Microsoft is gunning for IBM’s Lotus Notes users in an effort to quadruple the size of its ISV partner community around the Office desktop productivity suite. The company will launch a sales and marketing campaign in September that encourages 100m Notes customers to build their future collaborative software applications and services on Office and SharePoint Portal Server.

Speaking at Microsoft’s Worldwide Partners Conference in Minneapolis, Simon Witts said Microsoft is eyeing accounts where Exchange Server can displace IBM/Lotus offerings and where Oracle databases could be replaced by SQL Server 2005, scheduled to launch in November. Witts is corporate vice president of the company’s enterprise and partner group.

Teamstudio announced today the recipient of the first annual Teamstudio Young Developer of the Year (YDOY) Scholarship. Julius Jackson created a software tool creation to eliminate the need for a developer of Visual Basic ..NET or Visual C# to code basic elements necessary to implement a design-time editor for a property in a class.=20

Novell yesterday released a public beta version of its upcoming GroupWise 7 collaboration suite. Novell also announced competitive programs to encourage users to migrate from Exchange and Lotus Notes to GroupWise.

Microsoft agreed last week to pay IBM $775 million and provide $75 million worth of software. IBM had not sued Microsoft, but pressed claims that U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson detailed in his 2000 ruling that Microsoft had broken antitrust law.

Vodafone has launched the Sony Ericsson V600i on its UMTS network in Europe. The new handset is the third UMTS phone available from Vodafone. You can synchronize the V600i with Microsoft Outlook, Lotus Notes or SyncML through IrDa, USB and Bluetooth.

This article takes a look at how The Dubai government will create new opportunities for job seekers and employers in the Emirate through the eJob portal. The new eJob portal was developed by the IBM Software Group Services, using IBM’s Lotus Domino software.

CoCreate Software announced OneSpace Live!, a Web meeting tool with engineering performance for online design reviews. Features include online presence detection and instant messaging and meeting scheduling from Microsoft Outlook or Lotus Notes.

Trend Micro announced Trend Micro IM Security for Microsoft Office Live Communication Server and new versions of ScanMail for both Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Domino as well as an upgrade to its Portal Protect for Microsoft’s SharePoint platform.

Deep Impact is near the final stage of its journey, when it is expected to crash into the Temple 1 comet at about 23,000 miles per hour. The high-speed crash is to occur at 1:52 am Monday and will produce an explosion that should be visible from parts of the Western Hemisphere.