IBM announced a new initiative that will provide universities with free access to a range of emerging technologies developed in IBM’s Research and development labs. The goal of the new Academic License program is to help train, educate and accelerate development skills around open standards-based technologies.

IBM’s software group has been spending a lot of time and energy the past few years actively wooing small and mid-sized businesses, particularly in the e-commerce space. Building off of its success with WebSphere Commerce Business and Professional editions, IBM’s WebSphere Commerce – Express specifically targets SMBs who want to look and feel like the big boys, but without the big price tag.

Two iSeries shops recently entered deals to move iSeries administration to Connectria, a provider of managed hosting services for iSeries and other platforms. Ecko has elected to put its iSeries equipment in Connectria’s hands. In addition, Connectria will be hosting Ecko’s Lotus Notes and Domino applications in its data centers. Connectria is an IBM business partner based in St. Louis.

Business Week reports that major email service providers such as Microsoft, Good Technology, SEVEN Networks, and Visto are seeking to unseat Research in Motion as the leader of what could grow to be a multibillion-dollar market in a few years.

Good Technology has acquired key assets of JP Mobile, whose operations at Dallas and Hyderabad would be integrated into Good Technology. The financial terms of the deal have not yet been announced.

Current, returning and some new students at the University of Nebraska at Omaha will see a change when they next log-in to their email accounts. As early as this week, Information Technology Services will be migrating all of its users to Domino Web Access. The new email will provide users with the ability to manage multiple email messages simultaneously.

Good Technology announced that GoodLink, its wireless messaging and PIM software, will be available for Notes/Domino in the first half of 2006. GoodLink Lotus Domino Edition is back-end push email software that will sit on its own server behind a firewall and is linked to the Domino server.

Available now on IBM’s alphaWorks site as a free, trial download, is a preview of IBM’s blogging tool for Workplace 2.5 and Workplace Collaboration Services 2.5. The Weblog Preview allows bloggers to have a public list of favorite weblogs on their blog so that readers can see what the blogger finds of interest. For Notes and Domino developers, Blogsphere for IBM Lotus Domino R5/6, an open source project, is a Web Log application that allows Domino developers to create and run their own blogs.

Denise and I have been traveling during the last week, with rather crappy Internet access — so we weren’t able to post this until now. Like most people, we were shocked, saddened, and angered by the recent attacks in London. Our best wishes go out to all our U.K. friends, readers, your families, and the residents of that great city. You’re in our thoughts and we hope you’re all ok. Take care! — DG

IBM Corp. plans to launch in the second half of this year an API (application programming interface) for linking the Lotus Sametime enterprise instant messaging product to VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) platforms, mobile phones and traditional office telephony systems.