IBM's Lotus unit will update its Lotus Notes messaging
client by adding integration with instant messaging and inbox tools
designed to counter e-mail overload.
Lotus Notes 6.5 will bring Lotus Instant Messaging and its
related presence capabilities into the Notes interface.
The 6.5 welcome page now will display the IM contact list, and
all names throughout Notes will be live with presence-awareness
information such as whether someone is online and their
availability status.
IM is "better inside the Notes client", said Alan Lepofsky,
product marketing manager at IBM. "Anytime you see a name, you can
interact with it."
The updated Notes version features a toolbar specifically for
IM-related tasks such as starting a meeting, initiating a chat
session, or adding a contact name.
IBM has added a feature to update IM contact lists from e-mail
messages. When a user opens a document in Notes from someone on
their IM contact list, Notes temporarily populates the IM contact
list with the sender's name and information from the subject line
of the e-mail.
The inbox in Lotus Notes 6.5 will include the ability to drag
and drop items such as e-mail messages and documents from the inbox
to the calendar and to-do list sections; automatic filing of junk
mail into separate folders; and flags to mark important e-mails and
indicate whether an e-mail has been forwarded or answered.
Version 6.5 also includes improvements to the Lotus Workplace
welcome page, such as extending search to websites, Notes domain
catalogs, servers, databases, and local server replicas; as well as
the ability to launch applications, documents, databases, and
websites from within the Workplace.
Cathleen Moore writes for InfoWorld