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Multiple Front-End Solutions for Email and Calendaring?
USSJoin asks: "I am looking for a solution which I can install on my servers, that will allow me to run my email, calendars, to-do lists, and other groupware-ish functions. Specifically, I want a solution which allows equal access through the web and over an SSH session -- so that everything I do on one is accessible through the other. After extensive googling, I found Zimbra, which is nice and AJAX-ified, but doesn't include a to-do, and doesn't seem to have any way to deal with calendar access that is not made through the web front-end. I also found Citadel, but it seems like while it's a cute solution, it's quite cobbled-together and filled with hacks. This is especially true with its major Telnet interface, which seems dangerous to me. Has anyone on Slashdot had the same problem? What solutions have you found? Are Citadel or Zimbra really great and I just don't see their true possibilities? Are there other things I should be looking at, or different ways to approach this problem?"
Cant go wrong with Horde! www.horde.org
Cybie! aka Ralph Bonnell
I'm guessing that you need it available via SSH because it's behind a firewall somewhere. Have you considered using a good web-based tool, and then using SSH to tunnel in?
http://www.openxchange.org/ - Open Xchange should make your list of "almost what you need". It has a great interface and excellent functionality. I don't know of any command line tools, but I don't think it would be too difficult to make some. I've never tried $ links http://localhost/ for open-xchange access, but it should give you some decent functionality.
Battle of the Ajax Mail Packages
By James Turner on Thu, 2006-01-26
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8722
I've been using Mozilla Sunbird and iCal hosting (icalx.com) for a while - it does to-do's and calendars pretty well, synchronizing back and forth. After a lot of searching and trying things out, this seemed to work the best for me. Also, there's a new Outlook plugin called Remote Calendars (http://sourceforge.net/projects/remotecalendars/) which does the same thing as Sunbird on Outlook.
The only downside here is the lack of SSH, but I figured being able to read and update my calendar from any PC, and read my calendar from just about anything, and having my calendar in a standard format for my iPod is totally worth the lack of security.
Is Hula maybe what you seek? If not, is it hackable to what you want it to be?
--
Given enough personal experience, all stereotypes are shallow.
Zimbra has a host of REST API's. These would allow you to access all your Zimbra data via SSH when needed. You could also just set up an SSH tunnel to get to the web UI, unless by SSH you mean command line only.
I have installed it on a couple of networks. The biggest probelm seems to be that there is no reliable calendar client that will work with it (other than aoutlook through the connector). Sunbird and other calendar clients crash or don't properly create appointments.
Oh, and it does not provide an MTA, but there are plenty of good solutions for this.
The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
FirstClass Groupware http://www.firstclass.com/ is not opensource, or free (except the 5 user version), but the server AND the clients will run on Windows, OSX, or Linux. There are also web and telnet interfaces available. This is a great GroupWare platform, with EASY client setup, and the three platforms look identical to the end user. This software also allows database (ODBC) integration and a VoiceMail piece.
-=Down Syndrome in Maine
What you're looking for is the same as a whole lot of other people are.
There are a few open source kits out there that are decent, but none of them are really done. Kolab and OpenGroupware look nice, but they have extremely limited client support. Kolab doesn't even have a fully functional web interface, instead relying on KDE's Kontact. They will both play well with Outlook on Windows through a for-money connector. Citadel has many of the features, but lacks *any* real client. I would love if the OSS kits worked, but people are much more interested in adding toys than finishing the project in good stages.
Sometimes the right answer is to spend money. Exchange, Notes/Domino, and GroupWise will do very close to what you want. There are a number of similar kits, like Kerio's mail server, Scalix (commerical OpenGroupware), OpenExchange, and whatever OpenMail became called.
As much as people think web apps are so wonderful, they really need to understand that they are not a panacea. Working in a web app for major use is quite a total pain; they just don't work as nicely as a native application. The interfaces are slow and there is no capability for offline operation. If the only fully-functional interface to something like this is a web app, then you have to largely discount it as an option. Users will hate you for forcing them to it.
If Evolution ran on Windows, you would be fairly done with the search. The devs haven't gotten around to making this a reality, so you are stuck in an annoying place. If you are looking for only yourself, then any of these solutions is probably sufficient. If you are looking for a product normal users will have to deal with, then look to spend money on software.
The Horde web site seems disorganized. There seems to be no demo.
I wish Open Source software authors were more careful about naming their software. Horde means crowd, with a negative connotation. Generally a horde is a group of poorly educated people, often savages.
Hi,
I've been looking at the free calendaring disaster for a while now - and it is; there are
perhaps 5-10 different packages, none of which interoperate; some very nice clients that
only talk to really crap servers and some very nice servers with poor clients.
Lets get some convergence here - please can we actually lock the
Zimbra, Open Exchange, Sunbird, Open Groupware, Kolab
(I must have missed some....)
guys in a cave without food for a while until they actually agree to work together?
For a concession I'll let caffeinated beverages in and a few computers with a copy
of all known calendaring specs.
(please toss in a couple of guys with MS programming experience so we can get Outlook
to talk to the servers).
I read, and reread, the 'ask' header, and don't see where it must be open source..
have you looked at exchange? or microsoft small buisness server?
every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
OP: "This is especially true with its major Telnet interface, which seems dangerous to me."
P: "Dangerous? No it ain't,"
Telnet is inherently dangerous because it requires sending passwords in clear text across the wire. If you want to argue that this telnet based interface is not dangerous, you need to explain why it doesn't require sending passwords in clear text. I.e. why authentication is not important or how it encrypts the authentication (which would have to run on top of the telnet connection).
This can certainly be true in some cases. For example, the common day timer application does not require authentication to return the system time. However, if you are talking about making edits over telnet, that does in fact require authentication. How do you verify identity? You can't use the options telnet gives you, as they are not secure; you have to build your own.
There is also the question of whether or not the data needs to be encrypted. I can think of a number of situations where I would not want my email/scheduling info available in clear text.
i think basecamp is what you want
.
. hmmm
FirstClass ( http://www.firstclass.com/ ), I mentioned this software in the main reply, but it also supports Palm Sync (syncs mail, calendar, addressbook, todo-list, and memos). You can share calendars, addresbooks, and conferences (more intelligent than folders).
Shared addressbooks do not sync up, but you could place your addresbook on your secretaries/spouses FirstClass Desktop, and give them permissions to view, or add addresses.
It is a little expensive (not compared to Exchange) but there is a free 5 user version (server and client run on Windows, Linux, and OSX)
If your office upgrades to the FirstClass Voice Services you can listen to your voicemail in Email, view faxes in EMail, or listen to your Email/calendar/addressbook over the phone! Awsome stuff!
-Ben
-=Down Syndrome in Maine