IBM Challenges Microsoft With an Ad Campaign

Rytis writes "IBM is about to spend $300 Million dollars on a campaign to win customers and to convert them from Microsoft Exchange to Lotus Notes and Domino under Linux. IBM is also said to offer resellers a bounty of $20,000 for switching customers to its Linux-based e-mail programs from Microsoft server software. It seems that the concurrence Microsoft Corp. is facing is getting tighter and tighter. The Penguin gets more and more support from the two biggest rivals that Microsoft have ever had."

Comments

Domino/Notes

[Anonymous Coward]

Being a former Domino/Notes admin, I can honestly say that the system sucks. It's counter-intuitive, poorly documented, slow and overly complex.

Unless you have a killer-app that only runs under domino, I'd stay away from it.

Re:Domino/Notes

[SydShamino]

As a current user of Lotus Notes (it's up now on my other monitor), I have to agree that it sucks. There are so many features - hundreds and hundreds of them. What do any of them do? Why do I need them? And with all those features, why do basic things like having emails show up in my inbox when I receive them not work?* Why is it so hard to copy and paste things? Why is are the databases so slow and prone to crash?

I've never used Outlook, so I cannot really compare. I just know that there has to be something better than Lotus Notes.

*(If you are actively doing something in Lotus Notes when an email arrives, such as clicking somewhere - even on the inbox refresh button - then you get the audible alert and the "You have new mail" notice on the status bar. However, you don't actually get the email, and the refresh button does not work. I have only found success by putting it to the side and waiting for the next auto refresh, usually a few minutes later. This is with Lotus Notes 6.5.3, the latest version I'm allowed to use.)

This is a damn good idea

[BluedemonX]

Salesmen will push what they make the most money on, period.

We sold Apples to folks who wanted PCs cause we'd make $100 spiff on a Mac box but 5% of the profit off the sale with PCs. Considering stuff was sold at or near or sometimes under cost, it was flog the extended warranty, sell Macs or starve. Got good at selling Macs....

Our Dell rep came in with squishy toys wondering with his rah rah speech why we weren't selling all Dells, to which we said sorry pal, we make nothing off selling a Dell, show us the money and we'll flog as many as you can make.

This was lost on him, he was trying to sell Dell on its technical merits... what the hell did the other salespeople care, they knew nothing about computers, and their customers wanted the "Color TV" one where the "hard drive" lay flat so you could put the "TV" on it.