October 30th, 2006
Lotus Notes to get ODF, but SuSE desktop version needs work
Rodney Gedda of ComputerWorld Australia:
The release of Notes 7.0.1 for [Suse Linux Enterprise Desktop] 10 makes it more cross-platform, with Windows, Mac OS X, and Fedora Linux already supported, and removes a significant barrier to Linux on the enterprise desktop….
….The next generation of Notes, codenamed Hanover, is in beta testing and will support the Open Document Format (ODF) and also be cross platform…
But according to the same story, at least one user that has tried Notes on SLED had a hard time getting it working:
"I can't image a large Notes install base migrating 500 desktops over while it is this complex to setup. A single RPM [RPM Package Manager] package file would be much easier."
The story has more comment from the user who sounds like he knows what he's doing. In the bigger picture, IBM is showing a willingness to use the presence of Notes in the messaging and collaboration space to give the OpenDocument Format and desktop Linux a ride on its coattails. My question is whether or not Notes has enough clout in the market to give either a boost. On the flipside, perhaps the lackluster support of ODF from Microsoft (which is how I'd still characterize the way Microsoft is "supporting" ODF) vs. the more robust support of it in both IBM's Lotus Notes and its Managed Workplace Client (IBM's competition to Microsoft's Office, but it's only for organizations) could result in an improved appetite for IBM's solutions given the way some organizations and governments (like the City of Munich whose migration to desktop Linux appears to be going well) have an interest in desktop Linux as well as ODF.
