Groupware (was: Antispam - empowering employees)

Sat Jul 19 11:19:50 PDT 2003

Quoting Jim Dennis (jimd at starshine.org):

> now if we can just get a decent groupware/scheduling client/server
> package that is NOT just a website with a browser interface ...).

Just what I was thinking.  For example, SuSE Linux OpenExchange Server 
is of that sort, using .comFire, http://www.comfire.de/ , for integrated
scheduling and group discussions (shared folders).  But at least _some_
of its functions work in detached mode, unlike PHPGroupWare, Sherpath,
Horde/IMP/Kronolith, and many others that are 100% Web-based.

As I see it, there are two obstacles:  (1) The Outlook/Exchange problem:
Some of the major players (Bynari Insight Server, Oracle Collaboration
Suite that was formerly Steltor CorporateTime) so wear themselves out
achieving full Microsoft compatibility by reverse-engineering Microsoft's
proprietary RPC-based protocols that they end up offering little to
non-Microsoft clients.

(2) The relatively poor state of open scheduling standards:  RFC-2445
iCAL has caught on in a big way, but that's just a file format.
In contrast, RFC-2446 iTIP (procedures for marshalling objects in and
out of a schedule), RFC-2447 iMIP (using e-mail transport for schedule
objects), and RFC-xxxx CAP (socket access to schedules) have gone
completely unused -- mostly for lack of a reference implementation.

What we mostly have in absence of those needed pieces is shoving iCAL
files back and forth using either HTTP PUT or WebDAV.  You get no...

o Free/busy negotiation among multiple users.
o "Secretary mode" access to someone else's schedule.
  ACLs for what various people can see/change/create on each others'
  schedules.
o Confirming, rejecting, rescheduling appointments with others.
o Dealing with "queued" new multi-user events arising (from either end)
  while the user is operating in detached mode, notifying affected users
  and letting them accept or reject them.

Basically, you get no ability to _coordinate_ schedules, but rather
process, display, store, and transport individual users' iCAL files.

Possibly of use to people:

http://linuxmafia.com/~rick/linux-info/groupware
http://linuxmafia.com/~rick/linux-info/applications-scheduling
http://linuxmafia.com/~rick/linux-info/webmail

-- 
Cheers,             The genius of you Americans is that you never make 
Rick Moen           clear-cut stupid moves, only complicated stupid moves 
rick at linuxmafia.com that make us wonder at the possibility that there may be 
                    something to them that we are missing. --Gamel Abdel Nasser