thunderbird vs evolution

[echelon]

I am curious why Scalix decided on a connector for Evolution but not for Thunderbird. Evolution is very dependent on the correct version of Gnome etc so recompiling a supported version of evolution has always been a bear. Thunderbird by comparison is easily download and installed Mac, Linux and Windows, so it would seem a more logical choice for development efforts.

Currently, many of the linux users I support would rather run Thunderbird, Scalix Web Access or even Outlook via Citrix rather than Evolution+Scalix connector.

[chris]

Hi Echelon,

the primary deficiency of Thunderbird has been its lack of calendaring function. Evolution is really a full-fledged groupware client. Thunderbird hasn't been one until recently, with the addition of the lightning plugin.

Looking toward the future, the next version of Scalix will support Cal-DAV, reference http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CalDAV.

That will allow calendaring clients to connect via the open Cal-DAV protocol, so we don't need a connector for each one. Evolution supports Cal-DAV, Thunderbird/Lightning support Cal-DAV, Mozilla Sunbird supports Cal-DAV and OSX 10.5 Leopard with include iCal 3.0 which supports Cal-DAV as well.

So with that step made, we'll truly be able to server Clients of Choice on an open interface.

Hope this info helps,

Chris

[cdclark]

The other notable deficiency of Thunderbird is its addressbook system. I've heard that you can access your personal scalix contacts folder via LDAP, but I would imagine that's a read-only implementation.

On the plus side, I can read and write to scalix public folders in Thunderbird via IMAP already, but the lack of calendar and read/write contacts is an issue. I downloaded lightning and it was kind of clunky. It demands too much screen space in Thunderbird.

[kfleming]

I agree, Lightning is very much still a beta product. I am a Thunderbird fan, but you can't deny that Evolution is better in providing the Outlook like features of Scalix.

[thecowster]

Sunbird/Lightning appears to work with Scalix over ical, but in my initial testing it appears to be giving me read-only access to my calendar. New entries added via Sunbird receive an error 500 response from the server with the follownig error reported by Sunbird

Code: Select all

Publishing the calendar file failed
Status code: 500: Internal Server Error

In my view Sunbird/Lightning is well behind all the other calendaring clients supported by Scalix, yet it appears to be important to our organisation. Therefore I am required to get it working as well as I can.

I've read through many forum postings that mention Sunbird/Lightning so far, but have not yet found the answer. Any clues where to look?

The url I am using for my calendar connectivity is

Code: Select all

https://mailtest.idmsmail.co.uk/api/<username>@<domain>/ical/Calendar

A related article somewhere on the forum (lost the link now) suggests that iCal may be insufficient for write access, but is this still the case? The article was a year old. It suggested the functionality would be provided via CalDAV, in late 2007 (Scalix 11.3?)

Cheers
thecowster

[thecowster]

viewtopic.php?p=41445

..seems to be conclusive.

Scalix 11.3 will support CalDAV, which should enable Thunderbird/Lightning write access to the Scalix calendar.

And bring Outlook 2007 support too.

All before Christmas 2007.

Very, very good news

Cheers
thecowster

[joey4712]

I want to support Scalix in their decision: I think Evolution is a very good choice.

It is the favorite Email client for most of the Linux users I know. And it provides very good Outlook compatibility.

Of course CalDAV support is also great: This will allow Thunderbird/Lightning users and Apple iCal users (Leopard is out now and supports CalDAV) to connect.