I think IBM is going to be a bigger player than many assumed. Thier new Smartsuite 97 looks potent. Note the abiltiy to have your Lotus 123 speadsheets automatically updated with live stock and currency quotes from the internet, and note that they have automatic publishing as well. If you thought my spreadsheets were complex before.....
Add this on to the Domino/Notes architectures and the fact that IBM is the largset developer of JAVA stuff, HMMM!!! IBM is flexing their considerable muscle to gain on MSFT, but I fell NSCP may catch the short end of the stick, for they currently don't have a suite to build off of, they must start from scratch.
Lotus Announces SmartSuite 97 Lotus Announces SmartSuite 97 November 18, 1996, 12:31 PM EST
Raises the Bar on Internet Productivity with Next-Generation Functionality and New Internet-Enabled, 32-Bit Version of Lotus 1-2-3
COMDEX BOOTH #L1630
LAS VEGAS, Nov. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- At its Business Applications Strategy Briefing held here, Lotus Development Corp. announced SmartSuite 97 Edition for Windows 95/NT, the newest edition of its award-winning desktop suite. SmartSuite 97 provides connected business users with cutting-edge productivity applications that are fully integrated with the Internet to create opportunities for new levels of collaboration between and within organizations. SmartSuite 97 helps today's PC users take full advantage of the Internet by enabling them to quickly and easily find, publish and share Internet or intranet-based information directly from within their familiar desktop applications. With enhancements to its built-in Internet publishing, customized information retrieval and delivery, and collaborative computing functionality, SmartSuite 97 transforms the Internet and intranets (I-nets) into interactive, productive, business environments. SmartSuite 97 also marks the delivery of the most advanced version of 1-2-3 ever. In 1-2-3 97 Edition, Lotus has rearchitected the world-famous spreadsheet to fully exploit the Windows 32-bit operating systems and the Internet.
"With SmartSuite 97, Lotus is turning the promise of Internet business productivity into reality. Building on Lotus' expertise in Internet, groupware and collaborative computing, SmartSuite 97 delivers a complete and integrated office suite solution that helps individuals and organizations business-enable their I-nets," said Lotus president Jeff Papows. "This compelling new suite provides users with cutting-edge business productivity applications that far surpass any competitive offering and positions us extremely well to extend the extraordinary market share gains that we have made this year."
SmartSuite 97 Edition for Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 includes the 1-2-3 97 spreadsheet, Word Pro 97 word processor, Freelance Graphics 97 presentation graphics application, Approach 97 database, Organizer 97 personal information manager, ScreenCam 97 multimedia tool and the SmartCenter 97 command center.
Fully-Integrated Functionality Makes SmartSuite 97 the Best Suite for the
Internet
SmartSuite 97 is the most complete and integrated suite for today's connected worker, enabling users to quickly and easily find, publish and share Internet or intranet-based information directly from within their familiar desktop applications. As an open solution, SmartSuite 97 embraces Internet standards, allowing files created in SmartSuite to be published directly to I- nets and accessed by industry-leading Web browsers as well as by SmartSuite applications. SmartSuite's enhanced, next generation Internet features make finding and publishing information to the Internet or company intranet a simple business process. SmartSuite 97's Internet functionality includes:
-- Publish to the Internet/Intranets - enables users to easily publish corporate documents, spreadsheets, presentations, databases and calendars onto the World Wide Web or company intranet, creating more robust, information-rich intranets and Web pages. SmartSuite 97 supports Internet standards, such as the HTML, .GIF and .JPG file formats.
-- Web SmartMasters - included in Lotus Word Pro 97 are special Web SmartMaster templates that enable users to quickly and easily create professional-looking, graphically-rich intranet and Internet Web pages.
-- SmartCenter 97 Internet Drawers - deliver customized Internet information such as global weather, news and stock quotes in a "drop-down" drawer interface that is accessible directly from the users desktops.
-- Lotus 1-2-3 Dynamic Update - enables 1-2-3 users to update spreadsheets with the latest stock quotes and currency exchange rates live from the Internet.
-- Internet/Intranet Text Search - provides the ability to access the Internet as a live information resource when creating documents. Users simply highlight text within any SmartSuite document, click on the Search Internet icon and SmartSuite will automatically perform a Yahoo-based search.
-- Live Links - allow a user to embed and activate a URL or other hypertext link from within any document, spreadsheet, presentation for fast connections to a Web or intranet site, helping users find the latest information.
-- Choice of Browsers - gives SmartSuite 97 users the option of installing either Netscape Navigator or Microsoft's Internet Explorer.
Next-Generation Collaboration via the Internet
Lotus pioneered groupware and understands that the ability to collaborate translates into greater return on computing investment. Lotus has refined and extended its industry-leading collaborative capabilities to the Internet, making it easier for users to collaborate, communicate and share their spreadsheets, schedules/calendars, documents, presentations and ideas on an enterprise or global basis. Specific examples of SmartSuite's collaborative Internet functionality include:
-- Open and Save to the Internet - allows users to easily open and save their documents, spreadsheets and presentations directly to and from any Web and FTP servers, using the standard File-Open and File-Save dialogs.
-- Open and Save to Domino - allows users to directly open and save their documents, spreadsheets and presentations directly to and from Domino servers, using the standard File-Open and File-Save dialogs. Domino server technology provides secure bi-directional access to share and update desktop documents from Web browsers from any location.
-- TeamMail & TeamReview - allow users to send an entire file, selected pages or spreadsheet ranges for review and editing via E-mail or the Internet. These features also permit routing of documents, so that each consecutive recipient on a user-defined route can view the previous reviewer's edits.
-- TeamConsolidate & Versioning - enable users to quickly combine and consolidate the edits made by multiple reviewers into one document. Users can store previously edited versions of a document, along with a history of changes, in a single file.
-- TeamShow - allows users to deliver presentations remotely via the Internet to any Windows PC utilizing Freelance Graphics' Mobile Screen Show Player.
-- Browser Access - enables non-SmartSuite users to view and access SmartSuite files through industry-leading Web browsers. Some examples include: The Organizer 97 Web Calendar which allows users to access and update their Organizer 97 calendars over the Web; ActiveX Controls and Netscape Plug- Ins empower non-SmartSuite users to view fully animated Freelance Graphics presentations (with screen effects, etc.) directly from within a browser; Approach's DB2 Web Assistant automatically converts DB2 databases into live Web-based database applications, allowing data to be accessed through browsers; and ScreenCam movies, along with the ScreenCam Player, can be published to the Internet, enabling users to view the information through a browser.
SmartSuite 97 Breaks New Ground in Personal Productivity
In addition to its Internet/intranet support features, SmartSuite 97 includes hundreds of innovations and enhancements designed to make users more productive, including:
-- 1-2-3 97 - The Lotus InfoBox gives users one place to go for all of their formatting needs and provides instant visual feedback when changes are made; AutoTotal automates the most frequently used spreadsheet function by enabling the user to simply type "Total" and values are totalled automatically in any row or column; 1-2-3 also provides the ability to access information from a variety of sources and formats, including a corporate databases with legacy data, the Internet/intranet, Lotus Notes or other PC applications such as Excel and Quattro Pro.
-- Word Pro 97 - Booklet Printing allows users to create documents in booklet or leaflet format; Watermarks enable the placement of text or graphics "under" regular text; Drop Caps allow users to create enlarged characters for special storybook effects; and Frame Linking enables text to flow automatically from one frame to another.
-- Freelance Graphics 97 - Rehearse Mode allows users to practice their presentations while viewing speaker notes and tracking the time it takes to deliver a single page and/or the entire presentation; Visual Outliner View shows a "live" thumbnail of each page alongside its corresponding text, allowing users to work in a textual environment while viewing the presentation at the page level.
-- Approach 97 - DB2 QMF Support automatically converts legacy data in DB2 Query Management Facility (QMF) definitions to Approach forms and reports without the need to convert the data; and Specialized Support for DB2 includes many new features designed specifically for the DB2 community, including support for transactions, QMF, and DB2 Binary Large Objects (BLOBs).
-- Organizer 97 - Daily View displays appointments as blocks of time in a graphical format; Full Text Formatting capabilities in the Notepad section give entries a richer look.
-- ScreenCam 97 - Full-Featured Recording and Editing Capabilities allow any Windows user to record movies of on-screen activity in smaller, more flexible segments. Segments can be joined together seamlessly and edited independently from each other, eliminating the need to re-record the entire movie to insert edits.
Cutting-Edge Java Applet Functionality in Word Pro 97 and Freelance
Graphics 97
SmartSuite's Java control enables users to embed Java applets within Word Pro 97 documents as well as within Freelance Graphics 97 presentations, creating richer word processing documents and presentations. Word Pro's simple-to-use, yet powerful Web SmartMaster templates, automated HTML-export and Save-to-the-Internet functionality, allows users to publish professional- quality Java-rich documents that "dress-up" Web pages with animation and real- time information updates.
Pricing, Availability and System Requirements
SmartSuite 97 is scheduled to ship in January 1997 and will be available at an estimated retail price (ERP) of $399. Current users of SmartSuite or individual Lotus desktop applications, and users of qualifying competing suites, spreadsheets, word processors, databases and presentation graphics packages will be eligible for an estimated upgrade price of $149.
French, Italian, German, Spanish and Japanese versions of SmartSuite 97 Edition for Windows 95/NT are scheduled to ship simultaneously with the English version. The product is scheduled to ship in additional languages including Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Brazilian Portuguese, Swedish, Simplified as well as Traditional Chinese and Korean within 60 days after SmartSuite 97 is available.
SmartSuite 97 Edition for Windows 95 and Windows NT requires an IBM PC or compatible (486 50MHz or higher) running Windows 95 or Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, and a Microsoft Windows compatible video adapter (VGA or higher resolution) and monitor. A minimum of 8MB of RAM is required (12MB recommended when running more than one application) for Windows 95. A minimum of 16MB of RAM is required for Windows NT. Installation of all six applications requires an estimated minimum of 82MB of hard-disk space. Additional space is required for the installation of optional features. Applications can be run from the CD-ROM.
Lotus Development Corporation, founded in 1982, is a subsidiary of IBM Corporation. Lotus offers high quality software products and services that reflect the company's unique understanding of the new ways in which individuals and businesses must work together to achieve success. Lotus' innovative approach is evident in a new class of applications that allow users to access and communicate information in ways never before possible, both within and beyond organizational boundaries. Lotus now markets its products in more than 80 countries worldwide and provides numerous professional consulting, support and education services through the Lotus Services Group.
NOTE: All prices and terms are for the USA only. Lotus, Lotus Organizer, 1-2-3, Word Pro, Approach, Freelance Graphics, ScreenCam and SmartSuite are registered trademarks, and SmartCenter is a trademark of Lotus Development Corporation. IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. Other brands and products are the property of their respective owners.
All Lotus news releases and other SmartSuite collateral are available on the Internet, via the Lotus Development Corp. Home Page at lotus.com. The Lotus Home Page is an easy way to find information about Lotus and its business partners' products and services. SOURCE Lotus Development Corporation
c PR Newswire. All rights reserved.
Additional sources of information
SEC Filings - From EDGAR Online
Tell Me More - From Infoseek
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