[clug] Internode dumps FOSS for MS Exchange

[Alex Satrapa]

On 16/02/2010, at 12:35 , Chris Smart wrote:

> If Internode can't get it right, what hope does the rest of the world have?

What chance has the world of getting it right if, every time someone has that particular itch to scratch, they choose proprietary platforms?

The specific itch to scratch here is:
 1. synchronising an address book between multiple clients without using MobileMe
 2. making appointments with groups of people, taking into account free/busy time
 3. making appointments which use specific shared resources (eg: rooms, projectors)

What open source software is available which allows this kind of thing to be done? It's acceptable if (1) is solved separately to (2) and (3), but all three must work with a range of client software. Calendars would be most helpful if they handled vCal and DAV, since that's what Mozilla Sunbird and Apple iCal are currently capable of.

I notice that the Internode article was very light on detailing how open source products failed to satisfy.  No mention of products that were tried, and specific implementation issues which caused problems (you know, things that could go into feature requests or bug reports).  A most unhelpful writeup that reads more like a Microsoft PR piece than anything.

Until calendaring and contact management becomes an itch for people outside the corporate world to scratch, I don't see these problems being solved.

Alex