\ A History of Lotus Notes Jump to : | Release 1.0 | Release 2.0 | Release 3.0 | Release 4.0 | Release 4.5 | Release 4.6 | Release 5.0 Release 1.0 The first release of Notes shipped in 1989. During the first year it was on the market, more than 35,000 copies of Notes were sold. With Notes, users could create and share information using personal computers and networks. This first release provided users with a graphical user interface, where they could manipulate information using a mouse. The Notes client required DOS 3.1 or OS/2. The Notes server required either DOS 3.1, 4.0, or OS/2. Back to top of page Release 2.0 The next major release of Notes shipped in 1991. For this release, scalability became the focus. After Release 1.0 sold to large companies, the developers realized that Notes needed to scale to support 10,000 users. Notes was initially intended for small to medium sized businesses. The founders' original vision of Notes did not include large companies as users; they only accounted for about 25 people logging in to one server. The reason for this was that the PC, at that time, didn't have a lot of power. As the PCs and their networks became more powerful, so did Notes. Back to top of page Release 3.0 Notes Release 3.0 shipped in May 1993. By this time Iris had about twenty-five developers working on Notes. Release 3.0 was build number 114.3c. This means it was the 114th successful build of Notes ever, and it took three tries to complete the final build. At the time of the release, more than 2,000 companies and nearly 500,000 people used Notes. The goal of this release was to build further on what Notes already was, but make the user interface cooler, more up-to-date, and evolve it further as a cross-platform product. Lotus began to aim the product at a larger market and reduced the price accordingly. Release 3.0 featured the first of a series of rewrites of the database system, NIF, to try to make the product scale to even larger user populations. This release was suitable for about 200 users simultaneously using a server. Back to top of page Release 4.0 In January 1996, Lotus released Notes Release 4.0. This release offered a completely redesigned user interface based on customer feedback. This interface exposed and simplified many Notes features, making it easier to use, program, and administer. When the developers gave a demonstration of the new user interface at Lotusphere (a yearly user group meeting) they received a standing ovation from the crowd of customers. The product continued to become more scalable. It became faster and faster as companies added additional processors to a multiprocessor server. Lotus cut the price of Notes in half, and thus successfully gained a larger market share. Back to top of page Release 4.5 Lotus changed the brand name of the Notes 4.5 server product to "Domino 4.5, Powered by Notes" in December 1996, and shipped the Domino 4.5 server and the Notes 4.5 Client. Domino transformed the Notes Release 4.0 server into an interactive Web applications server. This combined the open networking environment of Internet standards and protocols with the powerful application development facilities of Notes. Domino provided businesses and organizations with the ability to rapidly develop a broad range of business solutions for the Internet and intranets. The Domino server made the ability to publish Notes documents to the Web a dynamic process. There is no time delay. Back to top of page Release 4.6 Notes Release 4.6 shipped in September 1997. By now Notes contains 5,694,358 lines of code. The focus of this release was personal information integration and management of content from Notes databases, Internet mail, and the Web. The developers added more Internet protocols to Notes. In 1996 Notes had an installed base of 10 million seats and a projected installed base of 18 million seats by the end of 1997. However, by the end of 1997 the install base was 20 million seats, doubling in only one short year. Back to top of page Release 5.0 Now customers can see the newest release of Domino and Notes. With continued Web integration, it is no longer a question of Notes versus the Internet, they have become inseparable. The new user interface for R5 illustrates this by taking on more browser-type characteristics. Notes also supports more Internet protocols. Back to top of page
Back to top of page
The next major release of Notes shipped in 1991. For this release, scalability became the focus. After Release 1.0 sold to large companies, the developers realized that Notes needed to scale to support 10,000 users. Notes was initially intended for small to medium sized businesses. The founders' original vision of Notes did not include large companies as users; they only accounted for about 25 people logging in to one server. The reason for this was that the PC, at that time, didn't have a lot of power. As the PCs and their networks became more powerful, so did Notes.
Notes Release 3.0 shipped in May 1993. By this time Iris had about twenty-five developers working on Notes. Release 3.0 was build number 114.3c. This means it was the 114th successful build of Notes ever, and it took three tries to complete the final build. At the time of the release, more than 2,000 companies and nearly 500,000 people used Notes. The goal of this release was to build further on what Notes already was, but make the user interface cooler, more up-to-date, and evolve it further as a cross-platform product. Lotus began to aim the product at a larger market and reduced the price accordingly. Release 3.0 featured the first of a series of rewrites of the database system, NIF, to try to make the product scale to even larger user populations. This release was suitable for about 200 users simultaneously using a server.
Notes Release 4.6 shipped in September 1997. By now Notes contains 5,694,358 lines of code. The focus of this release was personal information integration and management of content from Notes databases, Internet mail, and the Web. The developers added more Internet protocols to Notes.
In 1996 Notes had an installed base of 10 million seats and a projected installed base of 18 million seats by the end of 1997. However, by the end of 1997 the install base was 20 million seats, doubling in only one short year.
