just when I think I am out, they pullllll me back in! - [Or how blackberry is making my linux life difficult!]

[Evan Leibovitch]

ted leslie wrote:
> My companies blackberry enterprise server, seems to be 
> putting a requirement on me that I install XP (or vista), and get Outlook Express
> (and some SP level and stuff), to work with corporate calendars on the BES server.
>
> I so don't want to go there.
You may have no choice. BES is a must-have for sites with multiple
berries (ie, more than 20), and there are no direct alternatives
(proprietary or open source) unless the staff switch phone brands.

The requirement is not so much an OS as a particular mail/event server.
RIM supports Exchange, Novell Groupwise and Lotus/IBM Domino.

If you squeeze hard you might be able to do this using Domino on
Unix/Linux, or maybe (not sure if it exists) Groupwise on SuSE; but
these are not really options unless the company is already into those
systems. The path of least pain unfortunately takes most people through
MS Exchange.

Convincing the client to do without BES is generally not an option.
Sites with fewer than 20 can get by with their ISP's hosted BES but that
might get expensive. Some ISPs (I know Bell does this) may even provide
BES to multi-BB clients free of charge, which makes it even harder to
resist.

I have no idea if a SuSE/Groupwise option exists; even if it did, it
would probably be no more reasonable (from the users POV) than forcing
them to learn Notes.

At the site I've done this at, the main mailserver is still a postfix/
courier/ amavis/ clamav/ squirrel setup.
The BES/Outlook server sucks down copies of mail (using IMAP) for those
people using berries.

Your client chose this path when they gave their staff blackberries;
resisting will cause you and them grief and you'll STILL end up having
to make room for a Windows server.

- Evan

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