Zimbra's new Desktop: Look ma, no browser!

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Cyrus_the_virus

Unmountable Boot Volume
I fell in love with Zimbra's Ajax-style interface the first time I saw it.

Slick, powerful, and much more extensible than Microsoft Outlook ever dreamed of being. There was just one thing I hated about the Zimbra experience: the browser artifacts around the application that made me feel like I was stuck in a Web site, rather than living in an application that just happened to leverage the power of the Web.

No more. For the past few weeks I've been using Zimbra's new Prism-based Desktop. Verdict? It rocks. Take a look at the UI below:

*i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20080213/Picture_5_2_540x329.png
Zimbra's new Desktop: It rocks

How did Zimbra do this? With Prism, which is a Mozilla project that basically lets applications borrow a tightly integrated, stripped-down version of the Firefox browser to run as standalone applications. This gives them all of the benefits of the browser (and the Web) without the browser artifacts. It's a match made in heaven.

Now that Zimbra has full BlackBerry support, plus the ability to use my POP3 (.Mac, Comcast) and IMAP (Gmail) e-mail with Zimbra desktop, I'm scrapping Microsoft Entourage to use Zimbra full time.

After all, Zimbra gives me the full calendar/e-mail/address book suite that kept me with Entourage, but bombards me with an Internet-full of add-on applications/mashups (flight status, maps, and a range of other Zimlets). In other words, I finally have the "fat client" that I craved while being able to tap into the "fatter client" called the Internet.

It's very cool. You should give it a spin. This is the best e-mail "client" ever built...largely because of its successful marriage of the Web with the desktop. In the future, all applications will be like this--or should be.

By Matt Asay
Source: cnet

About Zimbra:

Zimbra Collaboration Suite is Ajax-based, web client that integrates email, contacts, shared calendar, and VoIP. It provides an innovative collaboration tool for online document authoring and Zimlet 'mash-ups'. It is a complete server solution with built-in anti-spam, MTA, storage, authentication, and admin features. Desktop compatability for Microsoft Outlook, Linux and Apple clients will enhance functionality. Server support for Linux and Mac OS X platforms is also available. The application offers over-the-air sync to today's most essential mobile clients including Palm Treo 650, Treo 700 w/p, Nokia E-Series, and Motorola Q (all Windows Mobile 5 devices). Support for Blackberry clients is available through a certified Zimbra partner. Two versions of ZCS are available: the Open Source Edition and the Network Edition.
 
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