Notes/Domino 8.5.1 Dances with the iPhone
October 12, 2009 Dan Burger
As it paves the road to full-time connectivity for the workforce, IBM‘s Lotus division last week rolled out the latest editions to its unified communications and collaboration tool box. Grabbing the headlines is . . . the Apple iPhone. Ooops! This was an IBM announcement, wasn’t it? Sorry, the iPhone gets top billing wherever it goes. So the news is that Domino 8.5.1 and the Lotus Notes Traveler mobile device now have native support for the iPhone. For Notes folks, that means your email, your calendar events, and your contacts–those things most dear to you–will also be near to you and your coolest of hand-held gadgets. In case you might be misled by the anti-Lotus/anti-iPhone zealots, it’s worth noting that the messaging is delivered in real time. (Native support = real time.) And for those not Lotus literate, Domino is the server. The software that allows access to Domino from mobile devices is called Notes Traveler. If you’re really not all that into the iPhone, the Notes/Domino collaboration software also supports just about any smartphone you can name including Nokia Symbians, Microsoft Windows Mobile devices, and Research In Motion BlackBerries. It’s also going to support attached-at-the-Web desktops and thin clients. And, for conversations that zero in on business applications, it’s time to mention the Lotus Domino Designer 8.5.1 app dev tools that IBM also introduced last week. They are being offered at the low, low introductory price of free, by the way. Developers, start your collaborative business application engines. The Domino 8.5.1 Server supports i5/OS V5R4 and i 6.1, which interestingly IBM is characterizing as 128-bit operating systems that run on 64-bit hardware, Domino is running in 64-bit mode even though announcement letter 209-343 says it is a 128-bit Domino Server. Domino 8.5.1 also supports Windows 2003 Server Standard Edition; Windows 2003 Server Enterprise Edition, Service Pack 2; and Windows 2003 Server x64 Edition. It also supports Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 x86 (32- and 64-bit versions); Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.0 and 5.1 (32- and 64-bit versions); Sun Solaris 10 (64-bit kernel with specified patch levels); IBM AIX V5.3 (64-bit kernel with specified patch levels); and AIX V6.1 (64-bit kernel), Service Pack 4. The 64-bit Domino Server supports Windows 2003 Server x64 Edition, Service Pack 2; 64-bit AIX V5.3; 64-bit AIX V6.1, Service Pack 4; SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 on System z; and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 on System z. The Notes 8.5.1 client supports Windows XP Professional, Service Pack 3; XP for Tablet PC: Windows Vista: Enterprise, Ultimate, and Business Editions; and Vista for Tablet PC. It also supports SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 XGL; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2 Desktop; and Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Desktop Edition. For Apple, it supports Macintosh OS 10.5.x. RELATED STORIES IBM Adds iPhone Support to Lotus Notes Traveler IBM Throws Apple a Bone with Notes-Domino 8.5 Traveler Has Arrived; Lotus Notes Gets Handheld Mobility IBM Promotes the i–iPhone, That Is
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