[olug] Exchange, Expectations and Enterprise

[Rob Townley]

One reason companies may choose exchange is that the plethora of open
source wiki/blog/calendaring/task/email/LDAPcompatible/.... portals
out there is mind boggling and it takes weeks of fulltime work to find
some of them and analyze them.  Just ask Matt M.  He gave a
presentation on several portals for the Omaha Java Users Group - also
Open Source centric.

I would like to see all the demo portals have a standard guest
username and password so that an account does not have to be created
on each and everyone to test it out.  Single Sign On systems such as 
JOSSO.org would even be better.

Sounds like a great semester project for the MIS departments in the
Omaha area to assign to their students.  Create a portal that allows
one to analyze the hundreds of other portals.  Feature by feature
comparison to Exchange and the other commercial systems. 
Personalization that would allow the user to rank what portals and
technology would be best for them.  What authentication system matches
their existing system?  What group calendaring features are most
important to them?  What project scheduling features would they use? 
What standards are supported?  Hmmm, take up Terry's point about
features going unused.  Would a portal centric system allow for more
users to get more out of the software.  Maybe it would become infamous
as the Omaha Rankings.   When it comes to technology, bigotry and
ignorance runs rampant even on university campuses, so it would be
hard to pull off, but whoever does would being doing a valuable
service.

Matt Morton's Omaha Java User's Group Presentation would be a great
place to start.
http://www.itinabox.org/ojug/portals/siframes.html

p.s.  Open Source is at its best when it competes head on with the
hired guns.  One can not compete unless it knows what it is competing
over.  Therefore, an open minded discussion with the opposition is
necessary, bigotry hinders it.

Robert Townley
rob.townley at gmail.com


On Mon, 28 Mar 2005 20:12:28 -0600, Terry <td3201 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Mmm, the was the question.  "Why are so many companies converting to
> MS-Exchange, when we all know it sucks?"
> 
> Actually, I don't think I answered his question. That is what you call
> a comment, which we all know, is easily discarded if you don't like
> it.
> 
> I don't care if it is flamebait because I know how to find my delete
> button to delete unwanted email.
> 
> If you wanna continue your boneheaded discussion, my email address is
> td3201 at gmail.com.  But again, I know where my delete button is so no
> guarentee that I will read it.
> 
> On Mon, 28 Mar 2005 15:25:40 -0600, Will Langford <unfies at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Flamebait.  Wonderful way to answer the question.
> >
> > On Mon, 28 Mar 2005 08:02:14 -0600, Terry <td3201 at gmail.com> wrote:
> > > OX sucks.  It needs a lot of work.
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