6.5 Supporting UNIX and Linux clients

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We have already discussed how to use OWA as a suitable client for UNIX (including Linux) workstations. In many cases, this is the obvious solution, because it is both free and easy to deploy. Other options include:

• Deploy native UNIX clients that support IMAP4 and POP3. Many such examples exist, including popular applications such as Eudora.

• Run Microsoft applications (Outlook or Outlook Express) on a UNIX or Linux workstation through Windows emulation software (Wine, an implementation of the Win16 and Win32 APIs for UNIX, see www.winehq.com). You can certainly run specific versions of Outlook under Wine, but expect a time lag between Microsoft releasing a new version of an application and full support under any emulator, which is not usually a good solution.

• CodeWeaver's CrossOver utility is an alternative to Wine when it comes to supporting Microsoft applications on Linux desktops. For example, the SuSE Linux Office Desktop uses this technology to support Office 97 and 2000 on top of the SuSE Linux 8.1 OS.

• Deploy a thin client connected to Terminal Services and run Outlook on the server.

• Use a native UNIX application that emulates Outlook and supports its functionality when connected to Exchange: For example, the Ximian Evolution application is a full-featured email client in its own right and supports an optional connection to Exchange through the Ximian Connector for Exchange.

In all cases, you need to perform testing to determine what users can do and what they cannot do. Be especially careful with add-on software. For example, if a user wants a wireless device to connect to his or her mailbox, such as the RIM BlackBerry, does the client software support this? In addition, you need to test the client to ensure that it does not expose any vulnerability (security or virus) to other users. While it is true that UNIX clients have received far less attention from hackers than Outlook in the recent past, this is not a reason to suppose that an enterprising hacker would not attempt to exploit a route exposed by a UNIX client in the future.

In the long term, Microsoft will no doubt watch the progress of efforts such as the "Chandler" project from the Open Source Applications Foundation (OSAF),^[2] as teams attempt to develop Outlook-like products that combine email, calendars, tasks, contacts, and other collaboration functionality into a single client based on open source code and Internet protocols. Apart from its functionality, the major attraction of something like the OSAF project is its platform independence, so it may be possible to deploy a single client across all desktop platforms. It is also interesting to note that the brains behind OSAF include Mitch Kapor, a cofounder of Lotus Development and one of the original developers of products such as Lotus 1-2-3 and Lotus Notes.

Ray Ozzie, the other cofounder of Lotus and the "father" of Lotus Notes, has taken a different tack in the product he now builds and focuses on interoperability between Groove,^[3] his peer-to-peer collaboration tool; Outlook; and other Microsoft technologies such as SharePoint. However, Groove only runs on Windows.

^[2] . http://www.osafoundation.org/.

^[3] . http://www.groove.net.

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