Slashdot Mirror
Ximian Connector 1.0 Available
An Anonymous Coward writes: "Ximian Connector is out! Regardless if you don't like open source and Microsoft playing together this will let me ditch my Win2k box at work! Here is the press release. Of note, MS Exchange 2000 has a nice HTTP interface to it as well, works wonderfully in Galeon." kittenslietome adds a link to the license under which it's released as well: Connector is not Free software, but rather software Ximian hopes will pay for further Free software development.
No, it means you can't reverse engineer it and make your own program that does the same thing. You have to do all the hard work on your own.
While Ximian Connector is not Free Software, Evolution *is* Free Software.
Connector is just a plugin to be able to access Exchange servers, and you are in no way required to buy it.
Lots of people don't know that for some reason...
I think this is a good tactic, because:
1) They have some sort of business model now (nobody can complain about that they don't have a business model).
2) Companies that depend on Exchange servers can now use Evolution.
3) It encourages open standards, because you don't have to pay for Connector if you convert your servers to use some open standard that's supported by Evolution by default.
Firstly, if you're using this, then you're by definition also using some other non-Free software. Just because this is from a developer that works primarily with Free software doesn't make it any worse. In fact, quite the opposite.
This (small) piece of proprietry s/w could open the door for thousands of gigs of totally Free software being installed - eventually obviating the need for itsself, perhaps?
Finally, if it pays for more Free software (lets face it, everything has a cost, if not a price) then i'm all for it...
Tom Newton
This looks like a neat pieve of software, but it's outragous that it's needed at all. In this instance, Microsoft has created a new software development business - the business of conforming to 'Microsoft Standards'. It's discraceful that we've let this go on. Companies should not be able to find it profitable to create interfaces into Microsoft's proprietary protocols. Instead, Microsoft should find it unprofitable to ignore standards and go out on their own. While I have no objection to Ximian as a whole, they are facilitating this behavior, by providing interoperability products. Really, though, at it's core this is our fault. Clearly sufficient pressure has not been aplied to Microsoft to force them co conform to the standards that the rest of the software world now uses.
--CTH
--Got Lists? | Top 95 Star Wars Line
my papa always said, ..."if you can't beat 'em, join 'em." :)
Ximian Connector is a unique client software extension that allows Linux and UNIX users of the Ximian Evolution groupware suite to manage personal information and collaborate with Windows-based co-workers using Microsoft Exchange 2000
Anybody who would pay $69.00 just so they can get rid of Microsoft on their computer is pretty much clueless. Lets at least try to encourage companies to produce better more price competitive pieces of software rather than supporting every piece of crap that happens to have a price tag on it.
And people wonder why Microsoft isnt going anywhere anytime soon. I mean if a $69.00 is the absolute best Ximian can do when pricing this piece of crap - then they are bound to fail. Thats a third of the cost of windows and more than half of the cost of the Outlook XP upgrade sold seperately.
The fact that this thing requires OWA (Outlook Web Access) to be installed should make you wary as well. Its not even directly connecting using exchange protocols (if that was the case it would work with Exchange 5.5) its simply making a slow ass HTTP connection to the server and parsing the output. What a pathetic hack.
Either way, anybody who buys this deserves to be laughed at. So rest assured I will be putting in my portion on that front. Hahahahahahahahaha...
J
I love idealists not because I am one, but because they make life bearable for pragmatists such as myself.
That may well have been the intent, but the license reads like "you won't tell anyone anything about our software unless we say it's OK" which could be used to block security disclosures. Note that it says "divulge any details"; I think that's a broad statement.
The price is a bit much at 69 bucks *PER* seat. At that price, its almost more economical to just use terminal services.... that way atleast a user still has access to a windows box at all times. We would gladly pay for it at 30 bucks a seat, but 69 is a bit steep.
-LW
Exchange 2K is different. It's built around SMTP, POP, LDAP, and iCalendar. It's using standard protocols. Where are the UNIX clients to support them?
It's easy to complain about Outlook and Exchange except there has been no real competition until now from Ximian, and that is only in the client piece. Exchange is a good system, just because it's from MS doesn't make it bad even if this is Slashdot.
Zealots - grouse all you want about that criticism, but it's true.
The suits aren't going to lose Outlook on their desktops, but if I could avoid having to manage an NT server to GIVE them that functionality that they need, that'd make my life a helluva lot more happy than knowing that some Linux box can connect to an NT Excange server...
As it stands, we're already considering (eew) Lotus Bloats, because it can offer basically the same functionality, but do it from a Linux box as the server, which is important to us.
It's snuggled up next to the windows world,
just like vmware. Amazing samba is free. Most
stuff that touches the MS world is infected,
almost as though it were 'viral' or something.
Try Meeting Maker, they have a version of their server for RedHat but unfortunately do not yet have a native client for any variant of Linux. But they do have a java client which you can use to access the server view your favorite browser. For years they have had a rock solid server and client for Solaris, you can set the client up on a server for multiple user access and log into the client via X without any problems.
I have had the misfortune to specify and install about 10,000 personal computing devices in three different corporations of different sizes since 1986. Of the 1000 or so requests for non-standard configurations that passed my way, about 3 were justifed based on business analysis. The same analysis that the requestors would demand be done on any project presented to them for budget approval.
When you get a company car, if you are high enough in the organization you get to specify the color and seat coverings. You don't get to pull the engine out and replace it with a new one at your whim. Somehow people manage to get from place to place in those "crippled" vehicles.
sPh
Well, as a Unix admin/programmer in a Windows-based workplace, I can't help but applaud Ximian for releasing the Connector. I've started the ball rolling on trying to get approval for this, or at least permission to use it myself. I can understand why you're a little mad, but we don't have the option of switching 20k+ users to a Unix based setup. This product, free or not, will make using Exchange much better - I may be able to get rid of the PC under my desk (used mostly for Outlook) altogether! :)
Mr. Sharumpe
-- The above comments are just my opinion. If you are going to flame me, save your time. I am fireproof.
With this stuff, thats so great.