Tip of the week: Prevent problems & stay informed with My Notifications 

The My Notifications tool is not new, but is one of my favorite IBM support tools.  It provides users with regular, proactive IBM support email alert messages or RSS feed updates - either daily or weekly. 

• I've included a screen capture of a My Notifications email message from earlier this week below, click on this image for a full-size version.

Details

• With My Notifications you can receive daily or weekly announcements through e-mail, custom Web pages and RSS feeds.
• These customizable communications can contain important news, new or updated support content, such as publications, hints and tips, technical notes, product flashes (alerts) and downloads and drivers.
• The tool allows you to customize and categorize the products you want to monitor and any of the available delivery methods to suit your support needs.

Features

• Subscribe to stay informed about the products you use  
  • Receive proactive notification of known critical fixes and updates, as well as new or changed content, to help identify critical issues before they become a problem.
• Create multiple subscriptions as needed
  • Quickly and easily create one or more subscriptions to the products and categories of content that are of interest to you.
• View notifications on the Support Portal
  • See your subscriptions and recent messages when you sign into the Support Portal.
• Choose how and when to receive notifications
  • Select how often you want to be notified and how you want to receive the notifications. Multiple delivery methods, including daily or weekly email, RSS/ATOM feeds, and web-based folders, are available.

 
Go to My Notifications now to create and customize your subscriptions. All you need is an IBM ID and password. You can register for an IBM ID using the registration link on the My Notifications login page if you have not done so. Registration is FREE!
 
Also, view our Video: How to Subscribe to My Notifications for a quick guided tour of how to subscribe to a product's updates.
 
You may also access My Notifications from the IBM Support Portal's "Notifications" module on the "Support home" page.

Friday's Highlights for June 14, 2013

Welcome to our weekly review of recent events where we pick some of our favorites.

The IBM Electronic Support team attended the IBM Edge2013 Conference this week. Look for a brand new "Tip of the Week" on Monday.

Interesting:

From this week's IBM Edge 2013 Conference: Dr. Nussbaum, Chief Medical Officer of WellPoint speaks to the rising cost and falling efficacy of the healthcare system, and discusses how the collection, integration and analysis of data with IBM Watson is advancing oncology care.

• The IBM Electronic Support team was involved with 2 major IBM conferences in June. Below are links to additional details on who attended and what our plans were:
  • This past week:
    • Edge 2013 - Cloud | Data | Results - June 10-14 in Las Vegas, NV
      • IBM Electronic Support is at Edge2013!
        • Review this blog article for the complete team plans plus a map detailing the team's location during Edge 2013.
        • We hope you dropped by and met with our team if you were there during Edge 2013.
      • IBM Edge 2013's YouTube channel
        • View the excerpts of the numerous interviews and sessions that occurred this past week at Edge 2013.
           
  • Earlier in June:
    • Innovate 2013: The IBM Technical Summit - June 2-6 in Orlando, FL
      • IBM Electronic Support is at Innovate 2013!
        • Review this blog for details on our team's activities at Innovate 2013.
      • Rational Client Support session schedules at IBM Innovate 2013
        • Take a look at the table in this Innovate 2013 blog detailing IBM Rational Client Support's sessions and activities while at this summit.
      • Rational Client Support's Innovate 2013 Flickr Group
        • Here is where the Rational Client Support Social Business team posted their pictures from the Innovate 2013 event.
           

• Also, we published a quick tip this week about the IBM Software Product Compatibility Reports
  • Wednesday's Video: Using IBM's Software Product Compatibility Reports 
    • This short, 2 minute video demonstrates how to use IBM's Software Product Compatibility Reports to quickly and easily generate custom reports about compatible IBM software combinations.

Fun:

• IBM & Ogilvy France Create Ads With A New Purpose in its latest "People For Smarter Cities"
  • From www.pastemagazine.com: IBM has teamed up with Ogilvy and Mather to spread the word on their People For Smarter Cities project with a billboard campaign that offers help to city dwellers.
    
    The creative agency added a single curve or extension to each of the three billboards in the campaign that serve as a bench, ramp or shelter. They’ve given function and purpose to the advertisements, and as a result, hope to inspire and educate city dwellers.
    
    The People For Smarter Cities project is committed to creating better cities around the world. The billboards encourage viewers to share their ideas about building and developing better cities via the campaign’s website.
    
    The billboards are currently in Paris and London, but IBM intends to spread the campaign to more cities in the future. Until it reaches a city near you, you can watch their short video on the concept and execution of the campaign.

Billboard image credit: (c) 2013 pastemagazine.com
Video image credit: (c) 2013 Ogilvy & Mather France
 

For daily and weekly Twitter list wrap-ups, visit and subscribe to the following:

• The IBM Support Daily
• The IBM Conferences & Events Daily
• The IBM Electronic Support Weekly

Wednesday's Video: Using IBM's Software Product Compatibility Reports

All of our videos may be found on our YouTube channel. For those without access to YouTube, visit our own IBM Education Assistant channel. 

This week's video is all about IBM's Software Product Compatibility Reports.

This short, 2 minute video demonstrates how to use IBM's Software Product Compatibility Reports to quickly and easily generate custom reports about compatible IBM software combinations.

• Link directly to the IBM's Software Product Compatibility Reports here.
• You may also find these reports in the IBM Support Portal in the right column under "Support resources".

Friday's Highlights for June 7, 2013

Welcome to our weekly review of recent events where we pick some of our favorites.

The IBM Electronic Support blogging team attended the IBM Innovate 2013 Summit this week. We will resume our regular blogging schedule next week.

Interesting:

• The IBM Electronic Support team is involved with 2 major IBM conferences in June, below are links to additional details on who's going and what we'll be doing there:
  • Innovate 2013: The IBM Technical Summit - June 2-6 in Orlando, FL
    • IBM Electronic Support is at Innovate 2013!
      • Review this blog for details on our team's activities this past week.
    • Rational Client Support session schedules at IBM Innovate 2013
      • Take a look at the table in this Innovate 2013 blog detailing IBM Rational Client Support's activities this past week.
    • Rational Client Support's Innovate 2013 Flickr Group
      • Here is where the Rational Client Support Social Business team posted their pictures from the Innovate 2013 event.
         
  • IBM Electronic Support is at Edge2013! - June 10-14 in Las Vegas, NV
    • Review this blog article for the complete team plans plus a map detail the team's location during Edge 2013
    • Drop by and see our team during Edge2013 at Booth #904 next week!
       

Fun:

• IBM uses custom, ever-vigilant Roombas to protect its data centers
  • We live in a time when automated robots that slink around the floor while eating all of your unswept refuse is a common, socially accepted occurrence. Yes, the Roomba provides a must-have service for those that would rather have an adorable robot slave do the housecleaning, but IBM has found another use for the cute little guy. Taking your cat’s favorite motorized toy, IBM transformed the Roomba into the watchful eye of a data center, monitoring the level of heat, which could raise cooling costs, or even damage or destroy the hardware if left unchecked.
    
    Image credit: (c) 2013 geek.com
     

For daily and weekly Twitter list wrap-ups, visit and subscribe to the following:

• The IBM Support Daily
• The IBM Conferences & Events Daily
• The IBM Electronic Support Weekly

Friday's Highlights for May 31, 2013

Welcome to our weekly review of recent events where we pick some of our favorites.

Interesting stuff

• We published a very slick video this week: "Wednesday's Video: What is IBM Support Assistant?"
  • This short, 2 minute video provides a brief description of the IBM Support Assistant and how it can help you troubleshoot system issues.
     
• The IBM Electronic Support team will also be attending 2 major IBM conferences in June, below are links to additional details on who's going and what we'll be doing there:
  • Rational Client Support session schedules at IBM Innovate 2013 - June 2-6 in Orlando, FL
    • Take a look at the table in this Innovate 2013 blog and be sure to add our sessions to your agenda!
       
  • IBM Electronic Support is at Edge2013! -June 10-14 in Las Vegas, NV
    • Drop by and see our team during Edge2013 at Booth #904.  (See map in the Edge 2013 blog)
       

Fun stuff

• Video: IBM's Watson Is Now a Customer Service Agent
  • From Mashable.com: IBM's cognitive supercomputer Watson will soon be helping several of the company's most important customers, who will have the opportunity to ask for his assistance via web chats, email, SMS and smartphone apps.
    
    Watson's new role, called "Ask Watson," will be available to big IBM clients like Australia’s ANZ Bank, Nielsen, Celcom, IHS and Royal Bank of Canada. Watson will tap his ability to use semantic searches — remember when he beat Jeopardy's two greatest champions? — and not just keywords, making him a formidable customer service assistant.
    
    Image credit: (c) 2013 mashable.com
     

For daily and weekly Twitter list wrap-ups, visit and subscribe to the following:

• The IBM Support Daily
• The IBM Conferences & Events Daily
• The IBM Electronic Support Weekly

Wednesday's Video: What is IBM Support Assistant?

All of our videos may be found on our YouTube channel. For those without access to YouTube, visit our own IBM Education Assistant channel. 

This week's video is all about the IBM Support Assistant!

This short, 2 minute video provides a brief description of the IBM Support Assistant and how it can help you troubleshoot system issues.

• Visit the IBM Support Assistant at: http://www.ibm.com/software/support/isa/

Friday's Highlights for May 24, 2013

Welcome to the first of a new series of articles where the IBM Electronic Support team looks back at recent events and picks some of their favorites.

Interesting

• We published a very important tip of the week on Monday: "Tip of the week: Use IBM Education Assistant to learn about IBM Electronic Support offerings"
  • We realize that not all IBM clients can access our YouTube channel, so we have made all of our videos available through the IBM Education Assistant (IEA) at: http://ibm.com/software/info/education/assistant/
     
• We also published a very helpful video this week: "Wednesday's Video: IBM Electronic Support Tools Advanced Search Techniques: Terms"
  • This short, 4 minute video shares best practices for creating search terms and scopes that generate the most relevant results when searching for IBM technical content.
     
• The IBM Electronic Support team will also be attending 2 major IBM conferences in June, below are links to additional details on who's going and what we'll be doing there:
  • IBM Electronic Support is at Edge2013!
    • Drop by and see our team during Edge2013 at Booth #904.  (See map in the Edge 2013 blog)
  • Rational Client Support session schedules at IBM Innovate 2013
    • Take a look at the table in the Innovate 2013 blog and be sure to add our sessions to your agenda!
       

Fun stuff

• The Star Trek Fan Art That IBM Scientists Created Out of Atoms
  • From Wired.com: What happens if you give scientists who grew up loving classic science-fiction television the technology to re-assemble individual atoms into shapes of their choosing? The answer is, of course, the greatest Star Trek fan art imaginable: images literally built out of individual atoms.
    Image credit: (c) 2013 wired.com
     
• A Boy and His Atom T-Shirt
  • In related atom news, the IBM store now has "A Boy and His Atom" t-shirts for sale!
  • The world's smallest movie, "A Boy and His Atom" was created by IBM scientists and is made entirely out of atoms. The movie is a fun way to share IBM's research in the field of atomic-scale memory and how it could transform computing, while at the same share the challenges and fun science can create.

For daily and weekly Twitter list wrap-ups, visit and subscribe to the following:

• The IBM Support Daily
• The IBM Conferences & Events Daily
• The IBM Electronic Support Weekly

Wednesday's Video: IBM Electronic Support Tools Advanced Search Techniques: Terms

Welcome to the second of a new series of "Wednesday's Videos"!

We'll be publishing these articles every Wednesday to highlight videos that demonstrate new IBM Electronic Support features or tips & tricks for better using existing IBM Support tooling. 

All of our videos may be found on our YouTube channel. For those without access to YouTube, visit our own IBM Education Assistant channel. 

This week's video is brand new - just published Friday!

This short, 4 minute video shares best practices for creating search terms and scopes that generate the most relevant results when searching for IBM technical content.