Sun Launches Instant Messaging Server

theIG writes "According to this article at geek.com, and another one at InternetWeek, Sun has shipped the first part of its new enterprise collaboration platform to compete with Exchange and Domino. Dubbed 'Sun ONE Instant Messaging 6.0,' this server will work with other products to be released in May, to allow a single login for all of its services that allow connections from outside a corporate firewall." Instant messaging is becoming increasingly popular in the workplace. Local messaging servers like this were only the next logical step for businesses which don't wish to rely on an outside network for their messaging.

Comments

What's Wrong with Jabber?

[redcliffe]

You can run your own Jabber server, and it can also message other Jabber users. Some of the clients support encryption too.

Re:What's Wrong with Jabber?

[Anonymous Coward]

I use Gabber under Solaris for MSN and ICQ. Sometimes they have outages on one of the Jabber services for hours. It's really annoying not being able to access MSN from my Sun box when I need it for work, it's a little inconvenient having to load up MSN Messenger under my SunPCI Windows installation mainly because I have the speaker output plugged into the Sun box (rather than the PCI card)

That's what's wrong with Jabber - the inconvenience caused by server outages.

Re:What's Wrong with Jabber?

[sporty]

It doesn't integrate with sun's suite. The problem IS jabber. It won't work with software someone MAY want.

That's like blaming MS for not using Linux's drivers. They don't work together.

Re:What's Wrong with Jabber?

[einhverfr]

It doesn't integrate with sun's suite. The problem IS jabber. It won't work with software someone MAY want.

What Jabber are you referring to? the core protocol or the many proprietary or opensource implimentations?

It doesn't integrate with sun's suite.

Sorry, but that is like saying that TCP doesn't integrate with Windows 98. In reality, it would be a bit different-- one would have a program that would *use* TCP and integrate with Windows 98, but TCP by itself does not integrate with anything other than IP :-P

The point is I see no reason why an Exchange connecter could not be written to allow a groupware client to access calendar, email notifications, etc. via the Jabber protocol. It would probably be relatively easy to do. Same with any other server that has an SDK associated with it. This connector could be a jabber client itself, or could be a plugin to a jabber server (and act as a gateway).

Jabberd today integrates with MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, AOL, SMTP(!) etc. and also can provide many other services.

It doesn't matter...

[ajuda]

It doesn't matter how great the software is... frankly it's too late for a new entry. Because of network effects, messaging software is only as good as the number of people who already use it.

Jabber's interface sucks

[nigel.selke]

The last version of Jabber I downloaded had an absolutely awful interface. It was usuable, although I think that for Joe Sixpack, it wouldn't be a serious option. I am quite computer savvy, (Java, PHP, Python, Perl, Linux, FreeBSD, Windows 2000) but I couldn't get to grips with it. The most popular system in South Africa seems to be MSN Messenger, followed by Yahoo Instant Messenger and ICQ's Messaging System.

Re:Jabber's interface sucks

[tzanger]

I went through practically every Linux client I could find before finding one that I was happy with. Psi is a Qt-based client that acts and feels very much like the original ICQ client. No ads, sidebars, topbars, navbars, barbars... just a regular clean and simple IM client. There is an extensive client list for Win32, Linux and MacOSX which lists the features of each. Psi works on all three, which is another reason I chose it. That, and the fact that, at the time, it was the only NON-Gtk client that looked half assed presentable and the ONLY Linux client that didn't take up a lot of screen real estate, and the ONLY Linux client that did NOT pop up the incoming message, stealing focus from whatever I was typing into.

Psi's Jabber client lib (and ssl comms) have been adopted by KDE for their IM clients too, which is a nice bonus.

Re:The problem with multiple clients

[Anonymous Coward]

The problem with having multiple clients is that although they may all start off using the standard Jabber protocol, if you want to call it that, they will eventually grow apart...

Yeah. Just look at email clients! We've got "standard" SMTP and ESMTP, but then every client just has to do it its own way. KSMTP, MS-SMTP, gSMTP, Lotus-SMTP, SMTP-XP, SMTP++, E-ESMTP, SMTP-Extreme...the list is endless!

Oh, wait. No, hang on thats not right. Every email client has actually managed to stick to the standards (Bar implementation errors, of course). Wow, how did they possibly manage such a complex feat? The world is an amazing place!

it looks doubtful that it will enjoy success that MSN, ICQ and Yahoo have

Jabber is fast on its way to becoming an Internet Standard (Or at least the basis for a standard) for Instant Messaging. A cross platform, cross client, open standard.

Please stop talking about Jabber as though you know what it is. Donwloading it once does not make you an expert (Neither am I, but I have a slightly better grasp on the basic issues than you do, it seems).

I hate Slashdot sometimes.

So I read a bunch of the replies.. wtf?

[sporty]

Did you people bother read the article? Jabber doesn't integrate with sun's suite. If they foudn the technology usable, the may have used it.

It's not about SUN making IM softare. It's about their IM/Collaboration/Calendar/Email suite. It's about them releasing software, that integrates well with their software. Being redundant there. It's about cool little popups from their IM program telling you about a meeting or about email, muchlike yahoo client does

If you wanna keep talking about Jabber Protocol, why not SOAP, or XML-RPC? Cripes... As if that's what the article really is about.

Domino? Please

[tmasssey]

I cringe every time I hear something like this being compared with Domino. Yes, Domino does e-mail. Yes, Domino does calendaring. But Domino is so much, much more.

Anyone who has ever used Domino's document management tools or developed an application for Notes knows exactly what I mean. You have the ability to develop highly advanced applications, not just folders full of sticky notes (e.g. Exchange). You don't have filing cabinets full of sticky notes, do you? Why should your database?

The biggest disadvantage of Domino is the fact that developing for it is kind of its own little world. I'm looking forward to Domino R7's integration with WebSphere. But even until then, Domino gives you a document management development environment second to none.

The weird thing is that the feature that everyone looks at Domino most closely for, e-mail, is its weakest point. That's what comes from building e-mail around a document-mangement platform, instead of building document management around an e-mail platform.