Notes/Domino 8.5 public beta available now

May 30 2008

As mentioned yesterday, the Notes/Domino 8.5 public beta is now available.  The forum with all the details (download, release notes, etc.) is at http://www-10.lotus.com/ldd/nd85forum.nsf .

There is a lot to this release for both administrators and developers.  The Domino server team has been working on the operational cost-related enhancements in Domino 8.5 for two years, resulting in core engine improvements in I/O and compression, the Domino Configuration Tuner, the Domino Attachment and Object Store (DAOS), Notes ID vault, Quality of Service, and other areas.  Domino 8.5 also includes the first updates for Domino as a web application server in many years, including the new xPages design constructs, a new look-and-feel for Domino applications (much more usable), and an updated discussion template as a proof point.  Domino Designer is being delivered on the Eclipse.org framework (same basis for Notes 8 and Sametime 7.5+), though some of the key objectives of this work will bake in post-8.5 releases (timing being discussed internally with a real sense of urgency).  Notes/Domino 8.5 also features updates on the client side, including a long list of incremental improvements to the Notes 8 client, the first Notes 8 version for the Macintosh, and rebranding of Domino Web Access back to iNotes (with some new feaures/support)..

This is beta 1, so some stuff is incomplete or missing.  The development team monitors the beta feedback forum, and while not all questions will get answers there, it's the place to post.  

To answer the first FAQ -- Notes/Domino 8.5 is scheduled to ship in Q4, 2008.

Link: Notes/Domino 8.5 public beta now available >

Ed Brill Greensboro, NC USA Category:  Notes and Domino 8  Add/View Comments [22]

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  1. 1  Fred Antille  | 5/30/2008 4:26:01 AM

    Nice to try a new version of Lotus Notes ;)

  1. 2  Fred Antille  | 5/30/2008 5:04:08 AM

    This release is very simple to setup under Fedora 9, but there is no Linux Designer in this version ? :(

  1. 3  gjwolfswinkel http://www.wolfswinkel.net | 5/30/2008 5:21:03 AM

    downloading the .deb now - yay! Download is slow though, between 45 and 80 kb/s. Busy, perhaps?

  1. 4  Mark Hughes  | 5/30/2008 7:12:42 AM

    Must be overloaded waiting for server messages

  1. 5  Michelle O’Rorke  | 5/30/2008 7:13:08 AM

    <i>Domino Designer is being delivered on the Eclipse.org framework (same basis for Notes 8 and Sametime 7.5+), though some of the key objectives of this work will bake in post-8.5 releases (timing being discussed internally with a real sense of urgency)</i>

    Bitterly disappointed to see that the LotusScript class browser does not appear to have made it into this release. Same tired old editor for both LotusScript and Java.

    Java? How hard can it be to get a decent Java editor into Eclipse?

  1. 6  Michael  | 5/30/2008 7:18:09 AM

    @5: it's beta 1...

  1. 7  Nelson Morris  | 5/30/2008 7:31:40 AM

    Internal Server Error here now.... This would be a great candidate for IBM to experiment with bit torrent since we all are downloading at once.

  1. 8  Mark Hughes  | 5/30/2008 7:41:23 AM

    keep going back to the first page, eventually you will get through

  1. 9  Mike McP http://www.openntf/mPortal | 5/30/2008 8:23:40 AM

    Kudos for finally updating the '90s era Discussion Template. Any chance we'll see some additional out-of-the-box web-compliant templates? It would be nice to have a new document library, maybe a time off app, and a helpdesk app...just core business stuff that would be easily adoptable.

    On a relate note, has IBM ever thought of partnering with OpenNTF? I could imagine something where IBM lends resources to some of the better 'apps' on that site and incorporates them into the 8.5 distro. Some of the apps on that site are quite good, and I can only imagine what they could become if IBM could assign a couple developers to the project team for a brief period.

    You see this behavior in other industries, where big publishers are taking interest in garage-grown video games (Valve with CounterStrike, Team Fortress, Portal), and you see it with Xbox Live arcade. I see a lot of parallels to that industry and Notes, where there's a good bit of hardcode development happening outside of Notes, that just needs a hand on the resources and publishing side. As they say in the video game industry, a few good games can make or break an entire platform.

  1. 10  Mark Hughes  | 5/30/2008 8:36:35 AM

    no more c125wml crap!!

  1. 11  Turtle http://www.weightlessdog.com/shell.nsf | 5/30/2008 9:06:17 AM

    Since the post with the download link in it has already scrolled off the first page, here's a link to that post:

    { Link }

  1. 12  Turtle http://www.weightlessdog.com/shell.nsf | 5/30/2008 9:09:18 AM

    Hey, Ed, yeah, the idea about BitTorrenting it is a good one. They could make it a closed tracker if they wanted, but all of us beating the hell out of IBM's site doesn't make a lot of sense. I can host a tracker if needed.

  1. 13  Travis Retzlaff  | 5/30/2008 9:42:34 AM

    @5 - I'll second that bitter disappointment, though at least we are headed in the right direction.

    Also a bit frustrated to see another rebranding of web based access to email. I'm not in marketing so I am not sure why this was done but this type of behavior does end up confusing some end users and IT shops.

    The focus should be on the technology and not the terminology. By rebranding you end up pulling some of the focus back to the terminology which in the end should be irrelevant (unless you are in marketing).

  1. 14  Andrew Pollack http://www.thenorth.com/apblog | 5/30/2008 10:48:28 AM

    Nathan has set up a chat room at Bleedyellow for the sort of random stream of consciousness observational stuff we're all chatting back and forth about with regards 8.5 Beta. To get in, open a browser and go to:

    { Link }

    Then log-in (you need a BleedYellow.com account). Once you're logged in, go to:

    { Link }

  1. 15  Samuel deHuszar Allen http://www.essentialforms.com | 5/30/2008 3:49:27 PM

    It looks like the servers for 8.5b and Symphony 1 are totally hosed. :( Any mirrors that can be recommended?

  1. 16  John Head http://www.johndavidhead.com | 5/30/2008 6:22:11 PM

    @15 there are no mirrors. You have to wait your turn like everyone else :)

  1. 17  Samuel deHuszar Allen http://www.essentialforms.com | 5/31/2008 11:47:56 AM

    Weak sauce.

  1. 18  John Turnbow http://www.recondite2.com | 5/31/2008 5:27:13 PM

    I love the new designer interface!!! Very nice, intuitive. Was concerned that such a change would be difficult to navigate, but wrong, the interface is easy to use, navigate and understand... Great Job!!! This is what us developers need!!!

    Thanks!

  1. 19  Sean Jennings  | 6/2/2008 6:26:01 AM

    @9 how about IBM hosting a 'template-shop' where developers can publish their designs either directly for-sale or for acquisition by ISVs? (similar to what Apple plans with their Apps store for the iPhone/Touch)

  1. 20  Mike McP http://www.openntf/mPortal | 6/2/2008 12:10:40 PM

    @19 Yeah, that would be a great addition.

    Ideally, I'd like to see IBM bundle some of the stuff as free and co-branded. That would provide the 'gateway drug' to , and the bundled NSF should be created DURING the install, and the Domino welcome web screen should provide links to each of them directly, ready to run.

    If you've ever used Sharepoint, it's a nightmare to get the 40 free apps to work. There's command-line stuff you need to do, passwords, etc. IBM could really capitalize on this.

  1. 21  Albert Buendia http://slugmail.slug.es | 6/2/2008 2:50:50 PM

    As a final customer I totally agree with @9. It's fustrating Domino 8.5 will only provide ** one ** new web 2.0 template. What about the others? There are a lot of interesting templates in openntf.org. Why IBM don't include Quickr services for Domino **inside** Lotus Domino? My colleagues who user Notes/Domino agree with me. Where is a CRM template? And a helpdesk template? And a project one? Couldn't be in Quickr? And what about the SNAPPS templates? A lot of corporations in Spain would like to see in Spanish. ok, this is my feeling and feedback for IBM. Ed, I aprecciate especially your words "with a real sense of urgency". Thanks, Ed.

  1. 22  Shakti http://www.designingtips.com | 4/27/2010 6:55:55 AM

    I am using it from last year. You had written very well about this version. I agree with you. Because i believe in the things when then i was using them. Now i am happy with this version. Thanks for sharing...