No, Not a bit of it.

It's still pretty much as fresh and exciting as it always has been, and of course this year there was so much more to talk about.

By now you'll have heard about Lotus Workplace, and be wondering where it's all going. You'll be wondering too about how much you need to learn about WebSphere and when you need to learn Java. So let's try to get all that into perspective.

Notes 6.5.1
First, let's discuss Notes 6.5.1. Supposedly, this should just be a bug-fixing maintenance release. There's more to it than that. Posted on the Web during Lotusphere -- and yes, I downloaded it using the Lotusphere network and installed it during the Sphere -- this release contains some new IM (Instant Messaging) usability features, the ability to print calendar entry descriptions (which actually only turns up in really obscure print selections), and there are some usability changes to the Today pane of the Workplace welcome page.

For many customers, much more valuable are the changes are in the way that the Notes and Domino family will be delivered and licensed. No longer will you have to run one version of Domino to support the latest version of Sametime and a Domino version for QuickPlace.

By April, all the Domino family will be available in the 6.5.1 branding, and all on the four key platforms, which are Windows, iSeries, AIX and Solaris. Linux? It's a key platform too, but apparently not all the companion products will be available on it, at least not in the 6.5.1 release. The licensing change covers the in-built IM features.

Up to now, you have paid for Sametime on a per-user basis. Sametime servers for intranet use are free. Well, from 6.5.1 onward, you don't have to pay for Sametime licenses to use the Notes 6.5.1 IM features -- just download and install a Sametime server and you're all set. But remember that you will need Sametime licenses to use the Sametime Connect Client directly, and if you use Sametime on your extranet, you will need to buy a Sametime Extranet server.

Finally, in the 6.5.1 product, but not actually available until the April set of releases, is a new version of the Domino Outlook connector, which Art Fontaine, Senior Market Manager for Advanced Collaboration at Lotus, described as the first 100% fidelity Outlook connector from anyone for anything -- though he did say that there are a few somewhat obscure calendaring features that aren't completely supported.