FIGURE A


The resource site nsftools.com has some cool code you can take for a spin. Roll over picture for a larger image.

The site was developed by Julian Robichaux. He has written a bunch of handy little utilities over his five years as a Notes developer, either to help him with his job or just because he thought they'd be cool. Figuring others might find them useful as well, Julian decided to create a home for them on the Web. He launched the nsftools.com site as a way to make some of his knowledge and tools public.

So far all the tools are available as freeware, partially because a lot of them are so simple and partially because he's not sure that the shareware model works for the type of things he's put on the site. As a result, his tools are there for the taking. Of course, he was sure to point out to me that if anyone wants to send him money, they're more than welcome to.

Julian is still up in the air about whether or not to open-source some or all of the tools he's written. "Unfortunately, for a lot of people, the term 'open-source' really means 'Give me your code so I can steal it,'" Julian explained. "I'm curious to see how long it takes for some of the things I've put on my Tips pages to make it to the various other Notes sites under someone else's name. I see that kind of thing happen all the time."

Be that as it may, he's been kind enough to put some information out there for other Notes developers to use, figuring it's a waste of knowledge to keep it all in his head. "I probably won't put all of my 'secrets' out there, but there are certainly plenty of things that I don't mind parting with," Julian says, adding, "And I'd get a big kick out of it if I ever get more than about ten people visiting my site."

Hang onto your hat, Julian. The DominoPower effect is about to happen to your Web site! Let us know how many visitors you get now.

The nsftools.com site primarily features tools and utilities for Lotus Notes and Domino administrators and developers. There's also a blog, which is supposed to be about Notes and Domino, but, says Julian, "may very well stray in other directions from time to time."

If you'd like to see what a fellow Notes developer is up to, check out http://www.nsftools.com. He's got some great tools to share that may be just the thing you're looking for.

Steve Niles is Senior Editor for ZATZ Publishing. He is also an independent filmmaker and freelance writer. For more information, visit http://www.sn-films.com.