Lotus Development Corp now has Notes 4.0, an update to its group communications software that features interface enhancements, improved performance, and the ability to launch applications from within the program, in alpha test. The upgrade is due to ship by mid-1995. The software is being optimised to take advantage of multiprocessing, including the use of semaphors, which synchronise multiprocessor access. It should also include more efficient disk usage. Notes 4.0, which will be part of the Lotus Communications Server system, will share the folders and rules capability of Lotus’s cc:Mail, along with the InfoBoxes used in Lotus’s Improv spreadsheet to ease access to shared fields. Data in shared fields can be accessed by forms and databases. Via support for Object Linking & Embedding 2.0, Notes 4.0 will also enable users to launch linked applications from within program files stored in the Notes database. This feature will be usable with Window Windows applications created by Lotus’s forthcoming application development environment for Notes, dubbed ViP.
