Today, Microsoft Corp. launched Exchange Server 2003, the next edition of its messaging and collaboration server, as part of the Microsoft Office System. Novell also issued a press release stating that Novell’s Ximian Connector for Microsoft Exchange enables users of Ximian Evolution groupware suite on Linux and UNIX desktops to function as full Microsoft Exchange 2000/2003 clients.
Microsoft Launches Exchange Server 2003 Worldwide
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Eugenia Loli
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Who wants to start a pool for when the first exploit/flaw is found in Exchange?
I’ll say within 2 months.
It is interesting. After getting some courage (mostly due to Linux Webmin, which is beautiful and garbage at the same time) I cannot believe that I every paid for basic internet services from Microsoft. Truely, Apache, PHP, Postgres and MySQL, Sendmail and Qmail, etc. is so easy and so free. I don’t care who you ask, ROI has to be cheaper on Linux now. Once a Linux newbie admin, like me, figures out the configuration on various Linux services, they just work and without problems for a very long time.
I just got a User Mode Linux server with full root access for $99 a year. Bandwidth and storage was all included. Without knowing anything before hand I sent up Bind, Apache Virtual Servers, and Sendmail for 4 domains. Couldn’t be happier with free Linux.
Where do you get uml hosting?
Definitly a great piece of vendor lockin’
Use a bloated binary secret constantly evolving file format for office and you will see no competition, and it can also help your users to choose the right OS
Use a secret and proprietary protocol fot things as trivial as sharing files, and you can hope to have a 100% windows park
Use exchange instead of a basic POP/IMAP server, and you can hope to have 100% of the clients on Windows
After many headaches and wasted time, Samba, OpenOffice and evolution (proprietary connector, though) have broken this vendor lockin
But keeps it in mind : it will not be always possible.
Next time they will do it with a patented interface, with some DRM support, and a little threat to use the DMCA will frighten the remaining unconscious people. That’s it, you have the absolute weapon !
Time to wake up ?
So why don’t you make a free equivalent? Oh, no one has been able to yet.
Winxp was the last peice of s/w im buying from Microsoft. After repeatadly speaking with their “support staff”, they appartenly dont have enough time or patience to solve my problems.
With all the money im saving using open source equalivlents, I plan on donating to some of my favorite projects.
Google is your friend. Search Kroupware, Kollab, Glow
But what do you mean by equivalent ?
The point is not that this technology is extraordinary : the point is to make the life hard or impossible to the people who tried to be compatible, and since you have a monopoly on the desktop, you can make it hard for third party to deploy it, and so ensure your monopoly for tomorrow.
Sharing files is trivial. Reverse-engineering SMB/Netbios networks and writing SAMBA is a headache.
Hope you understand.
diff
–you can make it hard for third party to deploy it
++it is hard for third party to deploy an alternative solution
a free solution that has offline folders and email syncro like exchange (that actually works)?
Exchange 2000 work good on Windows 2000 Server with Office 2000 clients.
Why waste money upgrading to latest softwares from The Evil Empire?
Is Uncle Bill going to come along an donate money to our cause?
Is Uncle Bill going to come along an donate money to our cause?
As soon as you make a product he’s interested in buying sure. Or if you are a charity he’s interested. He doesn’t give out money for no reason- perhaps that is why he is rich, and you are whining on OSNEWS.COM.
opengroupware.org
nuff said
I’m really looking forward to a full-featured and robust opengroupware.org, just for the sake of those who like exchange-type solutions. As the new Office shows, the microsoft control-and-invade thingy is really going to far. The sooner we banish MS from as many computing projects as possible, the much better for everyone.
I went to opengroupware.org. In order to use thier server I need to purchase the ZideLook MAPI Outlook Connector for 275.00 for 5 users. That is only around 10.00 less than a Exhange 2003 cal. With Exchnage I get everything from one vendor instead of three or more.
Also with Exchange the docs are in English and other langauges not just German.
Groupware 6.5 has been released but unlike other so-called “Linux backers”; IBM, Novell is actually producing a stand alone Java client for both Linux, MacOS X and any other operating system with a JRE.
Also, I think alot of people here are over looking what SUN has on offer, which is EXACTLY what Exchange 2003 offers except at a flat rate of $100 per user. Sure, Exchange is $65 a user, however, if starts to get pretty expensive when you add on those CAL”s required for clients to connect to the server.
there’s actually a evolution groupware plugin in gnome-cvs…
Exchange 2000 work good on Windows 2000 Server with Office 2000 clients. Why waste money upgrading to latest softwares?
I totally agree, having looked over Win2K3 and EXCH2K3, see no immediate benfit from upgrading… (for NT4/EXCH5.5 a huge reason to upgrade, however)…
I am however, not pleased that they have stripped features out of Exch2K3, like IM support… We currently use IM internally (w/ Messenger 5), and people love it. Management would be unwilling to let go of that, just so the IT guys can play with the latest toys…
But anyway, as the old saying goes: If it aint broke, don’t fix it…
“Sure, Exchange is $65 a user, however, if starts to get pretty expensive when you add on those CAL”s required for clients to connect to the server.”
Sixty five is the price of a CAL. Exchange 2003 is $699.00.
So for $50.00 users your cost (not counting Outlook of course) would be 78.99 per user. Spread out over a 3 year expected product life that is 26.33 a user per year. They will drink more company coffee than that.
And add all the antivirus software, and all the admin time spent patching, and all the high-end harwdare to support more than 100 users…
Crawling Mushroom Syndicate (IP: 216.102.136.—) – Posted on 2003-10-21
“Sure, Exchange is $65 a user, however, if starts to get pretty expensive when you add on those CAL”s required for clients to connect to the server.”
Sixty five is the price of a CAL. Exchange 2003 is $699.00.
So for $50.00 users your cost (not counting Outlook of course) would be 78.99 per user. Spread out over a 3 year expected product life that is 26.33 a user per year. They will drink more company coffee than that.
aah, OK, there was a big thing made about Microsoft’s so-called “price drop”, however, the article on zdnet never went into any details.
Robert Renling (IP: —.hn.student.liu.se) – Posted on 2003-10-22 02:40:55
there’s actually a evolution groupware plugin in gnome-cvs…
Awsome news. Now, when are we finally going to get a Notes plugin? So far we have an Exchange plugin, a SUN One Plugin and a Novell Plugin. Notes seems to be the only not joining in.
Oh yes with any other OS a admin can just install everything and kick back. No patching anything, no user configurations, no maintence at all. And it can all be run on a p3 500 for a 1000 users.
“Crawling Mushroom Syndicate (IP: 216.102.136.—)”
What’s that supposed to be? Hmmm well if youv’e run out of points.
It’s someone else’s nickname on OSNEWS. I think CCC accidentally copied & pasted the wrong nickname. It happens..
http://mirroredsolutions.com/servers/basic.htm
Looks like they raised their price recently, but I got mine for $99 a year. Happy so far.
Exactly, Exchange is SO bad, SO evil, SO anti-cool, that people try to emulate it, vs. Microsoft trying to emulate Unix email systems.
Sounds like sour grapes.
SUSE has announced a new version of their Openexchange Server, version 4.1 today. It will be released on november 10 and is of course compatible to outlook clients.
product site (in german) http://www.suse.de/de/business/products/suse_business/openexchange/
Exactly, Exchange is SO bad, SO evil, SO anti-cool, that people try to emulate it, vs. Microsoft trying to emulate Unix email systems.
Who is trying to emulate Microsoft Exchange? if someone wanted to emulate Exchange you would see people implementing all the protocols as well.
http://wwws.sun.com/software/solutions/cbp/index.html
Now, let me think, how many of these existed before Microsoft came up with Exchange? I think I’ll let you do the research.
They will drink more company coffee than that
Not here – we have to pay for our coffee –
a solution that has offline folders and email syncro like exchange that actually works. Until that is said I will saty with MS. See exchange doesn’t suck if noone else can do the above.
“a solution that has offline folders and email syncro like exchange that actually works. Until that is said I will saty with MS. See exchange doesn’t suck if noone else can do the above.”
Ever tried the original “Groupware”, Lotus Notes with Lotus Domino Server? It has all the features you mentioned and much more.
he said “Doesn’t suck”. Lotus Notes with Domino is the most grotesque conception of software I have ever encountered. I have to deal with this 40MB memory hog client on a daily basis. It’s slow, Anti-intuitive, unstable, poorly designed, the ergonomics of the gui are crap, a pain to maintain, and configuration for replication is rediculously annoying. In all, the notes client is the absolute pits. Even IBM admitted that their Domino servers are not suitable for production environments and that’s why they are moving to DB2. When that happens (Last I hear they were in the last beta stages) then I’ll take another look at it. Though the client needs MAJOR, MAJOR, MAJOR work.
The said “Doesn’t suck”. Lotus Notes with Domino is the most grotesque conception of software I have ever encountered. I have to deal with this 40MB memory hog client on a daily basis. It’s slow, Anti-intuitive, unstable, poorly designed, the ergonomics of the gui are crap, a pain to maintain, and configuration for replication is rediculously annoying. In all, the notes client is the absolute pits. Even IBM admitted that their Domino servers are not suitable for production environments and that’s why they are moving to DB2. When that happens (Last I hear they were in the last beta stages) then I’ll take another look at it. Though the client needs MAJOR, MAJOR, MAJOR work.
Notes 6.5 removes alot of suckage, but it still sucks. For example, I checked my pop3 account, email is downloaded, clicked on the email and nothing is displayed in the preview panel and nothing is in the subject. Why can’t Lotus fix up *VERY* basic things like that? the strange thing is, however, IMAP works very nicely.
If Lotus really wants to get marketshare off Exchange, give the Notes Client away for free would be one good step and the second would be to fix it up. Is it really that hard to properly set up the ability to reply to articles on a newsgroup by having auto-quotation of the original message being replied to?
If you give away Notes, you will get a big number of users who use it at home and at work. People who use it at home will have the skills needed to use it at work and vice versa, also, considering that one gets Outlook with Office, they need to make Notes free so that people who do choose to go for Notes, they then, after purchasing Outlook don’t need to shell out another hundred or so.
Plus Lotus Notes costs an arm and a leg.
The only difference is you don’t have to employ a load of sysadmins at over £30k a year to administer coffee.