RE: Document Sharing/Lotus Notes (was: Re: Re WIT)

Fisher Mark (FisherM@is3.indy.tce.com)
Thu, 16 Jun 94 07:15:00 PDT


In <Pine.3.89.9406151253.F7162-0100000@gator.cminds.com>, Paul Everitt said:
>This is a thread that I don't think get's enough discussion -- the
>viability of the Web for LAN-based informations systems that just happen
>to scale into global systems. In this regard, the "competition" isn't
>something like gopher, NNTP, or SMTP, but something like Lotus Notes.
Exactly our experience. For Lotus Notes to be useful to us in widespread
dissemination of technical ideas/hints/etc., we would have to install around
500 copies at a cost of $150,000 (US) -- definitely not cheap. If
implementing the system I've described using Lotus Notes would only then
save us $80,000, I have just wasted $40,000! Unfortunately, my experience
is that other document-sharing platforms are not significantly less
expensive. Whether I use the Web or Lotus Notes (or something else), my
time will still have to be spent on educating myself, building the
application(s), and educating the user community. So why not choose at the
start a very open, flexible, and scalable technologies like WWW and WAIS?
======================================================================
Mark Fisher Thomson Consumer Electronics
fisherm@tcemail.indy.tce.com Indianapolis, IN

"Just as you should not underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon
traveling 65 mph filled with 8mm tapes, you should not overestimate
the bandwidth of FTP by mail."