| Posted by: Arik Hesseldahl on January 21
The iPhone's biggest weakness is its lack of support for enterprise email platforms like Microsoft's Exchange and IBM's Lotus Notes. It looks like that's changing. Reports are circulating that IBM is close to announcing a version of Notes for the iPhone, and based on what I'm hearing that is pretty close to the mark, though an announcement may not come this week, as has been reported elsewhere. The main importance is that iPhone owners who want to access their corporate email from the device will be able to do it with the full support of their corporate IT departments, which to now have been skittish about supporting the iPhone for a variety of reasons, most of which can be traced nothing more than uncertainty, and/or simply not wanting to support another wireless device. InformationWeek reported that a version of Lotus for the iPhone would be announced at the Lotusphere conference in Orlando this week.
IBM backs OpenDocument in Lotus Notes
IBM has announced an upgrade to Lotus Notes that will include access to office productivity applications and support for the OpenDocument format. The new version of Lotus Notes, codenamed "Hannover", will feature IBM Workplace applications for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations and numeric data analysis. These "office productivity editors", as IBM refers to them, all support OpenDocument Format (ODF) files. ODF is an XML-based file format that is independent from the particular software application in which it is created and used. ODF files can be imported and exported to and from any applications that support it, allowing entities using different software applications to work on the same document. Lotus Notes users will be able to natively create, open, edit and save in ODF.
Google introduces 'Powered by Postini' security products
Online search giant Google Inc has announced the introduction of a series of security products designed to provide email security, message filtering and archiving capacity for businesses regardless of their size. The "Powered by Postini" range is compatible with all e-mail systems in existence including leading ones like Lotus Notes, Microsoft Exchange, and Novell Groupwise, Google said. The Mountain View, Calif-based Google acquired Postini for $625 million in July 2007. Postini is well-known for its security products aimed at business enterprises as well as anti-spam software. Google's "Powered by Postini"; range includes Google Message Filtering which is available to all businesses for $3 for one user per year. Google said this facility was useful for businesses looking to get a grip on spam, viruses and other malware coming into their systems.
IBM to add software for Apple devices
EMAIL software from IBM will be available on Apple iPhones and iPod Touch devices under a new partnership that brings together two big rivals of Microsoft. IBM plans a formal announcement of the Lotus Notes email package for Apple's portable devices at its Lotusphere conference in Orlando, Florida, next week. The software, which requires use of IBM's Domino email server program, will be free for users who already have a Lotus web-access licence and start at $US39 ($44) per year for new users. IBM also plans to release Lotus Notes and the free Lotus Symphony "productivity" package - which includes documents, spreadsheets and other Microsoft Office-like software - for Apple's Macintosh computers. With these moves, IBM is trying to find more avenues for its software and take advantage of Apple's natural affinity for Microsoft alternatives.
Premiering on the silver screen: Ads
Moviegoers this Oscar weekend may see director Martin Scorsese up on the big screen, but not in the typical uncredited cameo appearances he's made over the years.
Instead, the director brazenly barges in on a family phone call, telling a mother and son how they should act during the scene. The gist of the 30-second skit: since Hollywood doesn't interrupt your phone calls, don't interrupt their movies.
On its face, the bit is a public service announcement, courtesy of AT&T Mobility. But it really serves as a clever corporate branding message for AT&T, which like so many other marketers is trying to find new ways to grab consumers' attention.
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America's Favorite Cheerleader, Hayden Panettiere Selected as the New ...
NEW YORK, Nov. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Continuing with the mega successful introduction of his trend collection over the past five years, designer Peter Dooney introduces a new collection targeted to today's young consumer with the introduction of The Hayden Bag. (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20071115/NYTH078 ) To symbolize the spirit of the collection, Dooney & Bourke has collaborated with actress Hayden Panettiere, currently starring in NBC's hit show Heroes, as this season's guest designer for their upcoming national ad campaign. The campaign is set to debut in December. As a Dooney & Bourke face, Panettiere follows in the footsteps of leading ladies Mischa Barton, Lindsay Lohan and Emma Roberts. For the current season, Panettiere began by describing what she envisioned: a large leather shoulder bag with puffy pleats, a buckle closure and great style.
REUTEMAN: Dots worth connecting: beetle kill to motor fuel
A flurry of announcements in recent weeks about combating the pine beetle has to make you wonder. Why now? It's already infested 1.5 million acres of Colorado lodgepole pine forest, laying waste to a goodly chunk of the state's scenic beauty. Mostly we've heard that nature was allowed to take its course. It's tempting to say the devastation finally got people's attention when it began showing up along the populous Front Range. But that's only partly true. "It's about time," said Gary Severson, executive director of the Northwest Colorado Council of Governments. "We've been hitting this problem real hard for the past three years." In 2007, the affected areas grew by half a million acres in one year's beetle flight, he said. "The wind currents blew the beetles up over the Continental Divide.
20,000 jobs in blueprint for the future
AMBITIOUS plans have been announced to transform Bolton into a "modern 21st century town" attracting £300 million in investment and creating 20,000 jobs. A 10-year plan unveiled by Bolton Council will see the town "step out of the shadow of Manchester" by ploughing huge sums of money into the "Bolton Innovation Zone". The zone is 67 hectares to the west of the town centre which will be the hub of major improvements and expansions to Bolton University, the public transport network and the town's retail and leisure industries. Cllr Ebrahim Adia, the council's executive member for development, said: "These are exciting times for Bolton and we are taking full advantage of the opportunities offered to us. "The regeneration of the town will attract £1 billion in public and private sector investment, as well as creating almost 20,000 new jobs.
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