Most of the changes within the R5 environment are not revolutionary as much as they are evolutionary. As Lotus has stepped through version releases since Release 4.5, Lotus' vision for R5 has become more apparent. The product line has been transformed from a proprietary system to one that embraces support for most Internet standards. Lotus recognized the need to provide an environment for development and deployment on both sides; proprietary and the Internet-related. As each version has been released, Lotus has added more support for HTML integration, Java, and JavaScript, as well as email protocols such as POP, IMAP, NNTP, LDAP, and S/MIME to name a few.

It is apparent, if you are familiar with the product line, that Lotus has been testing this evolution through steps, learning what is possible and what must be changed to bring both sides (proprietary and Internet standards) together. The last releases (i.e., 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.6,2, and 4.6.3) exemplify the steps through that evolution. However, R5 comes at a time at which the environment required a re-write or re-construction in order to realize that vision. Domino and Notes R5 does not represent something completely new -- it represents the culmination of several years of trial and refinement.

This review is not about the wide-sweeping changes available relative to application development. This review is focused on R5 as a messaging system.

The Notes R5 client
"Usable email client" is not a phrase you might have heard much relative to Notes R4. The problem with the R4 interface is that it was so unlike any other piece of software that it was very difficult for most end users to sit down and start using it without some direction. R4 required training, or at the least an introduction to the client interface -- adding to the overall expense of an R4-based deployment. An argument might be made that all software requires training, but reality dictates that many organizations deploy software without training, but expect their users to pick it up through osmosis (or other methods). The point is that this is nearly impossible with R4. By contrast, the R5 Notes client makes it very easy for a novice user to get up and running.