My new job requires that I use lotus notes to access certain company-wide databases, email etc

I frikkin *hate* lotus notes


I can access my email, after some advise from the sys admin, from home via mozila.

It is impossible (I am told by the admin) to link excel cells to excel files on the database, so in order to update my reports I have to get to work early and open lots of stuff just so excel can read excel on lotus crap.

They changed my email addy, carefully forwarded new mails to my new address, but forgot to migrate my sent folder. It is impossible (I am told) to get it back.

The help is totally useless. Due to the current probs in Phuket, Thailand our server is screwed, so I try to work offline. Click Help and then search and then "work offline" and you will find a bunch of info about why "replication" etc is a cool idea, but NOTHING about how to actually do it.

And the number one thing that is crap about notes (apologies for shouting) THERE IS NO LINUX CLIENT

So far, and remember I am no expert but I have used hotel info systems for a while, lotus gves us nothing but headaches, problems and all sorts of useless feature3s that we never use.

Oh, did I mention that there is no Linux client although the poxy server runs on Linux. This stuff is crap.

Using it feels like those old spreadsheets and Foxpro programs from 10 years ago. It'll do the job, but we have to adapt our way of working to accomodate the flaws in this program and it's admins/vendors.

In ending I would like to state one more time that
*I freaking hate lotus notes, it sucks and should die a long overdue death*

mark

Our company switched to Notes a few months ago, and I can honestly say that it is the biggest pile of fertilizerware I have ever had to use. Ever since the switch happened, nice, normal, kind people have been cussing like sailors.

How bad does software have to be to make Outlook look good?

By the way, chefmark has to have pretty much pegged the rant o' meter with that one

Hangdog42 I owe you beers man.........

First you helped me with my wireless problem (dhcpcd eth1)and
now you share my lotus notes pain

"fertilizerware" = a classic

Thanks again,

mark

I use notes as well. A few years back I sent an email to IBM asking why there was no linux client.

They gave me some BS answer about how it wasn't worth their time.... after they just
dumped a few million into linux no less....

I had a linux desktop set up for every mission critical piece of software my company uses, except for notes.

I could have saved my company a few hundred thousand $ per year going to linux desktops... oh well

Hey, I ain't no fan of Lotus Notes, but it's miles better than what most corporation consider the only alternative: Outlook/Exchange!!! (eeech).

The main issue is that although both are only really used for mail and calendaring by 99.9% of people, they are both marketed as "Enterprise"-grade "Groupware" solutions (note the two stinking buzzwords). Really they both end up being:

1. A massively top-heavy, unreliable, e-mail server.
2. A massively top-heavy, unreliable, calendar server.

Note that there are a few valid uses for Notes/Domino, outside the realm of what I've delineated before (but they require a real developer, which is somewhat rare in the Lotus world). There are no such uses for Outlook/Exchange, which should really be fed to the dogs.

Please will the CFO's of the world finally get that there are much better solutions out there??

Mmmmmmm. Beer.

Actually anybody using Notes probably needs much harder stuff. I'm thinking grain alcohol here.

Yup, and intravenously

That is totally spot on, I am happy to know that I am not alone in my dislike of this cr@ppy "software suite"

mark

To be constructive...

The windows version of the notes 5 client will install via wine, without a fuss (I should say all three clients - desktop, admin and designer)

The notes 6 client may require crossover office (costs, but still cheaper than windows), though I have heard some reports that if you install it in windows and copy the dir over to the ./.wine/fake-windows folder, it runs fine through wine. Anyone?

Many companies, including ours use Notes/Domino to avoid the multitude of security flaws apparent with microsoft's groupware offering - it is a recognised leader in the field. Domino (Notes server) runs natively on Linux.

Dave

PS Don't get me wrong - I'm pee'd off as anyone that there's not a Notes Linux client, and that the IMAP / Scheduling support is naff...

Thanks davee for the constructive suggestions,

Actually, I had looked at wine/crossover support before posting but of course the version foisted on me (6 point something I think)is listed as unsupported (this company also uses MS Office 2003, which is also unsupported by Crossover, grrr)


My greatest frustration with the suite at the moment is that I didn't set up "replication" and since the Tsunami hit our server is down and I haven't found a way to "work offline"

Even with the poxy Outlook Express I would still have access to my old sent and inbox folders IIRC.

But, thanks again for a positive post, perhaps I'll try to take another look in a brighter light at Lotus

mark

The only time I came into contact with Lotus was when I used 1-2-3 and created *.wk1 files. That was about 10 years ago.

Since then I have never seen a Lotus software. I never knew that the company still existed and developed software.

OK... mail me off list of you've got any linux/notes questions. (linux @ daveedmondston dot org)

I would have thought in your neck of the woods a lost notes server would have been the least of the worries...(!)

I know it's been documented in other places, but our thoughts over here are with your country, and those around it affected by the recent disaster.

Dave