Mac 7.0.2 beta 1 out today to managed beta participants

September 27 2006

Good news -- the Notes 7.0.2 Macintosh beta will begin later today.  Participants in the Notes/Domino maintenance release beta program will be contacted with details on where/when to download it.  

Several Macintosh "power users" within IBM have been running this in production for weeks.  They report it's fast and stable.  I look forward to hearing feedback from Marco and all the others who are ready to start testing.  And if I get around to loading up the VPN to access the IBM network, maybe I'll graduate my (daughter's) Mac from just using the Notes 7 build for blogging...

Ed Brill Chicago, IL USA Category:  Lotus  Add/View Comments [40]

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  1. 1  Paul Robichaux http://www.robichaux.net/blog | 9/27/2006 11:36:42 AM

    You mean you need to establish a VPN just for Notes client e-mail access? Bah. How 1999 :)

  1. 2  Volker Weber http://vowe.net | 9/27/2006 11:55:05 AM

    IBM and many of its customers are very security-minded. We know that MS is much more relaxed in this respect.

  1. 3  Darren http://www.dadams.co.uk | 9/27/2006 12:09:07 PM

    @1 - Outlook doesn't have anything to match the Execution Control List introduced in Notes 5. How 1998 :o)

  1. 4  Paul Robichaux http://www.robichaux.net/blog | 9/27/2006 12:10:48 PM

    @2: I was waiting for that :)

    When you require VPN sessions for e-mail access, what you're really doing is allowing an untrusted machine to connect to your network *so people can send and receive mail*. Those machines have access to file shares, web servers, and other computers on the network, none of which are necessary just for mail access.

    Wouldn't it be more secure to allow an authenticated user to send and receive mail *without* allowing that machine onto the network? I'd argue that it is, and that the use of RPC-over-HTTPS (or even SSL VPNs that tunnel mail traffic) are a net security win (and you could say the same for web-based clients like DWA and OWA). When you extend that paradigm by allowing desktop proxying with something like Terminal Services or Citrix, you're further reducing the attack surface of the entire network.

  1. 5  Volker Weber http://vowe.net | 9/27/2006 12:21:12 PM

    This isn't about email only. If a large part of your workforce is working from home, you provide them with your own network. One of the things you can do their is get your email.

  1. 6  Volker Weber http://vowe.net | 9/27/2006 12:22:09 PM

    c/their/there/

  1. 7  Paul Robichaux http://www.robichaux.net/blog | 9/27/2006 12:54:28 PM

    @5: no; you're right that if you *need* broad network access a VPN is a good solution. No one's saying otherwise. However, for many people, e-mail access alone is sufficient to get their jobs done most of the time. Granting that access needn't require a complete VPN connection.

  1. 8  Kerr  | 9/27/2006 12:55:18 PM

    @4

    Since when does access over VPN equal untrusted machine having access. At every place I've been, no machine is allowed on the internal network via VPN that isn't trusted. Attempting to access the internal network from an untrusted machine would be a case of gross misconduct and a disciplinary matter. It wouldn't matter whether that was via VPN or I just wandered into the office with any old machine and plugged it into the internal network. Game over, good bye, get out of here and don't ask for a reference.

  1. 9  Alan Lepofsky http://www.alanlepofsky.net/ | 9/27/2006 1:18:56 PM

    @7 - "for many people, e-mail access alone is sufficient to get their jobs done most of the time." Wow! Sorry but as an IBMer, that is NOT the way I work. Email is just one component of the collaboration portfolio I use. My day is spend in email, emeetings, chat, a dozen Notes DBs, shared content repositories, and my company intranet. I guess this explain a little of why Lotus customers and MS customers have different views on collaboration.

  1. 10  Volker Weber http://vowe.net | 9/27/2006 1:40:58 PM

    Alan, you forgot IBM's favorite means of collaboration: Telcos.

    Also do not underestimate MS's intranet. That has quite some functions you would like to have.

  1. 11  Charles Robinson http://cubert-codepoet.blogspot.com | 9/27/2006 1:54:38 PM

    @4 - Just because you give someone VPN access doesn't necessarily mean you're giving them full access to a network. In my environment VPN connections are on a separate subnet and their access to the rest of the network is extremely limited. That has nothing to do with whether you use a Lotus or MS environment.

    Also, Notes and Domino can be configured to encrypt traffic, and Domino can be also configured to check certificates on connecting clients. There's no need for SSL to get those benefits, it's just a couple of settings on the server and a checkbox in user preferences in Notes. Everything else happens automagically. :)

  1. 12  Alan Lepofsky http://www.alanlepofsky.net/ | 9/27/2006 2:23:32 PM

    @10 Yes, very true I am on the phone a lot. I work remotely, so I am not in the physical office very often. My manager and teammates all live in different states, and a few in different countries. For example, for two weeks I am currently working in Toronto. I did not ask for permission, nor did I even tell anyone. I simply do my job from here, instead of from Boston. IBM offers amazing flexiblity in work life balance. My friends are very jealous.

    Yes, I am sure MS's IT department offers their users many nice features, both in hardware, software, gadgets, etc. As does Oracle's, SAPs, GE's, GM's, Toyota's, the Mom and Pop shop down the steet, etc.

  1. 13  Ed Maloney  | 9/27/2006 2:27:58 PM

    Enough of this VPN/Intranet debate... let's resume bashing the Mac client for Notes! I hope this one isn't up the standard set by previous Mac clients :-(

  1. 14  Bob Congdon http://www.bobcongdon.com/blog | 9/27/2006 2:50:29 PM

    @11: When Westford became part of IBM's corporate network, one of the disappointing changes was that they no longer allowed Notes client access through pass-thru servers (even though the traffic was encrypted). You had to use the VPN.

  1. 15  Keith Brooks http://www.kbmsg.blogspot.com/ | 9/27/2006 2:55:06 PM

    I believe you all missed the point. Ed doesn't need the VPN to send email, well maybe he does in some cases.

    he was referring to getting to the download site or ftp site within IBM which is not accessible from the outside unless you tunnel in through VPN or whatever the method is these days.

    What, like you thought Iris left beta code out there for anyone to grab!

    LOL

  1. 16  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 9/27/2006 3:33:35 PM

    well, I need the VPN to access Notes databases.

    Downloading the code is easy - I actually did it for the alpha by downloading to my PC and then transferring over to the Mac on a USB stick.

    Still, as pointed out, VPN means more than just Domino server access. Bob Congdon is also right, there's no setup for "passthru" Domino servers, even though this technology is as secure or moreso than the VPN. It works for customers, just not what is in use at IBM itself.

  1. 17  Bill Geimer  | 9/27/2006 3:38:23 PM

    News of the beta is cool.

    As to the issue of mail, it varies from place to place, but as for me, all of my internal corporate mail is encrypted by default, the thought of sending a userid/password in blank over the internet is frightening, and for anybody in the Bank, with no way to tell whether or not the next message they open is just hello or strategic information, well will keep the VPN, than you very my.

  1. 18  Charles Robinson http://cubert-codepoet.blogspot.com | 9/27/2006 3:39:31 PM

    @11 - Bummer. I actually don't have passthru and encryption set up, either, because of other systems remote users need access to that can't be adequately secured for direct access without a LOT of effort. A VPN was the easiest option to implement and maintain.

    @15 - I understood that to be Ed's intent, he never mentioned sending e-mail from the Mac. Paul @4 is the one who took it to mean Ed needed VPN access to get e-mail and then went off on a completely unrelated tangent. :-)

  1. 19  Andrew Pollack http://www.thenorth.com/apblog | 9/27/2006 4:18:55 PM

    It amazes me how everyone here is suddenly an expert on the security architecture of everyone else's corporation.

    Sometimes, VPN's are good. Sometimes, VPN's are not needed. Now that we've all rehashed the patently obvious....

    HOW IS THE CLIENT?

  1. 20  ursus  | 9/28/2006 4:46:41 AM

    I just checked to see that Notes 7.0.2 is at Gold Build status ({ Link } ) and was hoping that it would be out in the next couple of days. Now I hear that the Mac client is only in Beta - does this mean that the "Gold" refers to the Windows code fork? What about Linux?

    Anyway, how is the Mac client? I have been waiting for quite some time now to move to a Mac and use a native client - and no, the current 6.x client does not do it for me ;o)

    How does one get to the beta - can I download it somewhere or is it a closed one?

  1. 21  Mike Brown  | 9/28/2006 6:02:43 AM

    @20

    Check the announcement on Developerworks { Link }

    The Gold Mac 7 client has slipped to December.

    Cheers,

    - Mike

  1. 22  Stuart McIntyre http://macsfacts.vox.com | 9/28/2006 6:22:08 AM

    Ed,

    What does "managed beta participants" mean? Any way that others can get on the beta program at this stage?

    Also, does anyone know the system prereqs for the 7.0.2 Mac client, and I assume it is a Universal binary ;-)

    Stuart

  1. 23  ursus  | 9/28/2006 7:54:31 AM

    @22 - I would also love to be part of the beta program ;o)

  1. 24  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 9/28/2006 7:56:22 AM

    @22

    Macintosh OS

    Power PC 10.4.2

    Intel 10.4.4

    Power PC, Intel

    128 MB minimum

    256 MB or more recommended

    250 MB required

    @20 and 22 - send me e-mail @ work (ed_brill at us.ibm.com) and I'll see if I can get you added to the managed beta. Include your LDD username (notes.net/developerWorks Lotus)

    @20 The Mac client is on a separate release schedule from the 7.0.2 release. 7.0.2 is scheduled for sometime in the next few business days.

  1. 25  ursus  | 9/28/2006 9:46:01 AM

    @24

    Thank you very much Ed - I have sent the mail and am awaiting an answer ;o)

  1. 26  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 9/29/2006 6:52:04 AM

    @25 I think you got your answer :-)

    I'm impressed with how many e-mails I've had on this. Power to the Mac!

  1. 27  Stuart McIntyre http://macsfacts.vox.com | 9/29/2006 9:56:44 AM

    @26

    That's cos there a heck of a lot of Mac users out there, and most of them will be influencers, early adopters and people that will take the Notes message out to others, if the Notes client is as good as it should be...

    Still awaiting my answer ;-)

  1. 28  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 9/29/2006 10:57:43 AM

    I'm getting there, I'm getting there...

  1. 29  Stuart McIntyre http://macsfacts.vox.com | 9/29/2006 12:49:37 PM

    Cheers Ed, it was meant as a gentle jibe, not a nag. Besides, if I'd given you the correct information, it would've helped! Doh.

  1. 30  Stuart McIntyre http://macsfacts.vox.com | 9/29/2006 12:57:17 PM

    Just a thought? Is anyone at IBM giving this news (or the beta itself) to the Mac news sites (e.g. tuaw.com, roughlydrafted.com, theappleblog.com etc.)? Seems to me this would be a great way to get more of the Apple-owning, Outlook-using execs/influencers out there to at least acknowledge the existence of a Mac-based Notes client?

    BTW, given Steve's influence at Disney/ABC/Tombstone etc these days, does anyone know what mail systems they use?

  1. 31  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 9/29/2006 1:06:32 PM

    @30 good suggestions... the PR team is working on the 7.0.2 stuff overall and I'll try to funnel this in.

  1. 32  Stuart McIntyre http://macsfacts.vox.com | 9/30/2006 2:32:39 PM

    @31 I'm sure it's got nothing to do with @30 but...

    MacRumors - "Lotus Notes To Receive Better Mac Support" { Link }

    Mostly very positive comments too ;-)

  1. 33  Al Avery  | 10/2/2006 7:44:32 AM

    Ed, not being that familiar with MAC's myself, is the 7.0.2 release for MAC compatible on the newer 64 bit MAC's? I've been trying to find some info as we have mostly PC's but a couple MAC's being used for graphic applications and they need Notes also. Thanks

  1. 34  Stuart McIntyre http://macsfacts.vox.com | 10/2/2006 7:58:13 AM

    @33, as long as the Macs are running 10.4.4 or later, it should be compatible with any system of recent vintage.

  1. 35  Mat Newman http://www.matnewman.com | 10/2/2006 9:17:17 AM

    Ed

    How can I get on the Mac List?

  1. 36  Stuart McIntyre http://macsfacts.vox.com | 10/2/2006 10:46:49 AM

    @35, see @24 - contact Ed directly.

  1. 37  Neil Roberts  | 10/4/2006 9:01:04 PM

    How does one get on the Mac Beta list?

  1. 38  Miles Rochford  | 10/30/2006 6:15:18 PM

    Any reason why the Lotus site now says "By year end 2006, Lotus Notes 7.0.7software is expected to support Macintosh workstations running Mac OS X 10.4..."?

    See { Link }

    - M.

  1. 39  Susan Bulloch http://notesgoddess.net | 10/31/2006 9:26:08 AM

    @38 - not anymore, it doesn't - sorry 'bout that and thanks for finding it.

  1. 40  Thierry-Alain Kervella  | 12/10/2006 3:13:21 PM

    As a consultant, I'm very interessed in Notes 7 for OSX and trying to find a copy to test it. Is there any way to obtain such a copy either through beta list at IBM or via one of you.

    Other subject, does anyboby knows if IBM intends to developp a OSX version of Domino server and companions.

    Thanks for help and reply.