Lotus Symphony并非新名字，早在1990年，Lotus里面的桌面电子表格软件就使用过这个名称。而这次卷土重来再推办公软件，IBM则采用了「开放」的模式来与微软Office的封闭独享模式打擂台。
这套软件采Eclipse开源框架，并支持OpenDocument Format（ODF），这个文件格式标准源自OpenOffice 开源办公软件。
IBM的FAQ说明文件中指出，这些软件都能兼容微软Office文档，还能输出为Adobe PDF格式。使用者可以现有的Office文件来建立模板，不过宏指令或一些较高级功能则无法全部转换。
值得注意的是，Lotus Symphony能可在Windows与Linux系统中运行，未来还计划支持苹果的Mac OS系统。
「IBM致力于开放办公室桌面应用软件，正如同我们先前以Linux打开企业运算市场一样。」IBM软件部门资深副总裁Steve Mills在声明中表示。
Lotus Symphony所针对的用户群包括企业用户与一般消费者。
「这不仅是安装在桌面上的软件，还支持让信息的随处存取，并可在任何平台及Web上弹性工作。」Mills表示。
IBM多年来一直希望打开微软所掌握的企业办公软件市场，此前就曾拿出Workplace软件策略，利用Lotus Notes Productivity Toos来作开发，这些成果最终结出今日的Lotus Symphony这个硕果。
这次Lotus Symphony的发布跟IBM历来作风截然不同，因为它直接提供给低端消费者以及企业用户，而非包装在Lotus办公与e-mail软件中。
就技术层面来看，Lotus Symphony算是个相当肥胖的桌面端软件(fat client)。先前，IBM总是偏好利用服务器来管理瘦客户端型（thin client）的桌面办公软件。
What can I do with IBM Lotus Symphony Spreadsheets?Calculate a mortgage, create an income statement, or calculate your GPA. IBM Lotus Symphony Spreadsheets lets you create, edit, share, and save a variety of spreadsheets. You can create new documents, import existing documents, or choose from a set of document templates. Contextual toolbars configured to the appropriate spreadsheet editing task display as you navigate the various parts of your work.
Features
- Easy to create new spreadsheets or use built-in spreadsheet templates
- Single, tabbed user interface to launch all Lotus Symphony applications and access all open document types
- Large library of mathematical functions that can be applied to cells
- Robust formatting of text, cells, and spreadsheets
- Formula evaluator to edit complex equations used in spreadsheets
- Data table offers pivot table functionality
- Support for tracking changes as you edit and revise spreadsheets
- Support for a variety of file types including Microsoft Office and Lotus SmartSuite
- Export documents to Adobe PDF for easy sharing
What's New in Symphony 1
Performance enhancements
- Provided performance optimization options for starting up in the main page of Preferences settings.
- Critical crash and freezing issues are fixed.
- Optimized sidebar refreshing to decrease the flicker.
- Significant performance improvement following areas:
- Spreadsheet performance for "undo" operation at subtotal.
- ODP files save performance.
- Redrawing a Presentations page.
- Creating a new document.
- Spell-checking performance in Presentations and Spreadsheets.
- Saving PPT files.
- Switching Presentations page view to sorter view.
- Triggering time of auto-recognizer.
详细更新参见：http://symphony.lotus.com/software/lotus/symphony/releasenotes.jspa
更多信息：http://symphony.lotus.com/software/lotus/symphony/products.jspa
官网：http://symphony.lotus.com/software/lotus/symphony/home.jspa
官方下载页面：(要注册一下~)
https://www14.software.ibm.com/webapp/iwm/web/preLogin.do?lang=en_US&source=swerplotus-lptb3
