[OT] Re: Replacing Microsoft Exchange

From: Craig White (craigwhite_at_azapple.com)
Date: 08/11/05

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    To: For users of Fedora Core releases <fedora-list@redhat.com>
Date: Wed, 10 Aug 2005 20:46:34 -0700

    On Wed, 2005-08-10 at 21:00 -0400, Tom Diehl wrote:
    > On Wed, 10 Aug 2005, Les Mikesell wrote:
    >
    > > On Wed, 2005-08-10 at 15:39, Craig White wrote:
    > >> Outlook LDAP integration is
    > >> deliberately crippled on non ADS setups. Outlook IMAP support is
    > >> deliberately crippled. So the insistence on using Outlook as the client
    > >> application and getting open source to remedy deliberately crippled
    > >> features on a program whose API's are deliberately not made available
    > >> seems to ignore the reality of the marketplace.
    > >
    > > What versions of outlook have problems with LDAP and IMAP? I've
    > > used it installed for internet mode don't remember problems
    > > with outlook2000 with sp1 or newer. The personal calendar
    > > even works with emailed meeting requests. The big missing part
    > > is support for shared calendars and being able to see other's
    > > free/busy times.
    > >
    >
    > All of them!! Even when it works the UI changes enough for use with imap
    > that most users will complain about it, at least initally. Users will
    > complain because their imap mail is in a different tree than their
    > pop3 mail was. Outlook's imap client has numerous bugs that cause
    > problems with a lot of imap servers. Just look at the courier imap
    > or other imap server mailing list archives for examples.
    >
    > Outlook has a lot of bugs in it, that AFAIK M$ has no interest in fixing.
    > Unfortunately it is also the crack most people were sold first, so they
    > do not know any better and are reluctant to change. 

    ----
This is not Linux stuff so I have marked this off-topic. I probably
should refuse to take the bait but we obviously have 2 people (Thomas
and Les) who use and like Outlook with Exchange server.
This all pertains to using Outlook without Exchange server...
Outlook IMAP issues that I have found:
- won't save sent mail to any place other than 'Personal Folders/Sent
Items' - not a configurable option
- won't save drafts to any place other than 'Personal Folders/Drafts' -
not a configurable option.
- ignorant of namespace issues on IMAP server (to be fair, Evolution
behaves identically)
- IMAP connections are always locally copied and cached - not a
configurable option.
- IMAP connections often time out and you have to adjust (configurable
option) the time before it times out.
- IMAP boxes (pst files), don't roam in profiles unless you force them
to be in other than the standard location. When you roam them, they
create nasty 'prf' files which grow large and take long times to sync
back and forth for the roaming profile.
Outlook LDAP Issues (non-exchange issues)
- cannot write to LDAP
- entries don't show up in Contacts or in Address Book. They can only be
'found' in searches.
- doesn't support wildcard searches
- using LDAP has garnered little interest in my clients who use Outlook,
it's too clumsy for them to use and of minimal purpose.
Now the real issue with Outlook is - PST files. They suck. Microsoft
doesn't care to fix the issue. I consider .pst files to be Microsoft's
sick joke on those who are suckered into using it as when they explode
(and they most surely explode), you lose everything, your calendar, your
contacts, your sent mail, etc.
Lastly - as an administrator that has users running with minimal
permissions...just importing or exporting data requires you insert the
CD to install the feature - even if you 'installed everything' when you
originally installed it which means that I must log out, log in as
Administrator, fake Outlook into the export to install the feature, log
out, log in again as the user before I can import or export. They punish
administrators for being careful just to make sure that if you moving
data in/out, that you have the original CD. I find that to be a
refreshing reminder of how 'fragile' my data is and that Microsoft wants
me to understand that they control my access to my data.
Sure - at one time (I think it was Outlook 98), I was seduced - now, I
just say no to Outlook. FWIW - the only mail I have ever lost on a
computer has been to Outlook on Windows and (not mine but a client's)
Entourage (Microsoft's single blob message store equivalent on a Mac).
This of course, is one probably under-informed opinion.
Craig
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