up "is the tagging function only for the Social Sites data or is it global" (includes SharePoint items).

This is great question and it helps illustrate the following point.  NewsGator Social Sites adds important functionality on top of SharePoint, while utilizing SharePoint's native features.

Specifically, with tags and ultimately the tag cloud, Social Sites will search SharePoint for the Category and that becomes the tag!  Instant integration!

del.icio.us Tags: Social Sites, SharePoint, Tagging

Shh, Don't tell anyone about this super secret subscription API (AKA one-click subscribe)

Have you ever wanted to build your own subscribe button and automate the subscription process for your users and internal web sites?  Glad you asked, because now you can.  Here's how:

We created an endpoint that will allow you do completely automate the subscribe chicklet for your Intranet sites.

Examples follow:
NOTE: THIS IS A NGES 2.1 FEATURE AND WILL NOT WORK ON PRIOR VERSIONS.

[nges 2.1 server]/ngws/svc/subscribe.aspx?xmlurl=http://daniellarson.spaces.live.com
You can also specify network credentials by adding &windows=true
…or you could even pass creds with params: userName,password,domain if you like.
Use it with a script like this:
function subscribe(){
var subImg = document.createElement(‘IMG’);
subImg.onerror= alert(‘couldn’t subscribe, Sorry.’);
subImg.src=’ [nges 2.1 server]/ngws/svc/subscribe.aspx?xmlurl=http://daniellarson.spaces.live.com’;
}

For more nuggets of wisdom, visit http://www.newsgator.com/support/nges/SFKB.htm

 

del.icio.us Tags: NGES, NewsGator

Sneak Pre-view of the NewsGator SocialSites 1.1 WebParts

Here is a listing of the currently available Social Computing WebParts from NewsGator Technologies.  This software has some amazing abilities.  First, you should know that it was designed to install in WSS OR Moss!!!  This is fantastic, because you can bring Social Computing to all areas of the enterprise seamlessly.  Stay tuned for more technical product details to follow.  For the product overview visit the SocialSites product pages at http://www.newsgator.com/Business/SocialSites/Default.aspx

Here's a snapshot of the current WebParts.  Note: Features and function are subject to change. 

Technorati Tags: Web 2.0 Summit, SocialSites, NewsGator, SharePoint

Integration the Web 2.0 way - #3 RSS.aspx

Have you ever wanted to create an RSS reading experience that is targeted to specific users, contains specific feeds and has a customizable appearance?  Ever wanted to integrate all of that functionality into your complex portal environment, but were afraid to take on such a huge integration project?

…Well one simple answer is RSS.aspx

What is RSS.aspx? – RSS.aspx is pre-packaged code that uses the NewsGator API to create a portable and extensible reader.

How much does it cost? - Its FREE!! RSS.aspx is included in the NewsGator Enterprise Server (NGES).

How do I use it? For starters, check the “Developers: Integration & API

” link in the on-line help file on the NGES server (re-printed below if you are not lucky enough to have a NGES server yet). That should get you started, but if you need more help or have questions, feel free to comment here or contact the NewsGator professional services group at ps@newsgator.com

Technorati Tags: NGES, RSS, API, ASPX, .NET

Help : API RSS Feed Endpoint

API RSS Feed

/ngws/svc/RSS.aspx

What is the API RSS Feed?

The API RSS feed is the main XML feed used by the NGES Web Reader. It is not meant to be used as a feed source, but is used as an endpoint to serve data from the NGES content database to remote applications and AJAX web interfaces. By default the feed will only return unread items using the identity of the user requesting the feed.

The API RSS feed can be used to access feeds, folders, and search queries. It is also a pageable data source, in which query parameters can request additional pages of data. You do not need to be subscribed to a feed to access it using rss.aspx. Security is enforced on feeds that require credentials. In a typical application, you would use this endpoint with a combination of endpoints such as the Subscription Web Service's GetSubscriptionList or the OPML endpoint.

Reading a Feed

To read a feed using RSS.aspx, use the fid parameter. For example, to read a feed with the ID of 2, use the URL RSS.aspx?fid=2

Reading a Folder

To read an aggregated feed for a folder using RSS.aspx, use the fld parameter. For example, to read an aggregation of the folder 0, use the URL RSS.aspx?fld=0. To read other folder, pass in the ID of the folder. Folder IDs can be read from the OPML feed or from the Folder web service.

Specifying number of items returned

You can limit the results by specifying the Count param. the following specifies that you only want 1 item back: RSS.aspx?fld=0&count=1

If no Count param is specified, a default of 25 results are returned.

Specifying read or unread items using the "reqType" param

You can also specify read items by passing in the "reqType" param. This param lets you specify the source, which defaults to "CURRENT". (The default endpoint assumes the reqType "reqType=CURRENT"). The following specifies all local items (read and unread, including archived items) for a feed:
RSS.aspx?fid=1&reqType=CURRENT|ARCHIVE

If reqType is not specified, only unread items are returned.

Specifying a Tag Filter for the Location RSS Feed

You can apply a Tag Filter by specifying a Tag parameter. The Tag is applied to each item of an RSS feed according to the RSS Specification. Example with a "blogging" tag filter: RSS.aspx?fid=1&tag=blogging

Combined with the fid (feed) or folder (fld) filters, this will allow you to retrieve a list of posts with a specific category applied across multiple feed sources. Note that you do not need to specify feed or folder filter params.

Paging with the API RSS endpoint

To request additional pages with the RSS endpoint, specify the direction using navDir ("NEXT", "PREVIOUS", "FIRST", "LAST"); the page number using page, the last post known using lastPost and the last pub date using the lastSortValue param.
Example:
rss.aspx?fid=353&lastPost=25499&lastSortValue=04/02/2007+23:27:39-06&navDir=NEXT&page=2.

If reqType is not specified, only unread items are returned.

Searching with the API RSS endpoint

To apply a search filter on any data scope through the RSS endpoint, specify the query using the find parameter. To perform a search on all items don not specify additional filters. To limit the scope of the search, specify feed or folder filter parameters.
Example:
rss.aspx?reqType=UNREAD&find=newsgator.

If reqType is not specified, only unread items are returned.

 For additional help please contact your administrator.

NewsGator Enterprise Server 2.0.0.1438

© 2003-2007 NewsGator Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Meet the new NGES 2.0 packaged API Endpoints

Did  you know the new version of NewsGator Enterprise Server (NGES 2.0) contains several new and improved options for quick and professional portable reading functionality? 

      Portable reading functionality? You may be asking yourself, ‘self’;  What would I do with portable reading functionality? The answer of course it to provide the advanced RSS technologies of the NGES system  to work on your portal, chat client, extranet, notification system, etc..

Here are some examples. Please comment or send an e-mail if you would like more information.

 

1) LocationRSS: LocationRSS.aspx

What is the Location RSS Feed?

Location RSS is used to serve an aggregated RSS feed for a named location. By default, LocationRSS will serve a feed for the default location (NewsGator Enterprise Web Edition) for the user that is requesting the feed. For more information on NewsGator Locations, please see the Location help documentation on your local NGES server.

Some supported functions include:

• XSLT Transformation
•  Specified Location
•  Number of items to return
•  Read/Unread
•  Category filter
• User Impersonation  

2) API RSS Feed: RSS.aspx

 

What is the API RSS Feed?

 

The API RSS feed is the main XML feed used by the NGES Web Reader. It is not meant to be used as a feed source, but is used as an endpoint to serve data from the NGES content database to remote applications and AJAX web interfaces. By default the feed will only return unread items using the identity of the user requesting the feed.

 The API RSS feed can be used to access feeds, folders, and search queries. It also includes paging of the data source, in which query parameters can request additional pages of data. You do not need to be subscribed to a feed to access it using rss.aspx. However, security is enforced on feeds that require credentials.  In a typical application, you would use this endpoint with a combination of endpoints such as the Subscription Web Service's GetSubscriptionList or the OPML endpoint.

 
3) Embedded RSS Reader: Read.aspx

What is the Embedded RSS Reader?

The Embedded RSS Reader is a simple reader that wraps the API RSS feed with a simple AJAX feed reader.  It is intended to read a single feed at a time in a popup window, and uses a subset of the query parameters to the API RSS endpoint. 

Some supported functions include:

•  XSLT Transformation

•  Specified feed or folder

To learn more about the NewsGator Enterprise API, please reference the HTML help documentation included with your NGES server under the ‘Help” link. You can also visit www.newsgator.com for documentation and access to the support forums for the entire API or contact NGES Professional Services at ps@newsgator.com.

 

Intro to RSSBus

NewsGator licenses RSSBus for distribution with NewsGator Enterprise Server (NGES)

In the following podcasts, I will provide an overview of this exciting new product.  RSSBus enables RSS creation of everyday data and is a very powerful integration or mashup tool.  To get started,
Follow the links below to checkout a brief video or audio introduction of RSSBus.  Look for more detailed posts soon!

Checkout the Vcast https://cc.readytalk.com/play?id=8qhpqclz and

Podcast at http://cc.readytalk.com/f/8ukmh3d/rec.xml

Social Networking and Your Business - Panel Discussion April 26th, 2007

 

Social         Networking and Your Business                 How         do blogs, user-generated content and spiders effect your         business? Are you up to speed with the blogosphere, online         profiles and how community feedback can help (or hinder) your         marketing efforts?         Join CSIA on April 26th         to discuss social networking with panelists from Umbria,         NewsGator, Photobucket, and OutYo who will enlighten you as to         what is happening with blogs, wikis, social networks and RSS feed         management in today’s business atmosphere. We will talk about how         mining the blogosphere can provide your company with real-time insights         into companies, products, people, and issues that can directly affect         your company’s success.                 Social Networking is more         than a buzzword; it is happening all around us. This is your         chance to hear from, and ask questions of, the Colorado leaders who         know how to make social networking work for you.                 Register         Now                 Event Details         Thursday,         April 26, 2007         7:30am - 8:00am -          Registration and Networking         8:00am - 9:30am -  Panel Discussion and Q&A Session         9:30am - 10:00am  - Additional Networking                  Location                 Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce         1445 Market Street         Denver, Colorado 80202                 Pricing                 $15 per person - Employees of CSIA Member Companies         $55 per person - Employees of Non-Member Companies                 Register         Now         CSIA Premium Members and         Sponsor Companies - Use your CSIA Season Pass for 2 Complimentary Guest         Passes. If you are with a Premium Member or Sponsor Company, please use         our in-person reservation system for preferred members by calling (303)         592-4069.                         Panel Details         This panel will be moderated         by Mike Forbus from Propel         Advertising.  www.propeladvertising.com                 Panelists include:                 Jackie Eden-Harris is the         CEO of Umbria.         Umbria is a 2006 Apex Award nominee and is deeply involved with social         networking because they mine the blogosphere and other public forums         for real-time insights into companies, products, people and         issues.  www.umbrialistens.com                 Greg Reinacker is the CTO and founder of NewsGator. NewsGator         develops and markets RSS aggregation solutions for individual end         users, enterprises, publishers and other online content providers.         People use NewsGator aggregators to access news, information, podcasts         and other relevant content efficiently and effectively. Greg is         recognized as a thought leader in the weblog and RSS arenas, publicly         speaks about RSS, and is a vocal proponent of business uses of RSS and syndication         technologies.  www.newsgator.com                 Photobucket is the easiest and most reliable way for people to         create, manage and share their personal media online. With more than 25         million users, Photobucket is a creative hub linking billions of         personal photos, graphics and videos daily to hundreds of thousands of         web sites-including MySpace, eBay, Craigslist, Blogger and         Facebook.  www.photobucket.com                 OutYo         is a stand-alone social networking/content sharing platform for         the general public to frequent for pure entertainment.  OutYo is a         neutral 'hub', an aggregation home for content and community from the         wide world of outdoor sports. OutYo allows members to share         content and participate in a community of like-minded outdoor         enthusiasts who can post news, photos, videos, etc.  It         is truly a place where the outdoor world converges.  www.outyo.com                                                                                                                        Join         CSIA Today!         Interested         in building your business? Join CSIA today. The benefits will directly         relate to your business success. CSIA provides a variety of compelling         programs offering C-level insight into today's business and technology         issues, helping your business gain that crucial competitive edge. CSIA         is proud to offer dozens of opportunities for you to garner smart         business insight, hear from C-level executives about what they are         doing for their business, and offer networking opportunities to create         and expand business relationships with other software and technology         member companies. Contact Mike Brehm, Membership Coordinator at         (303) 592-4069 or via email at mike@coloradosoftware.org.                                                                                          2007 Annual         Sponsors                                                                                            Platinum Sponsors                                                                                                                                               Founding Sponsors                                                                                                                                                                              Gold Sponsors                                                                                                                                                                                                             Silver Sponsors                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Bronze Sponsors                                                                                                                                                                                        CSIA Premium Members                                                                                           Bold Tech Systems,         Inc.          Bolo Systems,         Inc.         Business Controls,         Inc.         Camisa Technologies,         Inc.         CAP Logistics         CIBER         CirruSystems, LLC         Colorado Production         Group         Confio Software         Consulate General of         Canada         digatalassets         DigiTech         Dorsey & Whitney         eBags         EMC Microsoft         Practice         Ernst & Young,         LLP         Exclusive Resorts -         IT Dept         Foundry Networks         Gesix Software, Inc.         Godin & Baity,         LLC         Harvey Nash, Inc.         Hein &         Associates, LLP         HJF International         HRVP - Terra         Firma/Tech Trends         HSR Business to         Business Inc.         Integro         IQNavigator         ISYS Search Software         Jones & Keller,         P.C.         Lewis & Fowler         Longmont Area         Economic Development Corporation         Mapquest, Inc.         MDC Holdings/Richmond         American Homes         Modis         Montano Solaria         PEAK Resources, Inc.         Pragmatic Software         Q Advisors LLC         Rare Space, Inc.         Solution Partners         Solution Partners Group         Solutions II, Inc         St. Charles Capital         Statera         SwiftPage Email         SysTest Labs         TEKsystems         The Ash Group         The Highlands Group         Townsend Townsend         & Crew         VeriCenter, Inc.         w3w3         Western IT Council         Westwood College         Yellow Dog Printing         & Graphics.                                                                                           CSIA Main Offices         1625 Broadway         Suite 950         Denver, CO 80202         Phone: (303) 592-4070         Fax: (303) 592-4079         www.coloradosoftware.org

     

Sent to: brianc@newsgator.com   If you prefer not to receive   future e-mails of this type,   Leave   this List.

Sent By:         CSIA         1625 Broadway     Suite 950         Denver CO 80202

 

 

To view as a web   page.

 

 

 

Attend Salesforce.com's 2007 Success Tour!

I will be speaking at this event and encourage one and all to attend.  You will have a chance to meet some folks from SalesForce.com and take part in some very informative training for FREE!
Register here

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Hyatt Regency at Colorado Convention Center

650 15th Street

Denver

(303) 436-1234

http://denverregency.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/

OVERALL AGENDA:

Registration for Midday Seminars: 11:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Midday Seminars: 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Registration for Afternoon Seminars: 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Keynote Session: 1:30 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.

Afternoon Sessions: 2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Birds-of-a-Feather: 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Networking Reception: 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

SESSION DESCRIPTIONS:

Keynote Session for all Attendees: Join Salesforce experts and customer heroes as they share the latest trends in on demand and what it means to you. See how others are managing their entire business on demand using Salesforce’s powerful platform, Apex, and the revolutionary AppExchange.

 Building a 60-Day Success Plan: Ideal for new and prospective customers, this session provides a detailed road map for successfully implementing Salesforce in 60 days, based on proven methodologies and the lessons learned from current customers.

 Getting the Most out of Our Newest Releases: Ideal for advanced customers, this session shows how powerful new features like time-based workflow, embedded mashups, approvals and more can drive productivity in your job and across your organization.

 Partner Relationship Management (PRM) Seminar: Ideal for professionals building channel relationships, this session features a live product demo of Salesforce PRM, customer success stories, and a discussion on channel management best practices.

 Salesforce Service & Support Seminar: Ideal for service and support professionals, this session features a live product demo and a panel of current customers.  NewsGator 

 Would you like to bring a colleague? No problem! Please register any guests here: http://www.salesforce.com/events/

Questions? Bring them all with you to the event, and our team of experts -- or other customers like you -- will be happy to help. Or email: htrabitz@salesforce.com with any logistical questions beforehand.

 Please note: This event is complementary, with the exception of parking.

 We look forward to seeing you there!

 salesforce.com

1-800-NO-SOFTWARE

(1-800-667-6389)

www.salesforce.com

The newsletter use case

Here is a first draft of an interesting use case that came about from talking to a NGES customer who had a need to collect news articles and build targeted newsletters that the user could opt-in to and have the flexibility in how they consume the news.  Sound useful?  Read on.

The RSS Newsletter use case:

The requirements:

1 A librarian or editor (or group of subject matter experts) selects news articles  to be published

2. 

The content needs to be sorted and distributed to different functional groups automatically

3. 

The end user should have the choice or consuming the content in a variety of ways: RSS, E-mail and web page.

The result:

1. Using the NewsGator Enterprise Server (NGES), the librarian

a. Clips articles

b. Uses the published tags or custom tagging, the librarian places the articles into categorizes

2. The user or administrator sets up consumption of the newsletter:

a. For web/RSS; they subscribe to the clipping feed

b. For E-mail; they subscribe to the clipping feed, and create an alert location that contains that feed.

Benefits:

· Custom tagging allows ALL content to be centralized in NGES AND filtered and delivered to specific groups within the company. i.e. different newsletters can automatically be generated from a single feed.

· The Alert (SMTP) location feature allows the user to elect e-mail delivery, bridging the gap in training and workflow. Giving users a choice.

Stay tuned for more detailed instructions to follow.

SalesForce.com's upcoming support for HTML solutions

Bill Emerson of Forceamp.com dropped me a note the other day giving me the inside scoop on a much anticipated feature for the SalesForce.com solutions feature.  According to the SalesForce Feature Blog you will soon be able to display rich (HTML) content directly into your solutions pages and customer portal.  We have been wanting that ever since we discovered how useful the solutions feature was.  Very nice.

Read the short summary here:

Feature Details

• HTML Content:      Expand the value of your solutions knowledge base by providing richly      formatted solutions with pictures, diagrams, and multimedia content.

• Public Knowledge Base and Customer Portal: Allow customers to search and browse rich-content      solutions via the public knowledge base or the new customer portal.

• Graphical Representation of Complex Ideas: By delivering rich content with diagrams, graphics,      and rich formatting, customers will better understand complex solutions      and derive greater value from your knowledge base. With clear,      easy-to-follow solutions available via self-service, customer are less      likely to log a new case or call your service center and customer      satisfaction increases.

 

about:config Some cool FireFox Hacks

Here are some FireFox settings that I have recently implemented that help with browsing speed.  Check it out.  Just type About:config in the address window of FireFox and filter for pipelining.

Pipelining:

Basically, these settings control the flow of http requests.  You are telling FireFox to process in parallel (rather than sequentially) and you are allowing more concurrent requests.  Just like adding another feature to a product development cycle or another project on the the same number of developers; so don't over do it or you will get the opposite of what you wanted.

To change the page load time (initialpaint.delay), just right click anywhere in the body of the about:config screen and...
1)  select: New | Integer
2) type: nglayout.initialpaint.delay
3) enter: 0 as the value.

Link: about:config.

Integration the Web 2.0 way - #2 LocationRSS.aspx

Ever wanted to create an RSS reader that is targeted to specific users, contains specific feeds and has a customizable appearance? Ever wanted to integrate all of that functionality into your complex portal environment, but were afraid to take on such a huge integration project?

…Well one simple answer is LocationRSS.

What is LocationRSS? – LocationRSS.aspx is pre-packaged code that uses the NewsGator API to create a portable and extensible reader.

How much does it cost? - Its FREE!! (kinda). LocationRSS is included in the NewsGator Enterprise Server (NGES).

How do I use it? For starters, check the “integration” link in the on-line help file on the NGES server (re-printed below if you are not lucky enough to have a NGES server yet). That should get you started, but if you need more help or have questions, feel free to comment here or contact the NewsGator professional services group at ps@newsgator.com

Help : Location RSS Feed

RSS Endpoint

/ngws/svc/LocationRSS.aspx

What is the Location RSS Feed?

Location RSS is used to serve an aggregated RSS feed for a named location. By default, LocationRSS will serve a feed for the default location (NewsGator Enterprise Web Edition) for the user that is requesting the feed. For more information on NewsGator Locations, please see the Location help.

The Location RSS feed is a core integration point for the NewsGator Enterprise SharePoint Components, in which a portal site will own a named location and share it among the site members. For more information, please see the NewsGator Enterprise SharePoint Components release notes.

Simple intranet integration with the Location RSS Feed

For intranets or portals not based on SharePoint, LocationsRSS.aspx is a simple RSS Xml endpoint that allows extremely simple integration. If your users are authenticating on the network via Windows Active Directory and you have installed NGES in Active Directory mode, you can simply create an iframe on an existing portal page and add /ngws/svc/LocationRSS.aspx as the source.

XSLT Transforms and the Location RSS Feed

We provide a default XSLT transform to render the RSS returned by this call as html in the users browser, but you can include a specific XSLT transform for your company by just putting the file in the ngws/svc/xslt/ folder on the NGES web server and including it as a query string parameter, such as /ngws/svc/LocationRSS.aspx?transform=rss.xsl. You can ignore the included XSLT file if you are applying XSLT programmatically from the client.

Specifying a Location for the Location RSS Feed

If no location is specified, the default Web location will be served. If you specify a location, it’s that location name that is served:

http://[yourNGESserverURL]/ngws/svc/LocationRSS.aspx?transform=rss.xsl&location=portalhome

Specifying numbers returned for the Location RSS Feed

You can limit the results by specifying the Count param:

http://[yourNGESserverURL]/ngws/svc/LocationRSS.aspx?transform=rss.xsl&count=3

If no Count param is specified, a default of 50 results are returned.

Specifying read or unread items for the Location RSS Feed

You can also specify read items:

http://[yourNGESserverURL]/ngws/svc/LocationRSS.aspx?transform=rss.xsl&UnreadOnly=false

If unreadOnly is not specified, only unread items are returned.

Specifying a specific user's location for the Location RSS Feed

The results for these will always be based upon the requesting user (the person viewing the portal page) unless an owner of a location is specified in the URL (and that location is marked as public). Example:

http://[yourNGESserverURL]/ngws/svc/LocationRSS.aspx?owner=corp\postalservice&location=portalhome

This will allow an aggregation publisher to specify a certain location for an intranet data source.

Specifying a Category Filter for the Location RSS Feed

You can apply a Category Filter to the Location feed by specifying a Category parameter. The Category is applied to each item of an RSS feed according to the RSS Specification. Example:

http://[yourNGESserverURL]/ngws/svc/LocationRSS.aspx?category=newsgator

This will allow you to retrieve a feed of posts with a specific category applied across multiple feed sources.

For additional help please contact your administrator.

NewsGator Enterprise Server 2.0.0.952

© 2003-2007 NewsGator Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved.