IBM brings Lotus Symphony 3.0, other titles to Mac, iPhone
updated 03:50 pm EST, Thu February 11, 2010
Symphony competes with Office, OpenOffice
IBM has launched three new Apple-related enterprise products, beginning with a beta Mac version of Lotus Symphony 3.0. The software is a free work suite, based around the architecture of OpenOffice 3. Programs for spreadsheets, presentations and text documents are included, and IBM notes that the suite supports "most" features of Microsoft Office.
Also available is a new version of Lotus Sametime, supporting Macs, the iPhone and the iPod touch. Businesses can use the software to communicate via voice, video and instant messaging, including during organized meetings. Mac clients must be running at least Safari 3.2 or Firefox 3.0, with updated Java runtime software. There is no Mac server software.
IBM is further rolling out a new version of Lotus Connections. The title is designed to setup social networking within a business, including blogs, wikis and communities. Users can also share documents, and browse other people's profiles. Mac clients require Mac OS X 10.4 and Safari 3.1 or Firefox 2.0, and networks can moreover be accessed from an iPhone or iPod touch.
