Hi Eric-
I am making the decision to use either Notes or Outlook on my home computer without a network or shared users.

Your blog was fantastic but I fear many of the points raised as to the differences may not be relevent since many posters were using the older versions of both Outlook and Notes.

Is there a way to compare both products based on the latest versions of both only?

[Originally posted on the Notes on Productivity web site. (http://www.NotesOnProductivity.com)]

Originally posted on eProductivity ]]> http://www.ica.com/ICA/NOP.nsf/trackback?open&id=is-there-an-honest-comparison-of-of-notes--outlook http://www.ica.com/ICA/NOP.nsf/dx/is-there-an-honest-comparison-of-of-notes--outlook Lotus Notes Eric Mack http://www.ica.com/ICA/NOP.nsf/dx/is-there-an-honest-comparison-of-of-notes--outlook?opendocument&comments http://www.ica.com/ICA/NOP.nsf/dx/is-there-an-honest-comparison-of-of-notes--outlook
Seems like a reasonable request to me. Perhaps someone has already done this and would like to help Scott in his evalutaion?

Hi Eric-
I am making the decision to use either Notes or Outlook on my home computer without a network or shared users.

Your blog was fantastic but I fear many of the points raised as to the differences may not be relevent since many posters were using the older versions of both Outlook and Notes.

Is there a way to compare both products based on the latest versions of both only?

I accumulate a lot of messages with attachments and currently have about fifteen folders that I sort my incomming messages into. I understand Notes uses just a single data file and I am worried about the size of it since it also includes the attachments.  Do you see a problem with a total msg count of a few hundred thousand messages.  How bout a million or more ?  ( that is what I will have if I can import my old messages from Netscape Communicator 4.6 )

This comparison is very difficult as I cannot get anyone at IBM or Microsoft to answer technical questions and I sure would hope I could shortcut the choice by some means other than buying and learning both.

BTW, would you know where I could go to see about conversion tools to import my messages from the Netscape 4.6  ?

Thanks Sincerely,
Scott in Atlanta

Scott, I'm going to post your question to my blog in the hopes that someone may have the answer you seek...
We need a good Notes <> Outlook comparison. As far as import tools from Netscape, nothing quickly comes to mind but I'm sure it's been done.
I hope this blog post helps

Originally posted on eProductivity ]]> http://www.ica.com/ICA/NOP.nsf/dxcomments/is-there-an-honest-comparison-of-of-notes--outlook http://www.ica.com/ICA/NOP.nsf/dx/is-there-an-honest-comparison-of-of-notes--outlook?opendocument&comments Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:29:16 -0700 ComputerWeekly column, Ian White, asks, "Does the world really hate Notes?"

No. I think the world loves to complain.

As far as Lotus Notes is concerned, I run into folks that say they hate Notes as often as I run into users that say that they hate (insert product name here). (I even know Mac users that complain about their software. Shocking, I know.)

In my experience it often comes down to
a) no understanding of "What's in it for me?", or
b) lack of training - management simply said here's your new tool

How do we, the Notes community help fix this problem? I think we need to start by understanding the problem.

Many years ago, Zig Ziglar taught me that most people never ever change their mind. They simply make new decisions when presented with new information.

I've been able to show many a self-proclaimed Notes-hater new information -- a simple few things that they can do that will be personally beneficial to them -- and almost immediately they change their song about Lotus Notes.

It's that easy.

[Originally posted on the Notes on Productivity web site. (http://www.NotesOnProductivity.com)]

Originally posted on eProductivity ]]> http://www.ica.com/ICA/NOP.nsf/trackback?open&id=does-the-world-really-hate-notes-i-dont-think-so http://www.ica.com/ICA/NOP.nsf/dx/does-the-world-really-hate-notes-i-dont-think-so Lotus Notes Eric Mack http://www.ica.com/ICA/NOP.nsf/dx/does-the-world-really-hate-notes-i-dont-think-so?opendocument&comments http://www.ica.com/ICA/NOP.nsf/dx/does-the-world-really-hate-notes-i-dont-think-so ComputerWeekly column, Ian White, asks, "Does the world really hate Notes?"

No. I think the world loves to complain.

As far as Lotus Notes is concerned, I run into folks that say they hate Notes as often as I run into users that say that they hate (insert product name here).  (I even know Mac users that complain about their software. Shocking, I know.)

In my experience it often comes down to
   a) no understanding of "What's in it for me?", or
   b) lack of training - management simply said here's your new tool
   
How do we, the Notes community help fix this problem? I think we need to start by understanding the problem.

Many years ago, Zig Ziglar taught me that most people never ever change their mind. They simply make new decisions when presented with new information.

I've been able to show many a self-proclaimed Notes-hater new information -- a simple few things that they can do that will be personally beneficial to them -- and almost immediately they change their song about Lotus Notes.  

It's that easy.

If it's that easy, why isn't everyone singing the praises of Notes?

Sometimes it comes down to poor implementation or implementation for the wrong reasons. Many companies deploy (insert product name here) hoping for a "solution," a magic pill that will fix their problems. Invariably, I find that users in these organizations are the most dissatisfied. When an organization deploys Notes, it needs to have a clear understanding of the role that Notes will play in their overall knowledge strategy. Equally important, however, the organization needs to make sure that their users understand what Notes can do for them as individual knowledge workers.

There's a lot of misinformation and even lies concerning Notes in the market place. A product just doesn't survive for 20+ years, and grow, and thrive, without a reason. Notes is a great product, backed by an incredible team of some of the most talented designers and developers in the world. I think Notes is a very powerful tool and, for the right situations, may even be the best tool. But it is still a tool. Meanwhile, Seattle continues to spread misinformation about what Notes can or cannot do and, in the absence of credible response from Big Blue, many assume the accusations to be true. I think that IBM's done a great disservice to Lotus Notes by not actively responding better to the FUD coming from Seattle. Ed Brill's an amazing champion, I greatly value what he does for the Notes community, but end users don't read Ed Brill's blog. While Ed serves a vital and important role, he's preaching to the choir - we already "get" Notes. Ed's responses need to find their way to IBM's marking department and IBM needs to confront the issues head on in public.

While I'm on my soapbox, I'll also mention that I think that IBM needs to give away the designer client with every Notes client. I'll write more on this in a future post, but for now, I'll say that I believe this would do a lot to drive innovation in the Notes space. Not having a designer client is like not allowing the formula editor in Excel. Now, as a former Admin, I can hear the groaning now "we don't want the users to have this power!"  Fine, then lock them out or allow them to innovate on local files - which is what I do. But don't stifle the imagination and creativity of the users. There are a great many smart people out there, Notes end users, that would be happy if they could create something.  Again, I'll post more soon, but welcome discussion.

Back to the "What's in it for me?" question about Lotus Notes. I think that IBM and many companies send the wrong message when it comes to Notes and this may be why many end users have trouble. IBM and big corporations tell users that Notes is good for Communication (true) Notes is good for Collaboration (also true) and Notes is good for Coordination (very true). All of these things that Notes can do are for the benefit of the organization. But what about the little guy? But what can Lotus Notes do for the individual? I think it can do a lot. Many of my clients -- some of the most productive people in the world -- think so also.

So, the next time you encounter someone that says that they hate Notes, ask them if they a) understand what Notes can do for them and b) if they were ever trained in how to use Notes.

As an eProductivity specialist, I've been showing folks how to use Notes productively for 15+ years. I've also created a product, eProductivity, for people to implement David Allen's Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology in Lotus Notes. What we are learning from our customers is that, by using Lotus Notes and eProductivity, they are reclaiming up to 30 minutes a day that would otherwise be wasted on managing their work. With eProductivity and the GTD methodology, they are able to work from their lists and maintain control and perspective. Do these people love Notes? You bet. Why? Because we make Lotus Notes personal and they can experience the personal benefits that Lotus Notes has to offer.  Guess what? When people personally benefit from using Notes, their entire organization benefits. The productive benefits trickle up through the organization and communication, collaboration, and coordination are all enhanced.

So, Ian, I don't think the world really hates Notes. I think we, the Notes community and IBM, need to do a better job at demonstrating (and communicating) how Notes helps make individual knowledge workers more productive, which will in turn roll up into organizational productivity. Then, more people will tell us that they love Notes.

This is a topic near and dear to my heart.  I'm sure that there will be a wide range of view points. I look forward to continuing this conversation.

What do YOU think?

Originally posted on eProductivity ]]> http://www.ica.com/ICA/NOP.nsf/dxcomments/does-the-world-really-hate-notes-i-dont-think-so http://www.ica.com/ICA/NOP.nsf/dx/does-the-world-really-hate-notes-i-dont-think-so?opendocument&comments Sun, 24 Aug 2008 20:14:56 -0700
Over the years, I have used and experimented with a variety of software applications to manage my stuff. I've explore applications from Adobe Acrobat to Zotero (a useful FireFox plug-in) and many in between, including two of my favorites: Lotus Notes and Personal Brain. I've also worked with a number of home-grown systems. Some of these I have scrapped, while others are still around. Every so often, usually when I am doing research or preparing to give a talk, I like to see what new or proven tools and methods are out there for self organization.

At the enterprise level, there are a multitude of content management systems competing for market share. At the personal level there are many tools that solve specific problems but few that appear to approach the problem of personal content management from a wholistic perspective of the knowledge worker. Perhaps one of the closest I've seen is The Brain.

I'm curious to know what tools or methods you use personally to organize your files, specifically, your documents on your computer so that you can organize and retrieve your information quickly.

Do you have a favorite information organization tool or system, or is your file system more organic?
[Originally posted on the Notes on Productivity web site. (http://www.NotesOnProductivity.com)]

Originally posted on eProductivity ]]> http://www.ica.com/ICA/NOP.nsf/trackback?open&id=what-are-your-favorite-personal-content-management-tools http://www.ica.com/ICA/NOP.nsf/dx/what-are-your-favorite-personal-content-management-tools Eric Mack http://www.ica.com/ICA/NOP.nsf/dx/what-are-your-favorite-personal-content-management-tools?opendocument&comments http://www.ica.com/ICA/NOP.nsf/dx/what-are-your-favorite-personal-content-management-tools
Over the years, I have used and experimented with a variety of software applications to manage my stuff. I've explore applications from Adobe Acrobat to Zotero (a useful FireFox plug-in) and many in between, including two of my favorites: Lotus Notes and Personal Brain. I've also worked with a number of home-grown systems. Some of these I have scrapped, while others are still around. Every so often, usually when I am doing research or preparing to give a talk, I like to see what new or proven tools and methods are out there for self organization.

At the enterprise level, there are a multitude of content management systems competing for market share. At the personal level there are many tools that solve specific problems but few that appear to approach the problem of personal content management from a wholistic perspective of the knowledge worker. Perhaps one of the closest I've seen is The Brain.

I'm curious to know what tools or methods you use personally to organize your files, specifically, your documents on your computer so that you can organize and retrieve your information quickly.

Do you have a favorite information organization tool or system, or is your file system more organic?

Originally posted on eProductivity ]]> http://www.ica.com/ICA/NOP.nsf/dxcomments/what-are-your-favorite-personal-content-management-tools http://www.ica.com/ICA/NOP.nsf/dx/what-are-your-favorite-personal-content-management-tools?opendocument&comments