PC Week has this article on Lotus SmartCenter. Lotus Development announced Monday the availability of a free preview version of SmartCenter.

Netscape Communications Corp. said it is now offering America Online’s Instant Messenger, which allows two people or a group to chat in real time over the Internet. It follows a similar pact announced last month by IBM Corp.’s Lotus unit to license the messaging system for its Lotus Notes corporate communications software.

Lotus posted the new version of R5 on their website. They issued a pre-release build of R5 which will give you more of the updates we’ve been working on, including MIME/SMIME enablement. This build — officially called Notes, Domino, and Domino Designer R5 Build 164.1 — is downloadable from Notes.net and features the UI many partners and customers saw at Lotusphere.

Palm Computing, Inc. unveiled the Palm V and the Palm IIIx connected organizers. Both new products offer built-in e-mail compatibility with Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft Outlook, Lotus cc:Mail, Microsoft Outlook Express and QUALCOMM’s Eudora Pro. Many third-party conduits are available that provide connectivity to almost every other major e-mail application, including POP3 Internet Mail clients and Lotus Notes.

IMSI announced it has entered into an Internet promotional agreement with Lotus Development Corporation. The agreement enables users of Lotus QuickPlace to enhance the unique look of their Web-based team space by using a full library of clip art images from the ArtToday.com visual content site.

CNet has this story on the latest delay of Lotus Notes/Domino Release 5.

Here’s another article on the delay of Lotus Notes/Domino R5. There is also a survey asking if the "Superman" TV spots for Lotus Notes got your attention.

GWI Software announced the acquisition of Lotus Business Partner Frontier Technologies, Inc., a Lotus Notes and Domino consulting and training company. Frontier Technologies’ Manassas, Virginia office will now provide GWI’s East Coast customer base with continued responsive technical services.

Lotus CEO Jeff Papows explains why Notes/Domino R5 will not be released in February.

Percussion Software announced the dates and locations of its innovative seminar series that addresses how organizations can get the most from their Lotus Domino environment. Each seminar is divided into three segments, allowing participants to schedule the day according to the products of interest.