[Gllug] Linux Petition

[James Courtier-Dutton]

On 3 April 2012 15:40, John Hearns <hearnsj at googlemail.com> wrote:
> On 03/04/2012, Alain Williams <addw at phcomp.co.uk> wrote:
>> > They way to the desktop is to replace the applications, one by one (firefox,
>> OoO, ...), until for most people the underlying operating system is
>> irrelevant
>> as the apps that they use work under most things: MS Windows, Linux, OS/X.
>>
>
> I couldn't agree with you more.
> That's what Joe User wants - he or she doesn't give a stuff about the OS.
> Joe User however quite frequently gets hostile to Jim Computerbuff
> when non-Windows operating systems are being proposed - what they
> REALLY mean is "Whine whine.... it doesn't run Outlook/Office"
>
>
>>
>> Regarding MS Exchange. Is there yet a *good* free drop in replacement, ie
>> one
>> that lets people continue to use MS Outlook, will also play with Thunderbird
>> &
>> Evolution ?
>
> It is the shared calendaring which makes Outlook a lock-in to many companies.
> People depend on it very closely for their day to day work.

What is needed is a standard interface between components. There needs
to be standards for messaging, not just the transmission of the
message, but also the automated processing and understanding of the
messages.
So, if an Outlook user invites me to a meeting, I get an email
message. It would be nice if my calendar application could receive the
email, understand it, and reply to accept/reject the meeting.
I would prefer the emails and calendar to be stored centrally, with my
laptop having a cached version.
Outlook calendar is stored centrally, which is why other people can
see your "busy" times when trying to organize a meeting.
What is holding things back is that people are still using pop3 and
imap instead of more modern protocols technologies, such as the one
used between the gmail android app and google.
Just displaying the 10 most up to date emails on my smart phone great.
Low bandwidth requirements, and I always have an option to fetch older
ones. POP3 and IMAP do not have these features.
So, I conclude that open source is kind of backward when it comes to
email and calendar programs.
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