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MacEdition ProNews : May 1, 2003
Servers with a smile

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Stalker Software put pen to paper in a deal with Vocal Data Inc. to use Stalker’s CommuniGate Pro to handle the data end of Vocal’s integrated messaging products.

The deal will combine Vocal’s Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) products with CommuniGate Pro to give Vocal’s customers a one-stop solution for retrieving all their messages whether the user choses to employ a computer or a text-messaging enabled mobile phone for the task.

“As messaging technologies mature and proliferate, consumers are demanding a single point of access to email, phone and fax messages. To remain competitive, telcos and ISPs need to provide comprehensive and reliable messaging solutions,” said Vladimir Butenko, president and CEO of Stalker Software. “With CommuniGate Pro, VocalData delivers a standards-based unified messaging solution that enables interoperability with a wide variety of messaging technologies, providing its customers with a significant competitive advantage.”

Vocal Data’s VOISS products replace PBX and IP Centrix telephone switching equipment with Unix-based servers system and the company has a client base of better than 25,000 firms worldwide. CommuniGate pro runs on 30 different platforms including Mac OS 10 server, AppleShare and Rhapsody.

Tracking all the stuff

FileWave Inc. updated its hardware/software tracking package Asset Trustee, adding new support for OS X and reworking the software for Classic and Windows.

Asset Trustee reports detailed hardware, software, and configuration information for desktops, laptops, servers, and network devices throughout their entire lifecycle. Asset Trustee is unique in the clients scan themselves independently of a network connection; thereby making the scanning of mobile computers possible from any location.

When a client has a network connection it will upload data automatically, which is collected and by the inventory database. The database stores and updates information as it arrives giving the ability to create detailed reports about hardware and software for the Help Desk, Purchasing Manager and CFO.

Unlike other solutions of this kind, Asset Trustee’s intelligent scanner is able to detect changes to the hardware or software of any client. All changes are automatically reported to a Asset Trustee(TM) Collector.

The program’s inventory database sports a new interface and the data can be broken down for any one of three additional-cost modules. The modules are designed for use on a help desk, for auditing purposes and for asset management.

The program’s OS X client scanner reports on applications, fonts, kernel extensions, and frameworks loaded on the system in a addition to retrieving the basic information contained in the Apple System Profiler. The Mac Classic client now looks for USB and FireWire devices with improved reporting for fonts and extensions.

FileWave Inc. client list for Asset Trustee include: Viacom; Random House; IKEA and LEGO. Those interested in conducting an evaluation of Asset Trustee are required to fill out an on-line form before download a 10-client trial pack.

Xserve get business foothold

What was once a server platform with a web-centric niche became a lot more oriented to standard business use with the release of PowerEasy ERP.

PowerEasy’s release of the enterprise resource planning software provides platform advocates with a front-to-back business software that provides an ecommerce storefront, inventory control, order processing and tracking and spilling all that information into a general ledger where your accountant can see whether your business is making any money. The program also tracks payables and receivables as well as support for purchasing activities.

The PowerEasy ERP suite leverages the scalability, availability, and reliability of the Sybase ASE data management system, bringing the same high performance that Wall Street depends upon to the Mac community. It also embeds Apple's WebObjects frameworks, and was designed to fully complement the Xserve platform.

PowerEasy ERP applications for e-commerce, logistics and finance were designed for security, rapid deployment and ease of use. PowerEasy ERP applications offer users a personalized experience based on their role in the enterprise. The suite is built with an open architecture employing industry standards.

Pricing for the package starts at US$40,000 per server CPU and comes with an unlimited user license. Support costs for the software are extra. The developers of the software note the pricing is about 20 per cent less than comparable packages on the Windows platform.

A Webcast of the software at work is available from Sybase, although registration is required before the company will provide you with a link to the webcast.

Oops, one more thing...

Microsoft’s Macintosh Business Unit found there’s one thing we Mac users have that our Windows counterparts seem to lack.

Humor! At least that’s the indication from a recent survey the company did on email habits of computer users.

You know that last funny photo you got in your email was more likely sent by a Mac user than a PC person, according to the survey. If you got a photo of somebody’s kid and dog, well that more probably came from somebody on a Windows system, the survey indicated.

The most common email faux-pas was forgetting to send the bloody attachment, with 40 per cent of the survey’s respondents admitting to that error, with the bulk of those people being the kiddies (Generation Y) who just can’t get the hang of this computer stuff. The next most common reason for saying "oops" was discovering spelling errors, followed closely by folks who hit the send button too soon.

The survey also found older people were more likely to use an electronic address book (largely to compensate for encroaching Alzheimer’s, I bet) while guys were far more likely to send multimedia content via email than were women. (Oh, the joy of porn...)

If you want to see how you stack up against the survey’s respondents just link over to Mactopia and give it a whirl.

Snap, bang, done

Glassbead Software joined the OS X revolution with their release of SnapMail 4.

The new email client software comes with an embedded instant messaging feature that lets users quickly “snap” messages back and forth and has an alert pop-up to draw attention to the incoming message. the software also notes if an email has been read and can hunt down other users on a TCP/IP network or through Apple’s Rendezvous technology.

SnapMail is the complete messaging and communication application for your Mac office. Using peer-to-peer technology over TCP/IP networks, SnapMail keeps all of your messages and documents safely in-house. It doesn’t require a mail server, Internet connection, or any administration. Send messages, files, folders, reminders, and alerts instantly.

Unlike other messaging systems, SnapMail does not require that you dedicate a Mac to act as a server. SnapMail’s peer-to-peer technology ensures that your messages get delivered directly to their destinations without the hassles and expense of a dedicated server.

A two-user license of the software costs US$79 with upgrade pricing coming in at US$29.23 until May 20. The software is available for as many as 50 users. Trial downloads are available from the Glassbead site.

Looking for old ProNews segments? Check out our index at http://old.macedition.com/news/. Do you have news releases or tidbits of interest to the Macintosh professional? Send them to pronewsnotes@macedition.com.

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