What groupware means depends on the group that uses it. The best products combine a strong messaging core with a programming environment that can spawn whatever collaborative features the group needs. Lotus Notes Release 4.1, our Editors' Choice, is such a combination.
Notes provides powerful e-mail and excellent tools for creating custom groupware applications.
This latest release of Notes has an enhanced client interface and even better development tools than before. Impressively, Notes has held its ground against the rising intranet tide. Lotus's Domino server delivers outstanding Web publishing tools for Notes databases. The included forms designer lets even novices create basic groupware applications. More complex applications require a tool like Microsoft's Visual Basic.