Yahoo's Zimbra and Yahoo Mail programmers now are working more closely together, though, and the two projects will be converging somewhat. "The exciting thing is you're getting the Zimbra features that haven't been available to people without the Zimbra server," Robb said, specifically mentioning conversations, tagging, small applications called Zimlets, and rich searching features such as the ability find all messages from a particular person and with a PDF attached.Īlso, Yahoo Mail customers can't use the Zimbra browser-based interface yet, so they won't get access to Zimbra features when borrowing friends' computers or using airport kiosks. So why use Zimbra Desktop when regular e-mail client software has provided offline access to e-mail for well over a decade? But the Web client version doesn't offer offline access, said John Robb, Zimbra's vice president of product marketing. "We've aimed to blur the line between an Ajax Web-client and a conventional desktop application, and this release is a leap towards reaching that goal," Zimbra's Mike Morse said in a blog posting Thursday.Įxisting Zimbra customers can use the e-mail application through a regular browser, letting them access their e-mail from a machine that doesn't have Zimbra Desktop installed. Zimbra Desktop gives access to basic word-processing abilities, with documents stored online. But from a user's point of view, Zimbra Desktop's approach-a downloadable application that doesn't run in a browser-is actually more like traditional e-mail client software such as Microsoft Outlook or Mozilla Thunderbird. Webmail is a compelling facet of cloud computing, letting people reach their e-mail from any number of computers or mobile devices. But until the day when a reliable, fast Internet connection is available anywhere, offline access to applications is a significant feature. Yahoo has formed a new group focusing on cloud computing, in which services available on the Internet substitute for local applications. It employs Java software to store data locally, and it's a hefty download-38MB for Windows, 34MB for Mac OS X, and 44MB for Linux. Google looks to be adding offline access through the open-source Gears project, a plug-in that augments a Web browser's abilities.īut Zimbra Desktop, while using browser interface technology called Ajax that can give Web browsers an elaborate interface, actually runs as a standalone application. ![]() ![]() Zimbra Desktop means that Yahoo beat out Google in the race to provide e-mail that also works offline, but it took a different approach to get there. Zimbra Desktop's e-mail interface should be familiar to users of either Outlook or Yahoo Mail. The e-mail software, available as a free download for Windows and Mac, works when the user is offline, and it offers options for basic online word processing and spreadsheets, task management, and file storage. The first real fruits of Yahoo's $350 million acquisition of Zimbra are becoming apparent with the release Thursday of the Yahoo Zimbra Desktop. PDT: I added more background and details about my hands-on test.Īny of the 263 million Yahoo Mail users who were antsy for change now have something they can sink their teeth into.
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