Notes 8 Beta 2 -- First Impressions

Notes/Domino 8 Forum

Subject: Notes 8 Beta 2 -- First Impressions

Feedback Type: Comment

Product Area: Notes 8 Client

Technical Area: User Interface

Platform: Windows XP client

Release: Beta 2

Reproducible: Always

Download went smoothly once my account at ibm.com was fixed, and the download transfer rate held 970kbps, giving me the whole 2.2gig set of files in 30 minutes.

Installation of the Notes 8 Full client over an existing 7.02 worked fine on both laptop and workstation.

Upgraded my mail file to get the most complete sense for the new tool.

results (yes, I know it's beta, but without feedback what's the point?):

The new Eclipse based UI looks like it will be good, but isn't yet. It's very inconsistent so far. To wit -- right double click is an on again/off again thing. That's not going to fly. I see the option for it is removed in the eclipse version. Don't go there.

The myriad setup options interface is cumbersome and confusing, IMO. Moving locations to it adds clutter. I don't believe most users manage their own connection or location documents.

Many of the dialog boxes look flat and unfinished. Padding in the text windows and borders on those windows is inconsistent, making the "feel" of it weak.

RSS feeds in the shelf on the right is nice, but I'd like to move that shelf to the left. Can't seem to do that. Also, I like the RSS feeds open in a window of it's own, but when I close it and click the feed again on the left, it goes back to living in the panel. It needs to remember where I put it.

Opening the new UI with the new mail client is sexy, sure. Opening an existing application however looks really bad. There needs to be some way to make these feel more integrated, even if that means putting a big border around the old app. so it looks like you're seeing it in a window.

If I can float the rss feeder, can I also float any tab?

The new mail file design is nice, very crisp looking and more visible. Unfortunately, the template turns off unread mark replication so my pop3 account from my cell phone showed me 75 old messages before I turned it back on.

Due to the inconsistencies in the eclipse client -- particularly the right double click problem -- I've gone to launching nlnotes.exe directly and using the original style client, which so far is rock solid.

In line spell checking is FANTASTIC. Long overdue, and all the more welcome for it.

My properties by smarticon is missing from where it "belongs" over on the left. That combined with the change from "database" (d) to "application" (t) is my only real point of discomfort in the Notes 8 client. I'm going to have to get used to the new menus, but they're probably better now, and so be it.

Why did the install turn off my textured workspace?

Feedback number APOK6ZA4A5 created by ~Andy Zenboosither on 03/14/2007

Status: Open
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