Lotus cc:Mail Release 6 FAQ


Q. What is cc:Mail R6?

A. New cc:Mail R6 (to be released May 31, 1996) contains the new,
improved cc:Mail post office plus integrated electronic forms (formerly
Lotus Forms for Windows) and group scheduling (Lotus Organizer for
Windows). One package contains all the administrative and user software
needed to set up and manage a cc:Mail system for LAN and mobile users.
Included in cc:Mail R6 are the following items:

* Release 6 of the cc:Mail post office and administrative tools (Router
for DOS and OS/2, Admin for DOS and OS/2, Import/Export)
* (Note: For a limited time, cc:Mail Admin 5.1 and Import/Export 5.1
will also be included. This is to facilitate interoperability with
older components.)
* Release 6 LAN client software for DOS and Windows
* Release 6 Mobile client for Windows
* Release 3.4 Mobile client for DOS (Release 2.0.3 Mobile client for
Macintosh will be included in the box at a later date; currently, it
must be purchased separately.)
* Organizer 2.1 for Windows and related administrative tools
* Forms Designer (and Forms Filler, which is integrated with the cc:Mail
for Windows client)
* A coupon for a free copy of the following clients, which will be
included in the cc:Mail R6 package in Summer 1996:
* cc:Mail Release 6 for Macintosh
* cc:Mail Release 6 for OS/2
* cc:Mail Release 7 for Windows
* A license to run all versions of cc:Mail (up to Release 7) either on
or off the LAN, plus Organizer


Q. What are the new features of cc:Mail R6 and R7?

A. In brief, cc:Mail R6 contains the following new features:Feature
Details
Improved post office 24 x 7 availability, time-invarient data
modeling, 4-level error recovery for optimum reliability and performance
New integrated electronic forms Formerly Lotus Forms, now integrated
into cc:Mail. Brings enhanced organizational efficiency, workflow
New features in OS/2 and Mac cc:Mail clients Rules, file viewers,
forms and other features now bring these LAN-based clients up to the
level of our cc:Mail R6 Windows client
New simpler licensing One simple license includes the right to use all
versions of cc:Mail (including cc:Mail Mobile) plus Lotus Organizer and
integrated forms


In brief, cc:Mail R7 contains the following new features:Feature
Details
Universal connectivity Communicate with any message server: cc:Mail
post office, Notes server, POP3 Internet Mail server, any MAPI server
such as Microsoft Exchange Server or CompuServe
Easier user interface Action bar, type-down addressing, integrated
file viewers, integrated electronic forms
New power features Rich text, message sorting and threading, message
preview pane, personal address book, mailbox delegation, nested folders,
stationary, integrated electronic forms
New mobile features Mailbox synch, address book synch, automatic
personal address book builder


Here is a more detailed answer about what is new in cc:Mail R6 and R7:


cc:Mail R6 Clients

cc:Mail Release 6 clients will initially run on Windows and DOS. Within
90 days of when these clients first ship, cc:Mail Release 6 clients for
Mac and OS/2 will be available. cc:Mail R6 clients support both DB8 (new
post office with 24 x 7 access) and DB6 (old post office). They are
called "dual mode" because they support both types of post offices. New
features in R6 clients include:

* Integrated forms filler with Windows (later for Mac and OS/2). Forms
filler is part of cc:Mail client, no separate forms application. See
below for more details.
* Integrated Organizer with Windows client only. See below for more
details.
* Viewers, Rules, and other features in the Mac and OS/2 clients to
achieve feature parity across the Windows, Mac, and OS/2 platforms.


Forms in cc:Mail

Forms are an integral part of cc:Mail R6. A forms filler is part of the
cc:Mail R6 client, first on Windows and then also on Mac and OS/2 (not
DOS); it will also be included with cc:Mail R7 on Windows 95, Windows
NT, and Windows 3.1. The forms designer will ship with cc:Mail R6.

The forms filler allows end users and administrators to improve workflow
by using standard forms templates and automated form routing. Forms
integration includes the ability to view, attach, send and route forms
from within cc:Mail.

Release 6 comes with five ready to use forms: expense report, time card,
hardware and software requisition form, office move form and travel
request. These can be used as is, or customized easily using the forms
designer. Customers can also design their own forms or get a third
party (such as Sigforms) to do it for them. Sigforms has already
created many additional cc:Mail forms and has posted them to their web
site (www.sigforms.com).


Organizer in cc:Mail

As a first step towards the tight integration of calendaring and
scheduling with our mail, Release 6 for Windows comes with Organizer
2.1, integrated with cc:Mail through a common installation. Further
integration will take place over time. Organizer is installed on
Windows only.


cc:Mail Router R6 and DB8 Post Office

* Router R6 runs on both DOS and OS/2
* Router R6 supports both DB8 and DB6 post offices simultaneously
* Router R6 operates 24x7
* DB8 post office provides on-line reclaim
* R6 includes updates of Admin, tools, VIM and Import/Export
* R6 includes migration tools to convert post office from DB6 to DB8
* DB8 post office also provides a MAPI Service Provider so that it can
be accessed from any MAPI client (e.g. Microsoft Exchange client)


cc:Mail R7 Clients

cc:Mail Release 7 clients provide many exciting new features in addition
to the features already contained in Release 6. The clients will
initially run on Windows 95, Windows NT, and Windows 3.1. Lotus also is
planning an R7 client for Macintosh and OS/2. Support for DOS is not
planned. cc:Mail R7 will be a full 32 bit application on Windows 95 and
Windows NT. cc:Mail R7 supports a wide variety of messaging systems in
addition to the cc:Mail post office, and thus it will be the client of
choice for use with various non-Lotus messaging systems such as
Microsoft Exchange Server, POP3 servers, and other messaging systems
that support MAPI. Some of the new features include:

* Rich text
* Message preview pane
* Common look and feel with Notes Mail R4
* Full mobile capabilities (including mailbox synch and directory synch)
* Hierarchical folders
* Message threading and sorting by date, author, subject, etc.
* Personal Address Book
* Universal Inbox/Outbox
* Support for multiple public directories
* Mailbox delegation
* In-place editing and full OLE 2.0 support
* Stationery
* User-definable views
* Integrated electronic forms and calendaring and scheduling


Q. Since R7 runs on MAPI and so does Exchange, what are the key
differentiating features? Why would I bother with R7 when the Exchange
Inbox is free in Windows 95?

A. cc:Mail R7 is the best e-mail client on the market for 3 reasons:

* It is the easiest to use
* It offers the best mobile functionality (including directory and
message synchronization)
* It has more features than the Microsoft Exchange client
* Type-down addressing
* Preview Pane
* Delegation
* Integrated Forms
* Viewing file attachments
* Stationery

Also, the Microsoft Exchange client is not free. What ships in Windows
95 is a scaled down mail client that needs to be upgraded before it will
talk to the new Microsoft Exchange server. The price for each Exchange
Server is $700 ($529 in quantities of 50), and each license for the
upgraded Exchange client costs $75 ($54 in quantities of 50).


Q. Is there any difference between R6 and R7 in terms of how Organizer
and Forms work?

A. Organizer works exactly the same between R6 and R7. Forms is
slightly more tightly integrated in R7 versus R6. Because R7 is an OLE
2.0 container, we launch the Forms filler more nicely as a "child
window" from within cc:Mail. In other words, you can fill out the form
within the cc:Mail R7 message viewer window. Otherwise, the feature set
is the same.


Q. What are your plans for delivering cc:Mail R7 on Macintosh and OS/2?

A. Lotus will continue to deliver the best cross-platform messaging
solution in the industry. Our desire is to implement cc:Mail R7 first
on Windows, then on Macintosh and OS/2. We can not give a date or a
promise for the delivery of the R7 Macintosh and OS/2 clients at this
time. (One of the more difficult development challenges is how to
implement client/server with these platforms, since MAPI does not yet
exist on Macintosh or OS/2.)


Q. Why is R7 shipping so soon after R6? Why don't you just have one
release with all the new features?

A. The objectives of cc:Mail R6 and cc:Mail R7 are quite different.
The R6 client is intended to be a way to migrate to the DB8 post office
easily and gradually. The R6 client also contains some new client
features, such as integrated electronic forms. We are shipping all
versions of cc:Mail R6 (Windows, Macintosh, DOS and OS/2) at
approximately the same time.

In contrast, the objective for the R7 client is entirely different. It
is chock full of new features, and is intended to be the best
Windows-based e-mail client for use on any of a broad range of messaging
systems: cc:Mail post offices, Microsoft Exchange Server, and any other
MAPI-based messaging system. For customers that feel like they are able
to migrate to the DB8 post office and train users on brand new features
at the same time, they can jump immediately to cc:Mail R7. Note,
however, that there will be some delay before Lotus can ship cc:Mail R7
for Macintosh or OS/2, and there is no planned support for DOS.


Q. Why are you using MAPI to deliver cc:Mail R7?

A. MAPI is an operating system subsystem that gives us the ability to
separate the mail client from the server. Our customers have told us
that they want the flexibility that MAPI provides, so that they can run
cc:Mail against multiple servers (cc:Mail, Notes, Exchange etc).


Q. Are you dropping support for VIM?

A. No. We are continuing to support VIM and deliver it on cc:Mail and
Notes products as we always have. We are also delivering support for
"Common Mail Calls", otherwise known as CMC. VIM, CMC and "simple" MAPI
are APIs suitable for mail enabled applications and will continue to be
used for those purposes. MAPI 1.0 which we are using for cc:Mail R7, is
a different type of API: it is a way to communicate directly with the
post office, and is best at full function mail transports and clients.
All of these APIs have their roles and will continue.


Q. What differences would I see if I ran cc:Mail R7 against different
messaging services? (e.g., cc:Mail post office, Notes R4 server,
Microsoft Exchange Server, POP3 server)?

A. There will be many differences, due to the different level of
features provided by each messaging service. cc:Mail R7 will take
advantage of whatever features are available from the messaging service.
For example, the directory services provided by all of the above
services are vastly different, but we expose all of the directory
features provided by each messaging service.


Q. When will you update all your gateways, cc:Mail View, and cc:Mail
Web to R6?
Product Date Comments
Link to SMTP Q3 1996 The update will also include support for MIME
Link to UUCP Q3 1996
cc:Mail Web July 1996
cc:Mail View N/A Does not need to be upgraded; Release 1.03 works
fine in a cc:Mail system with DB8 post offices
Link to MHS At this time there are no announced plans to upgrade this
gateway
Pager Gateway Early 1997.
Lotus Fax Server, cc:Mail Edition August 1996 Release 1.1 of the Lotus
Fax Server, which will ship in August 1996, will support a DB8 post
office.


Q. How many users does Lotus recommend on a cc:Mail DB8 post office?

A. The DB6 post office was primarily limited by the fact that the
post office had to be taken down to perform routine maintenance
(RECLAIM). The practical limit that most customers experienced was
about 200 users. The new DB8 post office allows on-line maintenance and
thus will allow a much larger number of users per post office. Our goal
is 1000 users per post office. Most customers should be able to achieve
this, although there are other factors to consider such as network
traffic constraints.


Q. Will cc:Mail R6 for Windows run on Windows 95?

A. Yes, it has been fully tested on that operating system.


Q. How much longer will the old cc:Mail products be sold?

A. Generally speaking, old versions of cc:Mail products will no
longer be available from resellers once the new version of the cc:Mail
product ships. The exception is cc:Mail for Macintosh R3, which only
just shipped in January 1996; we plan to continue selling the upgrade
version of that product, and the associated cc:Mail Desktop for
Macintosh Upgrade license packs, through December 1996, or until demand
subsides.

As always, existing customers who need a replacement copy of an old
cc:Mail product will be able to order a copy from Lotus customer service
(1-800-343-5414) for a long time to come.


Q. How does the new licensing work?

A. As of May 31, 1996, Lotus has just two basic cc:Mail license types:
the cc:Mail Web license (unchanged from the past) and the new cc:Mail R6
license. The new cc:Mail R6 license is very simple:

* It lets you run all types of cc:Mail software (cc:Mail Desktop,
cc:Mail Mobile, and cc:Mail Router)
* It lets you run cc:Mail on any platform (DOS, Windows, Macintosh or
OS/2)
* It lets you run the most current releases (R6 and R7) or older
releases
* It lets you run Lotus Organizer for Windows 2.1
* It lets you run new cc:Mail Forms filler and Forms Designer
* It is sold on a per-user basis


Q. Does the new license include the right to run cc:Mail Web?

A. No, cc:Mail Web continues to be licensed separately.


Q. Is the new license available through Passport?

A. Yes. The point value remains unchanged (0.5 points per license).


Q. What are the plans for cc:Mail View Release 6?

A. cc:Mail View, first release in December 1994, gets its next
revision in the Release 6 family. In addition to its management
capabilities in the first release of the product (topology maps, status
notification etc), cc:Mail View R6 adds:

* Performance enhancements
* Hierarchical submaps
* Monitoring of cc:Mail Routers
* Multiple operator consoles
* Flexible alerts system
* Additional database support (e.g. Oracle)


Q. What are the plans for cc:Mail Router on Windows NT?

A. During 1996 we will release a version of cc:Mail Router that runs
on Windows NT. Our target is to ship this in Q3 1996. This will be
fundamentally today's cc:Mail Router, ported to NT to take advantage of
the services of NT. This will provide:

* Support of TCP/IP and direct file access
* Multi-session (many routers on same NT box)
* Wide area management (through cc:Mail View)


Q. What are the plans for cc:Mail Link to SMTP/MIME?

A. In 1996 we will add MIME support to the cc:Mail Link to SMTP
gateway. It will run on Windows NT, and it will communicate with the
new DB8 post office. Our target is to ship this in Q3 1996.


Q. What are your plans for cc:Mail for the World Wide Web, Release 6?

A. We just released cc:Mail Web 1.01 (which includes new support for
the sending of file attachments), and we are working towards many future
enhancements including support for DB8 Post Office (expect by July
1996), Forms and C&S (expect in early 1997).


Q. What are your plans for improved directory sync with NT? NDS?

A. As part of Novell's strategy to make directory services one of
their core competencies, Novell has publicly committed to provide
integration and synchronization between NDS and cc:Mail. Lotus will
focus its own attention on improving integration with other key
directories, such as Windows NT and NetWare Bindery. These integration
services will be announced at a later date.


Q. Will Lotus continue to provide significant upgrades to cc:Mail,
which is based on a file-sharing architecture?

A. The announcement of cc:Mail R6 (and all the enhancements therein)
proves that Lotus is continuing to invest in the file-sharing cc:Mail
architecture. Lotus has 10,000,000 users running cc:Mail as a
file-sharing system. These users can upgrade to cc:Mail R6 at whatever
pace makes the most sense for their organization, thanks to the
carefully engineered cc:Mail Release 6 design.

Actually, Lotus' newest customers are increasingly coming from smaller
organizations (under 1000 users). For these customers, file-sharing
systems are often more desirable than client-server systems, due to the
fact that file-sharing systems are easier to install and are less
resource-intensive.


Q. Is Notes Mail R4 better than cc:Mail R6?

A. It depends on what you are looking for. cc:Mail is light, fast,
advanced messaging. Notes is infrastructure which supports integrated
messaging and groupware. Each company will need to determine whether
Notes Mail or cc:Mail works better for them, based on their particular
environment and messaging/groupware needs. Both products lead the
industry in terms of what they offer.

Here are some of the differences that you'll find when you compare Notes
Mail to cc:Mail:

* Notes Mail has some features that cc:Mail lacks, such as an integrated
Web browser and doc links.
* cc:Mail has some features that Notes Mail lacks, such as the ability
to connect to MAPI-based message servers, the ability to connect
directly to cc:Mail post offices, and of course cc:Mail also runs on
DOS.
* The user interface in Notes Mail R4 is nearly identical to the user
interface in cc:Mail R7.
* cc:Mail has an edge in terms of how easy it is to get up and running
quickly, since it runs on any existing file server.
* The system resources required to implement a cc:Mail system are lower
than that for Notes Mail.

[continued]

Q. What is your Internet and intranet strategy?

A. cc:Mail has a very comprehensive Internet and intranet strategy.
First, here are they ways that cc:Mail can integrate with the Internet
or a private intranet today:

* cc:Mail for the World Wide Web is an accessory that plugs into your
cc:Mail system, letting you access your cc:Mail mailbox anytime,
anywhere using a standard Web browser. We just released an upgrade to
cc:Mail Web to support sending of file attachments. This 1.01 release
is available for free download off our bulletin boards.
* cc:Mail users can send/receive messages to/from people on the
Internet via a gateway such as Lotus cc:Mail Link to SMTP.
* cc:Mail Router supports TCP/IP, which means that the Internet can be
used as a high-speed backbone to carry cc:Mail messages from one
location to another.
* cc:Mail Mobile for Windows supports TCP/IP, which means that if you
have a connection to the Internet, you can send/receive mail. You do
not have to use a modem.

Over the coming months, Lotus plans to increase cc:Mail's support for
the Internet in the following ways:

* cc:Mail for the World Wide Web will be enhanced to provide very
similar functionality to what is currently found in today's regular
cc:Mail client. We plan to have another release to support the 24x7
database, cc:Mail Web R6, available shortly after Release 6 ships.
* cc:Mail R7 clients will support POP3, allowing direct communication
with the most common Internet messaging protocol. This combination of
the rich user interface and feature set of cc:Mail with the industry
standard protocol will open up exciting new possibilities.
* Look for additional information in the next month or two.


Q. I have an existing cc:Mail system composed of several post office,
and a mix of LAN and mobile users. How do I upgrade to cc:Mail R6?

A. Buy one box of cc:Mail R6 Upgrade, plus a sufficient number of
upgrade license packs to cover all the users who will be using the new
software. You may upgrade at whatever pace you wish because Release 6
clients are backwards compatible with your existing cc:Mail post
offices. Note that when you upgrade an existing LAN user to R6, that
user also gets the right to run cc:Mail Mobile, because Mobile is
included as a standard part of the cc:Mail R6 license.

Detailed instructions on how to upgrade will be included in the cc:Mail
R6 box. Generally, we recommend that you upgrade your clients first
because they can run on either the old post office or the new post
office. Then, you upgrade the Routers, then convert the post offices to
DB8.


Q. What products qualify for the cc:Mail R6 Upgrade?

A. Any version of cc:Mail, and any license type can be upgraded
through the new cc:Mail R6 Upgrade license. If you are running
competitive products (or if you own Lotus SmartSuite), you may purchase
the cc:Mail R6 Competitive Upgrade license packs.


Q. I have an existing cc:Mail system composed of several types of
clients (Windows, DOS, Macintosh and OS/2) as well as numerous gateways
and cc:Mail View. How should I plan to upgrade to the new 24 x 7 post
office?

A. Detailed instructions to help you plan your upgrade will be
included in the cc:Mail R6 box. Briefly, your plans will have to take
into consideration the fact that only R6 (or R7) components can
communicate with the new 24 x 7 post office; older components can not.
So until Lotus ships upgrades for cc:Mail for Macintosh, cc:Mail for
OS/2 and all the gateways you are using, these components will have to
remain on the old style post office. You may wish to upgrade some post
offices right away, and leave other post offices untouched until a later
date.


Q. I want to set up a new cc:Mail system composed of Windows users. I
need to communicate with the Internet. What do I buy?

A. You should buy cc:Mail R6, licenses for all your users, and one of
our Internet gateways (Link to SMTP or Link to UUCP). Detailed
instructions to help you plan your system are included in the cc:Mail R6
box. Briefly, you will have to plan around the fact that our gateways
have not yet been upgraded to R6 level, which means that they can not
communicate with the new 24 x 7 post office. Until Lotus ships an
upgrade to the gateways, you will need to include at least one old-style
cc:Mail post office in your cc:Mail network, for the gateways to talk
to. cc:Mail Admin Release 5.1 is included with cc:Mail R6, and this
will let you operate and maintain an old-style post office.


Q. I have an existing cc:Mail system composed of many post offices and
several Routers. I would like to upgrade all the Routers to Release 6,
but only upgrade two of the post offices to the new 24 x 7 format. How
many upgrade licenses do I have to buy?

A. Count the number of users who will be running the new cc:Mail R6
client software: that is how many upgrade licenses you will need to buy.
You are free to deploy Router R6 as broadly as you wish.


Q. I have an existing cc:Mail system composed of both LAN and mobile
users. I want to add some additional users. What do I buy?

A. Buy the new cc:Mail R6 licenses. These include the right to run
older version software. Note that the right to run cc:Mail Mobile is
now included with the standard cc:Mail R6 license.


Q. I need to outfit 100 people in the field with cc:Mail Mobile.
Buying two cc:Mail R6 50-user license packs is far more economical than
buying 100 copies of cc:Mail Mobile. Can I save money by purchasing
just one copy of cc:Mail Mobile plus 100 cc:Mail R6 licenses, and can I
copy the cc:Mail Mobile software myself onto the 100 notebook computers?

A. Yes, that's fine. We sell the individual cc:Mail Mobile boxes as a
convenient way for you to distribute diskette sets and documentation to
your field-based people, but if you wish to copy the software and/or
documentation yourself you may do so.


Q. It's great the way you are offering all of the software on a single
CD, but is there any way to get some or all of the components within
cc:Mail R6 on 3.5" disks?

A. Yes. Each component within cc:Mail R6 (e.g., cc:Mail Mobile for
Windows R6, cc:Mail Router R6, cc:Mail Admin R6, Organizer, etc.) is
available on a 3.5" disk set from Lotus. Another way to get disk sets
(plus user docs and license) for cc:Mail Mobile is to buy the individual
shrinkwrapped user box of cc:Mail Mobile.


Q. What documentation is included in cc:Mail R6?

A. cc:Mail R6 ships with the following documentation in hard copy and
electronic format:

* cc:Mail Release 6 Planning and Installation Guide
* cc:Mail Release 6 Admin Guide
* cc:Mail Release 6 Import/Export Guide
* cc:Mail Release 6 Forms Tutorial
* cc:Mail Release 6 Forms Getting Started Guide
* cc:Mail Release 6 for Windows Quick Reference Card
* cc:Mail Release 6 for DOS Quick Reference Card
* cc:Mail Release 6 for Windows Mobile Quick Reference Card
* cc:Mail Mobile Release 3.4 for DOS Quick Reference Card
* cc:Mail Release 5.1 Admin manual
* Import/Export 5.1 manual and release notes
* Organizer 2.1 Admin Guide
* Organizer 2.1 for Windows Quick Reference Card

Additionally, cc:Mail R6 ships with the following documentation in
electronic format:

* cc:Mail Release 6 for Windows User Guide
* cc:Mail Release 6 for DOS User Guide

You are free to distribute documentation electronically, or to copy
documentation for your internal use. Additional copies of documentation
are available through resellers.


c 1996 Lotus Development Corporation, an IBM subsidiary. All rights
reserved.
Material may not be reproduced or distributed in any form without
permission.