Actually, there are several open source templates for the notes e-mail database. One well-known one is the one built by openNTF. That does contain many of the "bloated" things that you don't seem to like about the current client. On the openNTF site, however, there are a couple more mail template modifications. Including a very SIMPLE interface with most of the "unneeded features" hidden away where users won't see them.
If you really, really hate the interface and all of your other applications are accessed via the web, don't open your Notes client at all. Use iNotes (ask your administrator if you don't know what this is. If they don't, that is probably the biggest problem with your Notes deployment right there).
Oddly enough, I bet people will still be bitching about how much better the LookOut interface is once Hannover ships (the next Notes client). Unless that has changed, you can configure the preview pane in the client so that it looks pretty close to the way the LookOut client does.
By the way, for those who say the Notes client is slow and bloated Outlook is bloated as well, and ALL it does is mail.
I'm not an evangelist, and I've built apps in VB and Java as well as for the domino platform. I must have some special brain cell that allows me to follow simple directions, though. For instance, if I want to change my password in Notes, I would ummm.. hmmm.... pull down the File menu, where it seems that most administrative functions in the client would be located. There I will, with my keen knowledge of logic and common sense, note that there is a submenu called Security. Once again, my vast intellect will show me that I should select User Security if I want to change anything to do with my "account". What do you know, a nice shiny.. err, tan.. button labeled Change Password. Maybe this will work for me?
I will admit that I do not remember the process for changing a password to say... a.pst file. I do know that when I was doing Network support, we got a lot of calls from end users who would forget theirs.
However, look at the trade-off. First of all "File..Security..User Security". How hard is that?
Granted Exchange using A/D for password management means you don't have to do this for LookOut, but it also means that if someone accesses your computer, they can read your e-mail if you're logged into the domain. WindowsXP locks here after 30 minutes of inactivity. However, I keep my Notes Client set to lock after 5. If I walk away from my computer for lunch and forget to lock the workstation, you can't just look at my e-mail.
However, for those companies who chose to employ it, when the client is installed, there is an option to use a single logon for Windows and Notes. Before you complain that this has to be done during a client installation, this is the way it SHOULD be. You're using Notes in a corporate environment, and are subject to corporate (and in many cases governmental) policies. If your company wants its users to be able to synch their password to that of Windows, this is a policy and architectural decision which should be implemented when the client is rolled out, not half-assed down the road. Again, having separate password mechanisms is the BETTER choice.
From the Notes Client Help:
To install and enable single login
1. While installing Notes, choose to install "Client Single Logon Feature" in the "Custom Setup" dialog box of the "Lotus Notes 6 InstallShield Wizard," and then finish installing Notes.
2. Launch Notes to set up the Notes Client.
3. After Notes has been set up, change your Notes password so it matches your Windows NT/2000 password. Note that when you choose File - Security - User Security, the option "Login to Notes using your operating system login" is enabled by default in Security Basics.
4. When you have changed your Notes password to match your Windows NT/2000 password, exit Notes and restart your computer. When prompted, login to your computer using your Windows NT/2000 password. When you launch Notes, you should not be prompted for a password.
Note Once the single login feature is installed on your computer, you can enable and disable it at any time.
A synchronized password can be changed from either Windows or Notes and the other will pick up the new password. Again, most corporations will shy away fom this, just as a security mechanism, for the same reason that they don't allow your mainframe emulator to use the password from Windows (some have the capability to do this). Windows has traditionally NOT been a secure environment.
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Actually, there are several open source templates for the notes e-mail database. One well-known one is the one built by openNTF. That does contain many of the "bloated" things that you don't seem to like about the current client. On the openNTF site, however, there are a couple more mail template modifications. Including a very SIMPLE interface with most of the "unneeded features" hidden away where users won't see them. If you really, really hate the interface and all of your other applications are accessed via the web, don't open your Notes client at all. Use iNotes (ask your administrator if you don't know what this is. If they don't, that is probably the biggest problem with your Notes deployment right there). Oddly enough, I bet people will still be bitching about how much better the LookOut interface is once Hannover ships (the next Notes client). Unless that has changed, you can configure the preview pane in the client so that it looks pretty close to the way the LookOut client does. By the way, for those who say the Notes client is slow and bloated Outlook is bloated as well, and ALL it does is mail.
I'm not an evangelist, and I've built apps in VB and Java as well as for the domino platform. I must have some special brain cell that allows me to follow simple directions, though. For instance, if I want to change my password in Notes, I would ummm.. hmmm.... pull down the File menu, where it seems that most administrative functions in the client would be located. There I will, with my keen knowledge of logic and common sense, note that there is a submenu called Security. Once again, my vast intellect will show me that I should select User Security if I want to change anything to do with my "account". What do you know, a nice shiny.. err, tan.. button labeled Change Password. Maybe this will work for me? I will admit that I do not remember the process for changing a password to say... a .pst file. I do know that when I was doing Network support, we got a lot of calls from end users who would forget theirs.
However, look at the trade-off. First of all "File..Security..User Security". How hard is that?
Granted Exchange using A/D for password management means you don't have to do this for LookOut, but it also means that if someone accesses your computer, they can read your e-mail if you're logged into the domain. WindowsXP locks here after 30 minutes of inactivity. However, I keep my Notes Client set to lock after 5. If I walk away from my computer for lunch and forget to lock the workstation, you can't just look at my e-mail.
However, for those companies who chose to employ it, when the client is installed, there is an option to use a single logon for Windows and Notes. Before you complain that this has to be done during a client installation, this is the way it SHOULD be. You're using Notes in a corporate environment, and are subject to corporate (and in many cases governmental) policies. If your company wants its users to be able to synch their password to that of Windows, this is a policy and architectural decision which should be implemented when the client is rolled out, not half-assed down the road. Again, having separate password mechanisms is the BETTER choice.
From the Notes Client Help:
To install and enable single login
1. While installing Notes, choose to install "Client Single Logon Feature" in the "Custom Setup" dialog box of the "Lotus Notes 6 InstallShield Wizard," and then finish installing Notes.
2. Launch Notes to set up the Notes Client.
3. After Notes has been set up, change your Notes password so it matches your Windows NT/2000 password. Note that when you choose File - Security - User Security, the option "Login to Notes using your operating system login" is enabled by default in Security Basics.
4. When you have changed your Notes password to match your Windows NT/2000 password, exit Notes and restart your computer. When prompted, login to your computer using your Windows NT/2000 password. When you launch Notes, you should not be prompted for a password.
Note Once the single login feature is installed on your computer, you can enable and disable it at any time.
A synchronized password can be changed from either Windows or Notes and the other will pick up the new password. Again, most corporations will shy away fom this, just as a security mechanism, for the same reason that they don't allow your mainframe emulator to use the password from Windows (some have the capability to do this). Windows has traditionally NOT been a secure environment.