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.

Comments

It's not just proprietary software

[Florian Weimer]

It's proprietary software with an extremely obnoxious license. Quote:

4. Security: CUSTOMER understands and agrees that the Software contains trade secrets belonging to XIMIAN, and will take all reasonable steps to protect its confidentiality. CUSTOMER acknowledges that the Software is the property of XIMIAN and contains confidential information. CUSTOMER agrees that, other than to its employees, it will not provide a copy of the Software nor divulge any details of it to any person without the prior consent in writing of XIMIAN.

This means that you must not talk about security problems in Connector with your hired security consultant. You can't even share information with other Ximian customers.

Re:It's not just proprietary software

[larien]

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.

Re:It's not just proprietary software

[[AraGorn]]

The first rule of Ximian Connector Club is you do not talk about Ximian Connector Club.

The second rule of Ximian Connector Club is you do not talk about Ximian Connector Club.

We will NOT stand for this!!!

[somethingwicked]

MS Exchange 2000 has a nice HTTP interface to it as well

AC or no AC, we demand to know the true identity of a Slashdot poster who would DARE make such a positive M$ comment. And on the front page? Timothy must have been duped... Sacrilege!!!

---Your friends, the Slashdotologists---

Just to make it clear

[FooBarWidget]

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.

Who cares if it's not Free?

[tom_newton]

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...

Opposite Solution

[Yoda2]

There is a new product called InsightConnecter available from Bynari that allows you to replace MS Exchange with a standard IMAP server. This is a good solution for those who are stuck using Outlook, but have access to a Linux server and don't want to use Exchange. It works as an Outlook Add-In and "tricks" Outlook into thinking that the IMAP server is Exchange Server.

It is not free, but very reasonably priced.

You can also find a brief summary of it here.

the price is a bit much.

[LWolenczak]

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

Can't ditch my Win2k box just yet.

[thesolo]

Unfortunately, even with Ximian Connector, I still can't totally get rid of my Win2k box. Why, you may ask??

NT Authentication

I can use Linux for development, I can use Evolution now to integrate with Outlook, but I still need IE to be able to use my corporate intranet (some of my development work is for intranet applications, so I need to be able to test them). Unfortunately, my company runs IIS on the intranet servers, and only allows NT Challenge/Response for authentication. So, short of trying to get IE running under VMWare/Wine (Which I have not been able to successfully do yet), I'm stuck in Windows.

Does anyone know if there are any other web browsers that can do NT Authentication?? I'm guessing no, since it's a closed Microsoft protocol.

Re:Can't ditch my Win2k box just yet.

[Jeremy Allison - Sam]

> The Kerberos-like authentication is apparently > much stronger, but there don't seem to be any > open implementations of it yet.

Yes there are. Andrew Tridgell has coded one up inside Samba 3.0.x (still in alpha). Available as the Samba HEAD CVS tree. It'll be the standard
auth mechanism for 3.0.

Regards,

Jeremy Allison,
Samba Team.

Standard rant not needed...

[NetJunkie]

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.

What kind of hack is this?

[iceT]

Exchange2k WITH OWA enabled is the requirement? So I bet this isn't REALLY talking to the exchange server.. It must be doing SMTP/IMAP4/LDAP and using a Web-browser for calendar. Why the HELL would I want to pay $70 for that?

Can anyone confirm that? What was $70+Evolution+galeon have that Evolution+Galeon doesn't have? One window? That's a lot of money to pay for one window...

Re:No such luck for me

[sphealey]

Damn it when will CTO's realize that IT is a SERVICE, and a very costly one. IT is not the damn ruler of the computer!! It is IT's job to keep people productive, not dictate their whim's to every client. I realize that standardization is meant to minimize counterproductive downtime, but it sounds like your companies policy is way over-restrictive

To quote Richard Feynman, concerning the first head of computing for the Manhatten Project (note that this involved the use of both human computers and mechanical computing devices): "but he succumbed to the disease which has since become well-known: the desire to play with the machine rather than doing useful work".

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

Re:connector ? i want an GOOD exchange replacement

[HeUnique]

Umm, did you check Bynari.net solution? it runs just fine and it can replace your exchange server very nicely, AND got Linux mail clients if u need it...