What's New in Symphony 1.3?

Functional enhancements:

* Enabled Microsoft Office 2007 files import support.
* Significant enhancements in DataPilot in spreadsheets, including show/hide field items panel, drill down to details, DataPilot cache support, and default styles.
* Numbering enhancement in documents to improve interoperability with Microsoft Word.
* Enabled Microsoft Office and IBM Lotus SmartSuite password protection support for spreadsheets.
* Enabled network URI access and hyperlink support that allows you to create network connection hyperlinks for URI protocols including FTP, MailTo, and SMB.
* Enabled envelope support which allows you to create an envelope, set envelope properties, and set printing options.
* Enabled Widgets Catalog server support.
* Improved print performance.
* Enabled Sumproduct's ForceArray formula support in spreadsheets.
* Significant start-up performance improvement on Mac OS X.

Usability enhancements:

* In presentations, page layout is more visible by locating the Properties sidebar in the right panel.
* Provided better animation effects interoperability with Microsoft PowerPoint on font-relative effects, fade-exit effects, and multiple motion paths; and enabled the animation play at automatic page transitions.
* Provided an automatic cursor in presentation screen shows as a default option.
* Presentation pages can be deleted continuously without any prompt.
* Provided new graphic bullets and clip art.
* Provided enhanced color pallette in color picker.
* Enhancements in live text.
* Enabled support that allows you to open a file by dragging and dropping a file to the home page or the New.
* A continuous improvement in mail merge in documents.
* Default font is changed to Arial in presentations and documents.
* Enlarged the pull-down list length upper limit to 20 items to make more options visible.
* Enabled Ctrl+left Shift and Ctrl+right Shift hotkey support to switch BIDI layout.
* Enhanced toolbar and main menu usability.

Programmability enhancements:

* Provided rich Lotus Symphony document model APIs for Spreadsheets and Documents.

Online help enhancements:

* Enhanced help content for spreadsheets, common, and preferences topics.

Web site:

* Added drag-to-install function in the Plug-ins section.
* Added support for multiple downloads and enabled Atom feeds for clip art and templates in the Gallery section.
* Expanded search function for the Forum.
* Rotated announcements on the Home page.

IBM Unleashes New Symphony for Millions of Microsoft Office Customers

IBM (NYSE: IBM) is offering millions of companies and consumers the chance to save hundreds of dollars on each of their Microsoft Office licenses by providing support for Microsoft Office 2007 with the newest version of Lotus Symphony, IBM's free of charge productivity software suite. This could translate into millions of dollars in savings at many large companies that are looking for financial relief in the current economy.

The ability to import Microsoft Office 2007 files into Symphony means that Microsoft Office customers can save on licensing costs by switching to Symphony while retaining access to, and easy use of, the contents of their Office files. Lotus Symphony version 1.3 is now available free of charge on the Web at http://www-01.ibm.com/software/lotus/products/symphony/. In addition, Symphony is shipped with every copy of Lotus Notes and Lotus Foundations software. View the Symphony video.

IBM's alternative to Microsoft Office 2007 makes cost-free document software a legitimate option for many companies around the business world which want to realize cost-efficiencies in the current economic climate but require assurance of the quality and reliability of the technology.

In addition to adding support for Microsoft Office 2007 file formats, Lotus Symphony 1.3 offers DataPilot Table improvements that make it easy to drill down and analyze data. It also enhances mail merge and envelope printing for organizations that need simple, efficient ways to communicate with their customers. Symphony 1.3 also provides animation to add sizzle to presentations and interoperate with Microsoft PowerPoint presentations.

The new version of Symphony allows users to drag-and-drop plug-ins, extending its use to other business applications. For example, a new learning plug-in can be installed on the right sidebar to help people learn new Symphony capabilities in real-time use.

"IBM is delivering on its commitment to free businesses and consumers from having to pay licensing fees over and over just to access their own personal or company information," said Kevin Cavanaugh, VP of Lotus Software. "Now, it will be much harder to justify paying Office licensing fees when you can preserve and access your Office documents for free using Lotus Symphony."

Reducing fixed costs in challenging times is important to Cluttons, a partnership of chartered surveyors, founded in 1765. Through a network of offices in the U.K., Europe, Middle East, South Africa and the Caribbean, Cluttons offer a very wide range of professional property management, agency and consultancy services across the commercial and residential sectors, for both investors and occupiers. In recent years, Cluttons delivered Microsoft Windows desktop, including Microsoft Office, IBM Lotus Notes and business applications to its users via a virtualized environment based on Citrix. Now it plans to switch from Office to Symphony, used with Lotus Notes 8.5.

Mark Clemence, Cluttons IT Director, stated, "The opportunity to use fully supported office productivity tools as part of the deployment of Lotus Notes 8.5 was too good an opportunity to be missed. We plan to use the cost saving to further invest in Lotus productivity tool sets."

Another Symphony customer, The John Lewis Partnership (JLP), owns the leading U.K. retail businesses Waitrose, John Lewis and Greenbee. All 69,000 of its permanent staff are partners who own 27 John Lewis department stores, 210 Waitrose supermarkets (www.waitrose.com), an online and catalogue business, johnlewis.com (www.johnlewis.com), a direct services company, Greenbee (www.greenbee.com), a production unit and a farm with nearly 6.9GBP billion in revenue in 2008.

JLP was determined to control costs within a competitive retail environment to deliver first-class service and products to John Lewis customers. It plans to deploy Symphony to approximately 8,000 employees. Providing Microsoft Office to all staff in John Lewis Department Stores was evaluated, but determined to be cost-prohibitive.

Recently Italian food distributor Gruppo Amadori began converting its 6,000 employees to Symphony on Linux desktops from an Office and Windows environment as part of a cost-control strategy. The IBM Linux desktop includes Lotus Notes, Lotus Sametime and Lotus Quickr in addition to Symphony.

New businesses are forming around the rising demand to migrate from Microsoft Office to Symphony. For example, Indellient (www.indellient.com), based in Montreal, Canada offers migration services such as Asset Conversion Inspector and Notes Integration Inspector which can help larger organizations understand their Microsoft Office dependencies. Indellient is also providing products specifically for the small-medium business market and the Lotus business partner channel with Web-based Document Conversion Services and Personalized Template Packs. These services allow SMB business partners to offer their customers an easy and cost-effective set of business automated templates, for an efficient and professional look and feel to their communications.

The 2007 Microsoft Office system already provides support for 20 different document formats within Microsoft Office Word, Office Excel and Office PowerPoint. With the release of Microsoft Office 2007 Service Pack 2 (SP2) scheduled for the first half of 2009, the list will grow to include support for XML Paper Specification (XPS), Portable Document Format (PDF) 1.5, PDF/A and Open Document Format (ODF) v1.1.

When using SP2, customers will be able to open, edit and save documents using ODF and save documents into the XPS and PDF fixed formats from directly within the application without having to install any other code. It will also allow customers to set ODF as the default file format for Office 2007. To also provide ODF support for users of earlier versions of Microsoft Office (Office XP and Office 2003), Microsoft will continue to collaborate with the open source community in the ongoing development of the Open XML-ODF translator project on SourceForge.net.

The new entry to the mix is Microsoft Office 2007 SP2, which has added integrated ODF support. Unfortunately this support did not fare well in my tests. The problem appears to be how it treats spreadsheet formulas in ODF documents. When reading an ODF document, Excel SP2 silently strips out formulas. What is left is the last value that cell had, when previously saved.

In the other direction, when writing out spreadsheets in ODF format, Excel 2007 SP2 does include spreadsheet formulas but places them into an Excel namespace. This namespace is not what OpenOffice and other ODF applications use. It is not the ODF 1.2 namespace. It isn't even the OOXML namespace. I have no idea what it is or what it means. Not every ODF application checks the namespace of formulas when loading documents, but the ones that do reject the SP2 documents altogether. And the ones that do not check the namespace try and fail to load a formula since it is syntactically different than what they expected. The applications essentially display a corrupted document that is shows neither the formula nor the value correctly. For example, a SP2 document, loaded in MS Office using the Sun ODF Plugin looks like this:



Similar corruption occurs when loading the Excel 2007 SP2 spreadsheet into KSpread, Symphony and OpenOffice. Google doesn't import the document at all.

Of course, I am not that cynical. I was taught to never assume malice where incompetence would be the simpler explanation. But the degree of incompetence needed to explain SP2's poor ODF support boggles the mind and leads me to further uncharitable thoughts. So I must stop here.

Announcing the Public Availability of the Learning Plug-In for IBM Lotus Symphony!

Overview:
The Learning Plug-In for IBM Lotus Symphony is now available on the Lotus Symphony wiki.  Download and install the plug-in to access end-user learning materials.

Details:
The Learning Plug-In for IBM Lotus Symphony is a sidebar plug-in that is used to view and filter learning materials inside IBM Lotus Symphony 1.2.  Download and install the plug-in to access the following types of Lotus Symphony user training materials:
       •        Show me Demos
       •        Tutorials
       •        Video Tours
       •        Web Seminars
       •        Reference Cards

You can filter content by Symphony Documents, Spreadsheets, or Presentations.

You can provide feedback about the plug-in by right-clicking on any topic or resource. Select Feedback from the context menu to display a form that you can use to provide the plug-in team with your feedback.

The plug-in will be available soon on the plug-ins page of the Lotus Symphony Web site. But you can get it now on the Lotus Symphony Wiki.

My verdict: Desktop Linux is a great choice for many regular Joes with basic computer needs. And not just on netbooks.

In fact, I found that it makes a lot of sense to standardize office workers on desktop Linux. I now understand why governments in Asia and Europe say they want to get off the Microsoft train and shift to Linux. I thought these were empty threats meant to get better licensing deals or to blunt some of Microsoft's monopolistic power, but as it turns out, desktop Linux is a worthwhile option for both public organizations and private companies. Those who standardize on Linux would save serious money on the new equipment needed for Vista or Windows 7, not to mention OS and Office upgrades as well. Your business could, too.

Moreover, Linux-based shops would require significantly less training than they would to teach staff Vista or Windows 7 and Microsoft Office 2007.

OpenOffice is a sound alternative to Microsoft Office, but I spent most of my time with the free IBM Lotus Symphony, which is a slightly better productivity suite than OpenOffice, in the InfoWorld Test Center's evaluation. It's simply more refined and will be easier for Office users to adapt to, even though it lacks the database and drawing applications that OpenOffice has. I'm sure there are features in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint that Symphony and OpenOffice can't match, but you can bet that for 80 percent or more of your "knowledge workers," sales staff, and so on that Symphony or OpenOffice will do the job.

I'm not suggesting every organization chuck its Windows or Mac OSes for desktop Linux. But many companies, government agencies, and educational institutions can chuck at least some of them. Those based on XP -- or Windows 2000, which still has a huge installed base in government agencies -- can look to big savings on licensing, hardware, and training costs.

Desktop Linux and its core productivity apps are solid and worth serious consideration for many of your users' PCs. Try it yourself.

Overall Rating: 9; “I might keep this one and uninstall OpenOffice. I like it that much.”

A summary of all Lotus Symphony activities taking place at Lotusphere 2009:


Your guide to the symphony at Lotusphere 2009

Here is an overview of the opportunities to learn more about Lotus Symphony while at Lotusphere 2009.

Sessions


Labs
Come see Lotus Symphony in action and talk with the technical team in either the Meet the Developers Lab or the Lotus Solutions Development Lab.

Showcase floor
Come visit us at Pedestal # IBM30 to see Lotus Symphony and ask questions.

The Lotus Symphony Cafe
Join our team for coffee, tea or something a little stronger ... and learn more about Lotus Symphony. The Lotus Symphony team is offering a relaxed environment to meet with experts, ask questions, discuss future product directions. Or, just catch your breath and rest relax.
Conveniently located at the top of the Dolphin Hotel escalators at the Lobby Lounge.
Lotus Symphony cafe hours are:
Monday 4:00pm-6:00pm
Tuesday 7:00am-9:00am, 4:00pm-6:00pm
Wednesday 7:00am-9:00am, 4:00pm-6:00pm
Thursday 8:00am-10:00am

The Lotus Symphony Developer's Workshop
This hands-on lab teach you to integrate Lotus Symphony with your Lotus Notes applications with the new LotusSymphony LotusScript API. Space is limited, so register today:
Where: Europe 3, Dolphin
When: Choose from three session times:
Tuesday 10:00am-12:00pm
Tuesday 2:00pm- 4:00pm
Wednesday10:00am-12:00pm

This guide is also available as a PDF for download.

Great Opportunity: Lotus Symphony Developer's Workshop.
Introducing Lotus Symphony LotusScript API.

Notes Developers and Business Partners have been waiting for a Lotus Symphony LotusScript API -- it has arrived! This hands-on workshop will teach you how to integrate Notes and Symphony applications with the new Lotus Symphony LotusScript API.

With the API model and documentation structure similar to Notes or SmartSuite LotusScript API, Notes developers are going to easily and quickly be productive. Participants learn how easily one can access Symphony using LotusScript, and manipulate the most frequently used objects (paragraphs, tables, fields, charts, datapilots) in document and spreadsheet applications using LotusScript.

Upon completion, participants should leave a solid understand of how to control Lotus Symphony with Notes using LotusScript API. You can register here as these are popular sessions and quickly get filled.

https://www.ibm.com/events/swgeer/swgeer06.nsf/signin?openform&seminar=kwodcoe7n3ngv&lang=en

IBM announced the availability of Lotus Notes 8.5, as well as the upcoming availability, later this month, of Lotus Symphony document, spreadsheet and presentation software for the Mac.

Notes 8.5 improves storage efficiency over previous versions, offers a tweaked user interface, integration with Google, Yahoo, and hundreds of other public Internet calendars. Notes also runs in Windows and Linux devices.

Symphony is derived from the OpenOffice.org codebase. My colleague Serdar Yegulalp, who reviewed it last month as part of an overview of open-source office suites, described it as "OpenOffice.org, plus polish."

In this IDC white paper, we take a look at the importance of providing the appropriate set of productivity tools to diverse workforces. We provide a five-step process for ensuring that organizations are equipping workers with the productivity tools they need based on individual job requirements and skills rather than relying solely on a "one-size-fits-all" or nothing approach taken in many organizations.

There are three key challenges to organizations and vendors looking to change the productivity tool status quo. The first challenge is the limited awareness that exists among IT and business users about the growing range of productivity tools and suites that are available for business use. This creates a chicken-and-egg situation where users wait for these lesser-known products to become popular before considering using them, which limits the pace at which these products can gain popularity. Not surprisingly, business users, rather than IT, often feel the pain and try finding relief through free downloadable software and hosted services.

The second challenge is the notion that it is better to stick with the status quo because any change poses risks that are best avoided. This is a very common idea that applies beyond productivity tools to just about any decision inside and outside the workplace. The fallacy of this way of thinking is that maintaining the status quo actively perpetuates a past decision that may have been right when made but due to changing circumstances no longer represents the best option for today. Being blindly stuck to the status quo continues to disenfranchise workers who were not given access to productivity tools in the past but who could benefit from such tools today.  

The third challenge is the notion that continuing to use the most popular commercial productivity suites avoids file interoperability issues. The fallacy of this approach is that interoperability problems may still exist due to the use of different versions of those products. In addition, the degree to which common proprietary and open file formats are supported varies between productivity tools. Only by evaluating the file format support in different productivity tools and suites will organizations be able to determine which tools are best for their workers, taking into consideration file interoperability as well as other important criteria.

Open Source Software is about more than just the Linux operating system, and 2008 brought advances in the form of OpenOffice.org, IBM Lotus Symphony, Firefox and Android. But Linux is still the heart of the FOSS movement, and this year brought key developments in the operating system as well. Here's a look at the coolest open source products to come across the transom in 2008.

Desktop Application

WINNER: IBM Lotus Symphony
Lotus Symphony acts much like Microsoft Office, which is good if you are looking for something to replace Office at a fraction of the cost (free!). It's not so good if you are looking for something entirely different from Office, but there aren't many free suites that accomplish that yet. There are plenty of individual applications out there, but most office productivity suites at the moment are, more or less, Office clones.

Symphony consists of word processing, spreadsheet and presentation applications. Based on the Open Document Format standard, Symphony saves all documents by default to that format. It can open and edit documents created under OpenOffice and other applications that also follow ODF. Symphony can also open and edit all Office documents saved in the older .doc format. Documents created in Office 2007 with the newer .docx (.xlsx and .pptx) formats can't be opened under Symphony.

The Office 2007 installation here at the Test Center by default saves documents in the Office 97-2003 format (in the interest of backward-compatibility) so there were no problems editing files created in Symphony under Office 2007, or vice versa. The Test Center found Symphony a snap to use, and switching to Symphony after years of using Microsoft Office was painless.

Great to see the recognition of the work the Symphony team has put in during 2008 to ship three releases (1.0, 1.1, 1.2), translate to 28 languages, and support millions of downloads during the year.  Congratulations to the team!

With the release of IBM Lotus Notes 8, IBM took a shot at Microsoft with integrated Word Processor, Spreadsheet and Presentation software. Now, that package of software, known as IBM Lotus Symphony, is available as a stand-alone suite that's available for anyone to download for free.

Yes you read that right, free.

That's the big distinction that IBM Lotus is trying to make with Symphony. Symphony becomes the free alternative that may replace Microsoft Office for many typical end-users. Symphony also integrates very well with Lotus Notes 8, and that integration point is something that I'm sure Lotus is banking on to win new converts.

So, is it good enough to unseat Office? Let's see.

   * Over 3 million downloads of Lotus Symphony -- 2 million of which have come since 1.0 release in May, 2008
   * Symphony 1.2, with key new features such as data pilot tables (aka pivot tables), is now available on Windows and Linux (including Ubuntu Linux), and the first Mac beta available
   * IBM plans to deliver 60 new features in Symphony updates in 2009, including Visual Basic macro support, and Office 2007 file format support.  These new releases will be developed with ODF (Open Document Format) 1.2 support and will begin use of the OpenOffice 3.0 code base
   * IBM and Sun have joined together to create the ODF Toolkit Union, at odftoolkit.org.  This site will help a broader range of ISVs build solutions that leverage ODF
   * IBM is announcing a dozen customer references for Lotus Symphony, from all over the world.  I will link to the list when it is available online on Wednesday US time

What's New in Symphony 1.2

Performance enhancements:

 * Improved .ods and .xls files loading performance.
 * Improved .ods files saving performance.

Usability enhancements:

 * Enhanced performance optimization options usability by adding Symphony system tray icon.
 * Enhanced exported PDF accessibility by adding structural tags and attributes for document elements.
 * Enhanced BIDI support in Spreadsheet.
 * Added user interface language support in regional settings preferences page.
 * Enabled creating a hyperlink to local documents in all three editors.
 * Associated numbering and bullet style to paragraph properties in Documents.
 * Enhanced new page creation usability in Presentations.
 * Significant enhancements on DataPilot in Spreadsheets.

Installation:

 * Lotus Symphony GA is available on Ubuntu.
 * Provided Lotus Symphony Debian packages on Ubuntu.
 * Provided Lotus Symphony RPM packages on SuSe and RedHat.

On-line Help Enhancements:

 * Enhanced help content for Presentations.
 * Symphony information center is available in http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/symphony/v1r1/index.jsp where you can find help contents and other related resources.

Website:

 * Added Business Partner page.
 * Re-designed Buzz section, Plug-ins section, and Gallery Landing page.