[Kde-pim] Fwd: Google SoC Project Idea: Kontact Exchange

[Vic Fryzel]

> What about Outlook Web Access? Does that work with linux browsers at
> all? I haven't tried.

Any sort of web access to an application like this is so limiting, because
it lacks desktop integration.  It's why I don't use a web app to read my
RSS feeds, listen to music, store my notes, monitor my system, edit code,
etc.  Maybe if the nature of a web app changed to not require a browser
(something I've been contemplating for awhile, such that one can dock a
web app into their desktop, like a kicker instance stored on the web),
then this would be feasible.  But not yet :D

> I hope I don't sound like a pessimist, I would like to see this work
> happen, (potentially the greatest thing since sliced bread) but I
> think that it likely wouldn't be completed within a summer, especially
> with the changes happening to the PIM framework.

I'm quite confident in my/our ability to finish this in a summer.  If
anything, Evolution has already done a large majority of the protocol
handling we'd like to do.  It's not like we're developing a brand new
Kontact, but rather some Akonadi support for MS Exchange, and making sure
Kontact can support all of that information well.

> You'll have goalposts that Microsoft can move with the protocol at any
> time, (2007 seems to be the year they're releasing all the fancy new
> stuff) and you'll also have to fit within whatever happens to akonadi.

OpenOffice is able to keep up with changing Microsoft Office document
types, slight protocol modifications should be no problem for us.  I'm
excited to fit this into Akonadi, I *want* KDE to be a groupware enabled
desktop (basKet + Exchange tasks; kicker calendar integration; remote
email, calendar, and task searches, etc.).

> Also, what is the use case for this work? The maverick linux user in a
> microsoft shop? Sure, I guess KDE 4 will work on Windows as well, but
> if you're running windows then IT has probably put outlook on your
> machine already. If IT has already made a choice for exchange, then
> you'll probably run into a lot of fun ActiveX enabled pages, etc, etc,
> likely the tip of the iceberg.

I think the use case for this would simply be a Linux user wanting to
inteface with an Exchange server.  The number of Linux or Windows users
doesn't matter, nor should the choice of the groupware.  If KDE 4 runs on
Windows, it's quite possible that someone would prefer Kontact over
Outlook (I know I would, just as I prefer OpenOffice or KOffice over MS
Office, or Firefox over IE).  In my experience, using Linux exclusively at
my workplace that has nothing but Windows desktops, I've never once run
into an ActiveX page;  I only run into integrity issues with Evolution. 
Other than that it *is* just email, calendars, tasks, memos, and notes.

> Great to have for sure, but it will be a challenge. As long as the
> SoCer knows they may be hacking at it for a while, well, the more the
> merrier :)

I'd love nothing more than to be maintainer of this during/after this
summer.  Even if it wasn't accepted for the Google SoC, I'd love to do it
regardless.

--
Vic Fryzel (vic at shellsage dot com)
http://shellsage.com/
Key id C7B780CA = 3235 2261 807B 451C DA4D  DFBA CAA7 80CF C7B7 80CA

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