** Joseph Bennie <jay@???> [2014-08-20 19:22]:
> On 20 Aug 2014, at 18:29, pavithran <pavithran.s@???> wrote:
> > On 20 August 2014 16:16, Joseph Bennie <jay@???> wrote:
<snip>
> > The other issues are all with "Exchange" being advertised as superior product
> > which is just bollocks they could get a decent mail/communication
> > platform with GNU/Linux
>
> They might get a superior product on any platform, but last I checked Outlook with an Exchange backend was vey usable and with lync and Active directory integration its nearly omnipresent!
>
> For the record, I dislike outlook a lot and prefer the simpler world of mail on my mac and ical with gmail as my server side. On linux I’m undecided … I usually resort to sylpheed on windows and linux but here’s the difference. I and maybe you think clean elegant mail client, we are also a small, possibly, single entity that needs to be agile with our choice of app and can use gmail in the background.
>
> …. Outlook, Lync and Exchange is a communication juggernaught! and the people who use it expect it to hold 10+ years of email securely and reliably for 200+ people and it be accessible everywhere! … that takes a lot of energy and a lot of trust!
>
> so when you look at the need that exchange+outlook solves I really don’t see a clear open source alternative, that is less work, more reliable and costs less to implement.
>
> and that is the real problem! when you need big reliable systems onsite … you need to trust it - and it needs to work perfectly.
>
> … but if exchange is that important … it could be implemented in insolation, and use the gnome/Evolution client as a substitute for Outlook … so either someone internally is being a zealot or someone forgot to point out it's ok to mix and match!
>
> hell they could even put it on Azure in a few mouse clicks! and a few more to enable IMAP4 with TLS!
>
> Rule 4: not all problems are solved with the same solution. Identify which problem you want to solve and built/use the right tool of the job.
** end quote [Joseph Bennie]
When it comes to the fact that Exchange is an integrated suite with a single
client app I sort of understand peoples liking for it. When I have had to work
with it, either the couple of times I've worked on the server or when I've used
a client I really don't get it big time. I've not worked with it since Exchange
2003 thankfully, but then, even on a relatively small site, it ran into
capacity issues with the mail store and when it runs out of space you are
completely stuffed - I've heard it has improved since, and for anyone
administering it I really hope it has, but how it became so popular up until
then is a mystery. Client wise, apart from the fact that Outlook integrates
with a calendar feature, Outlook is the worst piece of mail software I've ever
had the misfortune to work with; it is forever running out of space for mail
and you end up archiving stuff, messing around with mail stores, etc.. The
whole concept, on both server and client side, of putting everything into a
monumental single file creating a single point of failure seems to be a
disaster waiting to happen - on a regular basis.
The other issue currently annoying me may be a policy decision on the part of
the administrator. I have a mail account that is run on an Exchange server, but
to access it I can't use my standard mail client, it has to use native Exchange
protocols. This is fine for my desktop as I just use the webmail interface,
which seems to be just as nasty and awkward as most webmail apps, but no worse;
I still have to remember to check it separately though, which I often forget to
do and miss emails. On my phone, however, things get worse as I need a native
app; this wouldn't be so bad except for the fact that in order to install a
native Exchange email client I have to give the server adminstrator full
authority to completely wipe my phone - not a hope. If they supply me a
dedicate phone fair enough, but not my own phone - actually they have supplied
me a tablet to use, but because I have to check mail on a separate device, once
again it gets left; having it on the devices you always use tends to make it
easier and more likely to be checked.
The other reason I have the tablet is to read documentation related to this on,
but don't get me started on the joys running a full Windows 7 desktop over RDP
on a 7" tablet where you have to use the touch screen as a touchpad to actually
move the mouse around and click on things - I keep forgetting the incantation
for right clicking, and tapping often moves the mouse in the process given the
resolution of the desktop vs screen/touchpad! Touch screens create more
problems than they solve.
--
Paul Tansom | Aptanet Ltd. |
http://www.aptanet.com/ | 023 9238 0001
=============================================================================
Registered in England | Company No: 4905028 | Registered Office: Ralls House,
Parklands Business Park, Forrest Road, Denmead, Waterlooville, Hants, PO7 6XP
--
Please post to: Hampshire@???
Web Interface:
https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire
LUG URL:
http://www.hantslug.org.uk
--------------------------------------------------------------
