IBM gives free concert with Lotus Symphony 1.0

Stephen Withers
Wednesday, 04 June 2008 10:19

Business IT - Technology

IBM's Office alternative Lotus Symphony has reached version 1.0. Not only is it available for both Available for Windows and Linux, but it is absolutely free.

Compared with beta 4, the release version of Symphony provides better performance, fixes more bugs than you'll find in your bedroom after leaving the flyscreen open, and delivers improved interoperability with Microsoft Office, OpenOffice.org and SmartSuite.

Various changes have been made to the overall usability (eg thumbnails in the presentations module and better handling of paragraph properties when copying or pasting text), and the package's online help has been translated into the two dozen supported languages.

The software may now be described as "commercial grade", but IBM has not attached a price tag. Instead, Symphony may be downloaded and used without payment, even by commercial users.

Those who want full support can get it from IBM, and that's where money starts to change hands. IBM Elite Support for Lotus Symphony costs $US25 per user.

Free online support is still offered, and there is a free developer kit allowing the creation of plugins and mashups.

IBM is particularly promoting Symphony's use of ODF (Open Document Format) files, claiming the suite marks the coming of age for ODF.

"Major technology vendors are lining up to support ODF - even those previously opposed to it," said Steve Mills, senior vice president of IBM Software. "Symphony - backed by enterprise customer support services - is ready for business."

What other options are there?