Which version of Lotus Notes?

[aavanderbilt]

If I want to give Lotus Notes a try as a sole user, with no need for messaging on my local network, which version would I download? I just want to be able to use it to access my IMAP mail, use calendar, notes, and todos, and use the replication features. Do I need Domino? The website is incredibly confusing. These are the available versions that have the 25% discount:

IBM Lotus Notes Notes for Collaboration (D5CS2LL)
IBM Lotus Notes for Messaging (D5CPILL)
IBM Lotus iNotes for Collaboration (D5CGLLL)
IBM Lotus iNotes for Messaging (D5D5ILL)
IBM Lotus Domino Collaboration Express (D52VQLL)
IBM Lotus Domino Messaging Express (D53V5LL)

[Eric Mack]

You can evaluate Lotus Notes for free, with the Lotus Notes 90-day Test Drive.

Lotus Notes Product Manager, Dwight Morse, recently posted a detailed tutorial that explains how to use Lotus Notes to retrieve your personal email (e.g. from a hosted account.) Dwight provides detailed screen shots for each step. If you are a first-time user of Lotus Notes and you want to use Notes as your personal information management system, I think you will find this tutorial helpful.

When you are ready to purchase, choose the license for "IBM Lotus Notes with Collaboration Authorized User License + SW Subscription & Support 12 Months (D5CS2LL)."

You can get this by going to the Lotus Notes Product Page and clicking on the green button that says "View US prices & buy".

Here is a direct link to the U.S. Pricing & Purchasing Options.

I hope this information is helpful.

Eric

[aavanderbilt]

Okay, it's downloading.

From the trial page I picked:

IBM Lotus Notes and Domino 8.5 Multiplatform English Trial eAssembly Version 8.5

and then:

IBM Lotus Notes 8.5 for Windows XP and Vista English Trial C1SB9EN.exe (491 MB)

Hopefully this will get me what I'm looking for. There are so many freaking versions on that download page! I'm just going with the strategy of picking whatever is first in the list.

Your response was very helpful, Eric, thank you.

[Eric Mack]

I blog from time to time about topics at the intersection of Lotus Notes and GTD. You may find my Notes on Productivity blog of interest.

http://www.NotesOnProductivity.com

Eric

[aavanderbilt]

Great blog Eric!

One thing that went wrong when I set up Notes is that I tried to use an IMAP mail server, which causes the initial databases that get set up to go completely crazy. Setting it up with a POP server worked perfectly though, so now I'm on my way to possible zealotry.

[Eric Mack]

I'll forward your response to Dwight in case he has any additional information to offer.

Eric