I have just spent the last two days in Hamburg with RedDot and representatives from Unic  and Infocentric Research (both Swiss partners with about 50 Obtree/Livelink WCM customers each). We had a very successful workshop designing a common migration methodology for cutomers wishing to move from Obtree to RedDot. At the start of the session I demo'ed our mim:switch toolset and am happy to report that the methodology includes the use of mim:switch as a key element at the analysis phase and for the content migration itself. we also have a better idea of where our development roadmap should go.

I am happy to show the tool in action to anyone with Obtree that's interested. Demo's can be in person or online using Webex just click here to make a request.

Today we demo'ed our mim:switch software to the RedDot guys in Germany and Switzerland to show them how our toolset works. We showed the extraction of the content, metadata (custom properties) and object relationships from the Livelink WCM demo site, its manipulation to repurpose the content and the loading into a fresh empty RedDot 7.5 site.

Unlike almost every technical demonstration I have done, this one went without a hitch. The software did what it should, the connection speeds for the Webex presentation stayed broad enough to allow a reasonable demo and I even managed to remember all of the steps without being nudged in the ribs.  The reaction was very positive.

If any Obtree/Livelink WCM users or any WCM techies would like to see a similar demo or would like to find out more please feel free to contact us on +44 (0)141 303 8239 or enquiries@mimtech.com.

The PEPPER smoothie website went live on Friday 16th May.

So what is PEPPER smoothie?...

Simply put, PEPPER smoothie is on demand web content management for business websites with zero upfront cost. Supplied via the Software-as-a-Service business model users simply pay a fixed monthly service fee to use our solution, built in Pepperio by Mediasurface (or should that be Alterian?), to manage their business website.

And what of the creative process talked about in previous posts?...

Let's just say that the website features juggling balls, spinning plates and a first for the sector (well, at least I've not seen one used elsewhere before), a Video MC - go take a look at http://www.peppersmoothie.com.

Today Mediasurface announced that their board has agreed to sell the entire stock to Alterian plc. A notification on the Mediasurface web site reads...

'Recommended Offer by Alterian plc for Mediasurface plc

The boards of Alterian and Mediasurface are today pleased to announce that they have reached agreement on the terms of a recommended offer by Alterian to acquire the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Mediasurface.'

The notification goes on to assure Mediasurface customers (which includes users of Morello, Immediacy and Pepperio) that their service will be unchanged.

Mimtech look forward to working with the new enterprise. 

I have just been looking through the Open Text Online communities and noticed that the Livelink WCM Presentation Server (Obtree) Road map page has been updated this morning. Future releases are detailed as

The page also includes the following text...

'This product is in maintenance mode and cannot be sold to prospects anymore. For new WCM projects please get in touch with your local RedDot salesforce, they are happy to support you for new deals.

Existing Livelink WCM Presentation Server customers can still buy additional licenses. For more information about the Roadmap, Support cycles, upselling etc. please contact RedDot - The Open Text Web Solutions Group in your country or get in touch with the Program Manager Thomas Eberhart teberhar@opentext.com .'

All at Mimtech would like to congratulate Graeme McWilliams (East Renfrewshire Web Manager) and his partner Arlene on the biirth of their daughter Eva last Saturday.

Graeme I still have a pram and a car seat to sell, you can use your Mim:Care for them if you want to.

Simon 

Okay, sorry for the delay in posting this but I've been busy............ so John's Diner turns out to be John's Cafe, it's on the corner of East 44th and 2nd and just a few short steps away from my first night hotel.

Basic decor and fittings inside but this just add to the atmosphere of authenticity. I recommend a seat at the far end of the counter where you're right next to the breakfast chef - you're so close you could reach over and crack open your own eggs on his hot-plate. Coffee appears before you settle in your seat and refills just keep on coming. Menu is just what you'd expect and in typical 'when in Rome...' fashion I ordered the Hungry John with two sunny side ups - although soft over easy appears to be in vogue with my fellow diners.

Who says men can't multi-task? If anyone ever says that to you again then whisk them away to John's Cafe and let them watch the breakfast chef do his stuff. With orders flying in from all directions he calmly and effortlessly goes about his business; few eggs here, some bacon there, saugages here, pancakes there, breakfast potatoes here.... poetry in motion. 

And the food? Let's just say I know where I'm having breakfast next time I'm in Mahattan.

I'm off on the next stage of the creative process that is the making of our PEPPER smoothie web site. Not Paris this time but New York, as I said before, "Don't you just love the creative process?"

Quick plug here for Continental Airlines... do yourself a favour if you're ever flying from Edinburgh to NYC like I did yesterday and fly direct, no more having to fly via London (who needs T5 anyway?), Amsterdam or Paris.

Checked into the hotel mid afternoon, just check out that view from the bedroom, had a quick swin in the 27th floor pool then headed down to Dubé Juggling on Broadway - great shop. Don't worry, it will all become obvious when the new website goes live shortly.

It's now Wednesday morning and I'm heading out to John's Diner for breakfast before the short stroll over to Grand Central to catch the train north to Tarrytown where I'm hooking up again with Carlo Pelligrini over the Hudson in Nyack where we're going to be shooting video on Thursday.

Enough for just now, I'm getting hungry and John's Diner is supposed to be one of THE places to have breakfast in Manhattan. I'll post my review later.

I have read a couple of things online recently pointing out that the rules of good aesthetics for web sites have changed little over the last 10 years and that one of the biggest mistakes web site owners make is to choose to change the look and feel of a site when it doesn't need it. There is a school of thought which suggests that a web site should be redesigned every two years but there are other (perhaps more relevant) views. If your site is not performing to you satisfaction (not enough hits; too high a bounce rate; poor ranking; etc etc) then maybe the problem is in the content and functionality not the design. If your site is doing well then maybe you should build on that success not try to rebuild it.

Look at some of the most successful web sites and see how little they change the way they look. Think Amazon, Yahoo, Google even Microsoft. If you look back at the dim and distant past (just short of 10 years if you include Google) and look at the sites for these and other successful web companies you will see that little has changed. Sure they've incorporated new technologies and taken account of changes in computer technology and bandwidth and so on but aesthetically they are very similar to 10 years ago.

Don't get me wrong, good design is  paramount to success but providing what the customer wants and helping them find and use it is the key to longevity.

Anyway, I'm off to sell some more design and implementation services and perpetrate the two year myth.