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TUAW Interview: Visto corporate email for iPhone
As much love as we may have and hold for the iPhone, there's a substantial chunk of the market that is resistant to the siren call of this miraculous device: those of us with enterprise email accounts (Exchange or Lotus Notes/Domino) that don't want any part of this shiny yummy new world. This may not be the most serious pushback from enterprise users -- see Tom Yager's scathing review of iPhone for enterprise use for some genuine buzzkill -- but it's a sticky wicket. Yes, both Exchange and Domino can be accessed over IMAP for compatibility with the iPhone's Mail application, but in many BigCorpInc scenarios the IMAP access is blocked for security or performance reasons. With this in mind, there's a tremendous appetite for a more suave method of accessing enterprise mail, not to mention the calendar and contact data that lies alongside those messages. We've seen the insinuation from Steve that "something's coming" in the next few weeks, and the rumored ActiveSync licensing deal, but only one company has announced a product for enterprise mail on the iPhone: Visto. Update: Commenter 'stickybit' passes along the Synchronica announcement, via iLounge -- that makes 2 companies.Since the June 28th Visto press release was thin on implementation details of how Visto's solution would work, we've been eager to get more info, and now we have it. I spoke to Haniff Somani, Visto's VP/Chief Architect, earlier this week and got a preview of how Visto's solution will deliver corporate email to the cranky corporate iPhone users.
Zap! to power electric version of Lotus' APX crossover concept
Just in case you forgot, Tesla isn't the only electric car game in town, and while the noted manufacturer is said to be working on its own crossover utility vehicle, this here Lotus ZAP-X electric version of the APX crossover is all thanks to Lotus and the Zap! guys. Lotus is, of course, bringing those hip-cool stylings and aluminum frame, but Zap! has replaced the V6 gas engine with in-hub electric motors, which can provide a combined 644hp, and vault the vehicle to 155 mph. Zap! is claiming an impressive range of 350 miles, with a 10 minute charge -- though we're guessing you aren't going to pull that kind of juice out of your regular ol' wall jack. If that's not enough for you, an auxiliary power unit with even more batteries is planned, and since the motors are in the wheels, there's plenty of room in the hood for such add-ons. Says Zap! of the ZAP-X: "The innovative placement of the power train leaves the space previously occupied by the conventional engine and drive train for additional battery capacity and amenities, making it a very consumer-oriented electric car concept. These design features will give the ZAP-X crossover the structural strength, and potentially storage and range that no electric vehicle has yet achieved publicly." Not too shabby at all. Unfortunately there's no word on when you'll be able to get one of these into your driveway, or how much it'll cost you, but the vehicle is definitely planned for a US release, so it's only a matter of waiting.
NC State preps Lotus Elise for 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge
If the Cardinal (or Tartans) think that the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge will be a gimme, they may want to sneak a peek at the looming competition. Students from NC State's College of Engineering are readying a highly modified Lotus Elise for next year's autonomous vehicle contest, and are working with Insight Technologies as well as Lotus' own engineering group to craft what's likely to be the sexiest unmanned vehicle on the track. Dubbed the Insight Racing team, the crew is loading the whip with "sensors and onboard computers that have been programmed to autonomously maneuver it through an urban setting complete with traffic, intersections and traffic circles." Moreover, the highly-coveted machine will be able to handle its own parking duties (and pose for glamour shots) when the day's done. After finishing 12th overall with just a Chevrolet Suburban in the 2005 Challenge, the Pack hopes its newfangled toy (and subsequent cornering abilities) can propel them to the top come next November.
MALIBAL's Bodhi and Lotus Core Duo laptops
Serial rebadger, and self-professed home of the "world's fastest laptop," MALIBAL has added two new lines to their collection, the Bodhi and the Lotus. Nothing groundbreaking, but they are nicely specced, with Core Duo processors and integrated 1.3 megapixel webcams. The Bodhi sports a 14-inch 1280 x 768 screen, 4-in-1 card reader, WiFi/Bluetooth combo, dual-layer DVD burner, and options for up to 2GB of RAM and a 160GB SATA HDD. Mere integrated graphics, and the 3 hours of batter life is just average, but they're fairly compact at 4.85 pounds. The Lotus bumps the screen to 15.4-inches 1280 x 800, and the weight to 5.73 pounds. It can handle those snazzy 2.16GHz Core Duo chips, but the series otherwise mirrors its release buddy. Both laptop lines are on sale now, with the Bodhi starting at $1099, and the Lotus dropping for $1115.[Via Laptoping]
IBM Lotus Notes to support OS X, Devil turns up thermostat
I know what you're thinking. Both me and fellow blogger Dave Caolo were asking each other the same question: "Lotus Notes still exists?"But seriously, if there is a sign of the times - especially corporate times - this could certainly be one of them: IBM will announce at Lotusphere next week that the next client version of their Lotus Notes software will support OS X (while version 6.5 of Lotus Notes supports 10.3, version 7 doesn't support OS X at all). They will also be announcing support for Intel-based Macs, due later this year. As reasoning for this newfound OS X support, a representative for an IBM partner is quoted in an InformationWeek article saying: "We have a lot of health-care customers and maybe 1 percent of a company’s research department is on Macs but they have 99 percent of the influence."The article also contains speculation from industry observers that this new friendliness IBM has for Apple's software is actually a renewal of a partnership the two companies had in the early nineties, when they jointly worked on "Pink," an object-oriented OS built to take on Windows. Apparently, it failed. With a name like "Pink," you only get three guesses as to why.On a broader scale though, I'm hopeful for more business and corporate support for our favorite fruity computers, as it would be great for more people to be able to chose a productive computer in the workplace.[via MacNN]
