Re: And so it begins...

["Lukas Beeler" <lukas.beeler@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Jan 21, 2008 4:28 PM, Joe Pluta <joepluta@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> If anybody is interested, I'm in the process of changing my email
> infrastructure.  I've read a lot over the years about the weaknesses of
> Outlook and the joys of a "real" email client (many of those statements from

Outlook is a Groupware Client that also has some E-Mail functionality.
Reading Mailinglists with it is a PIT.

> 1. VMWare.  Freaking astounding.  I've only scratched the surface of this
> tool, but the things it can do are incredible.  In fact, in some ways the
> product is too good.  I actually find myself asking it to do the impossible
> and being upset when it only handles minor miracles.

Virtualisation is very nice technology. But it also has it's downsides
- especially I/O can become very expensive, and backing up virtual
machines can become a PITA if you do not want image based backups.

Microsoft's Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP2 / Virtual PC 2007 are not as
advanced as VMware yet, but VPC07 is a lot cheaper (free). VMware
Server OTOH is better thann VS2005 and also free.

> 2. Linux.  Way too many decisions for one man to make.  Just trying to
> figure out the flavor or Linux (the "distro") is enough to make your eyes
> roll up into your head.  You think picking a version of Vista is bad, try
> picking one of a hundred different Linux versions.

Ah well. The differences aren't that big though. I would still advice
to stick with one for a bit, and not switch every second .day.

> I'm not done yet by any means.  Converting from a POP3 server with Outlook
> to an IMAP server using Mozilla isn't going to happen in a weekend (although
> a lot of it did).  But if you're interested in my travails, I'll probably be
> writing a few articles in MC, and I'll answer questions here if I can.

After just email, it'll just get more and more interesting. Especially
when groupware comes into play. And more infrastructure, like central
authentication, desktop management, update management, etc.

Good luck!