Lotus Notes: a dying dinosaurs

The company I work for uses Lotus Notes. After 15 years of Microsoft Outlook using Lotus Notes is an assault to your mailing intelligence. I created programs against the Microsoft Outlook object model and though in the beginning it was far from perfect, it has been evolved into a reasonable intelligent model. Considering the fact that the functionality in Microsoft Outlook increased it is easier to use than Outlook 97.

The base of a mailing program should be that you can send mail and that - considering the fact that typing a mail in a corporate environment could already be quiet a job - should no be too difficult.

Lotus Notes has an other approach: it actively try to discourage you to do this. For example when you click Reply it gives you 3 choices. Hell I don't care. 

It reminds me of programs used in the 1990's that were so complex that you had to use a manual for months to understand its use. The basic technology oriented programs, I call them, because technology is way more important than the user interface the developers in general hate the users because their behavior is unpredictable. The (stupid) user clicks on a tab when he did not complete the form and bang there is an application crash. IBM never incorporated intelligence in there user interface because they are still in the era of the 90's. 

So you end up spending hours and hours trying to understand why a thing is there and not somewhere else. Or why they did not implement this feature because that is so evident.

I can give you plenty of examples in Lotus Notes. 

And it is partly or fully written in Java and that is about the slowest executing programming language in the world. A prove: ask Free in France that had their website completely written in Java and they had it rewritten in PHP to respond on the demand on their website. 

Oh, and did you ever install Oracle? Yep, death slow, but Oracle is now married to Java because they bought it :-)

So I got rid of Lotus Notes by adding the IBM DAMO layer on to Lotus Notes so you can use Outlook. Great!!! Imagine: IBM delivers itself a program to get rid of their stupid Lotus Notes. So customers run Lotus Notes in the back end and Microsoft Outlook on the desktop. Mmm, why don't they do not use Microsoft Exchange? Simpler to manage, much higher performance and not IBM. Anyway, I never understand the logic, so forget it.

So I send an attachment from my Microsoft Outlook on Lotus Notes with the standard Outlook text for attachments in it to another Outlook client on Exchange. The text is:

Your message is ready to be sent with the following file or link attachments:

Me.PNG

Note: To protect against computer viruses, e-mail programs may prevent sending or receiving certain types of file attachments. Check your e-mail security settings to determine how attachments are handled.

After Lotus Notes send it, the Outlook on Exchange receives:

†਍敌洠獥慳敧攠瑳瀠⁴⃠瓪敲攠癮祯⃩癡捥氠⁥楦档敩⁲畳癩湡⁴畯氠獥氠敩獮樠楯瑮⁳ഺഊ挊慨杲浥
湥⹴慲൲ഊഊ刊浥牡畱ꁥꀺ潰牵猠⁥牰瑯柩牥搠⁥楶畲⁳湩潦浲瑡煩敵ⱳ椠敳瀠略⁴畱⁥敬⁳牰杯慲浭獥搠⁥
敭獳条牥敩敬瑣潲楮畱⁥盩瑩湥⁴❤湥潶敹⁲畯搠⁥敲散潶物挠牥慴湩⁳祴数⁳敤瀠散⁳潪湩整⹳嘠
狩晩敩⁺敬⁳慰慲牴獥搠⁥畣楲搠⁥潶牴⁥敭獳条牥敩敬瑣潲楮畱⁥潰牵搠瓩牥業敮⁲敤焠敵汬⁥
慭楮狨⁥敬⁳楰揨獥樠楯瑮獥猠湯⁴獥മ

Wow! It translated it into Chinese. Impressive. But since I did not send it to a Chinese but to me I don't see the interest. I got a bit curious what this text is saying to I asked Google to translate it for me.

The † ਍ an enemy the Mou window compact fluorescent Ji Mi luster of gems eddy  ⁴ ⃠ Ban knock Mi addiction Zhen ⃩ crazy Wanshen ⁥ last file Xiao ⁲ jyo leprosy Yu the ⁴ Hong-Shen Jiaoshen Xiaoxian Man Dun Li ⁳ ഺഊ Nongkaigaoya
The the the Tu ⹴ Man ൲ഊഊ Kanyamuliu collapse led ꁥ ꀺ Ceon ⁥ You Lang bier Fang the daub ⁥ Jie She ⁳ Breast - feeding the King ⁳ the Liaohongshifan enemy ⱳ maps  Ai Ying slightly ⁴ stay ⁥ You cup Mangengjiaoshuo ⁥
Yangnoutiaofang the Xiao  King the petty pigwash Chu remain ⁥ the Global Center and press Ying Tu ⁴ ❤ Tu the Hei collection ⁲ Hong-the daub ⁥ Qiaosanheiwu scratch Fang deterrence Breast - feeding ⁳ the the Gai number ⁳ using the eddy  scattered ⁳ Africa Breast - feeding the whole ⹳ Ga
Hunting Dinner Xiao ⁺ King ⁳ comfort the Man  contravene window the daub ⁥  Dawei  daub ⁥, Hei contravene the the ⁥ Yangnoutiaofang the Xiao  King petty pigwash mulberry stay ⁥ collapse led daub MW Fang industry Xia ⁲ using quenching enemy Jing ⁥
Additionally the mulberry marmoset ⁥ King ⁳ Yu Chenjiaomandun Lijiaoceontang the ⁴   window മ

I have put some text in bold. Conford the man??? Using the eddy??? Luster of gems eddy?? The Gai number??? Africa Breast - feeding the whole??? Crazy Wanshen last file Xiao???

Hè, I read a possible black frustrated African developer in there who is working in China but used to be close to his African king and who has a problem with his eddy :)

Luckily I send this to me and not to a customer.

My advice to companies? Get rid of this dinosaur called Lotus Notes as soon as possible if you don't want to insult your clients neither your employees.  

UPDATE: moreover the chinese message changes every time:

†਍敌洠獥慳敧攠瑳瀠⁴⃠瓪敲攠癮祯⃩癡捥氠⁥楦档敩⁲畳癩湡⁴畯氠獥氠敩獮樠楯瑮⁳ഺഊ䤊佟䝒䑟
剉卉⁉慤慴慢敳献汱਍਍਍敒慭煲敵㪠炠畯⁲敳瀠潲敧⁲敤瘠物獵椠普牯慭楴畱獥‬汩猠⁥数瑵焠敵
氠獥瀠潲牧浡敭⁳敤洠獥慳敧楲⁥泩捥牴湯煩敵楶整瑮搠攧癮祯牥漠⁵敤爠捥癥楯⁲散瑲楡
獮琠灹獥搠⁥楰揨獥樠楯瑮獥‮楲楦穥氠獥瀠牡浡瓨敲⁳敤猠揩牵瑩⃩敤瘠瑯敲洠獥慳敧楲⁥泩
捥牴湯煩敵瀠畯⁲整浲湩牥搠⁥畱汥敬洠湡敲氠獥瀠散⁳潪湩整⁳潳瑮朠狩早⹳਍

The † ਍ enemy Mou to window the jyo leprosy Yu compact fluorescent Ji Mi luster of gems eddy  ⁴ ⃠ Ban knock Mi addiction Zhen ⃩ crazy Wanshen ⁥ last file Xiao ⁲ ⁴ Hong-Shenjiaoshenxiao Xianmanshunli ⁳ ഺഊ 䤊 Tong 䝒 䑟
The shaved Hui⁉, Harcourt deterrence slow what reason  barren the Qi ⁲ using things hunting Qianpuguyin Shi Ai the Xian make obsolete ਍਍਍ Zhenyinbaodi 㪠 ⁲ Ai Ying, Xia Hong-stay window ‬ the confused Ceon ⁥ number google_ad_section_end quenching enemy
Shen Jiao Ying Shaomuboyang ⁳ Kemoujiaoqian the Jiwei ⁥ rising of water Wan the the contravene Tang trouble enemy  Jie Zhenglishuodian Yinzhenfangmo ⁵ using Ju Wan disease Dun ⁲ scattered tinkling of gems Yu
The Xiantianyujiao the daub ⁥ Yuchen to window Manchunlijiao ‮  Wei last Yushen Jiaoyingmubo Hong knock ⁳ Keceonkaiqian Ying the barren Lang ⃩ using Qiaomoujiaoqian Jiwei ⁥ rising of water
The the Wan contravene soup tired of the enemy Ying Hong-⁲  Hong Breast - feeding Fang Shuo ⁥ stay Zhijingmouyu  Qiaoshenjiaoying  to San ⁳ Africa Breast - feeding the whole ⁳ Zhaliyingshou early ⹳ ਍

I hope being a breast-feeding person is not an insult in chinees, otherwise this text is very insulting. And all that included in an IBM DAMO extension for IBM Lotus Notes.

I wondering about the IBM translated Chinees version of Lotus Notes. Should not be too popular over there :-P