Unannounced Changes with Zimbra Software

soxfan · Post by **soxfan** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 8:52 am

I saw a similar post tacked on to the end of the " Zimbra now Yahoos! thoughts" thread, but I figured it might tend to get lost in the shuffle there.
I went to the Zimbra forums this morning and saw the announcement about 5.0RC1 being released. So I followed the links to download it and three things caught me by surprise. First, the Open Source edition is no longer hosted on Sourceforge. Second, there is now something called the "Yahoo Public License" related to using the source code. Lastly, I noticed that 4.5.8 has also been released, yet there was nothing in Announcement page about this and there are no release notes to be found. I also checked pm.zimbra.com and there is nothing there about 4.5.8.
I'm not saying there is anything bad about any of these three things, but in the past things like this usually aren't done unannounced. Anyone care to comment, specifically anyone from Zimbra?

jholder · Post by **jholder** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 9:14 am

Hi John-

True, the source is now released under the YPL. I (along with some others) personally reviewed this license prior to release. It's much simpler, and keeps the Open Source version safe for you. We announced it on our blog yesterday:
The">http://www.zimbra.com/blog
The ZEUL applies to binary forms of Zimbra is remains largely unchanged. If you download a distro from us, it's covered under that license.
4.5.8 reflects a license change, no big new changes.
We did move from Sourceforge. The biggest reason isn't for some secret in house killing operation

but because we really really need to get the open source version's source code out there, and Sourceforge just isn't working. So, we've invested a lot of time and money in a open source perforce cache.
It doesn't make sense to have SF source management, Perforce management, and tar balls floating around.
Hope this helps.

soxfan · Post by **soxfan** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 9:26 am

Thanks John. Like I said, not saying there was anything wrong; just kind of caught me a bit off guard. I saw the blog post about 5.0RC1, but somehow blew right past the part about YPL. I guess I was too anxious to read what the release contained and start the download

So, 4.5.8 is essentially the same as 4.5.7? I was planning on upgrading from 4.5.6 to 4.5.7 this weekend. Now I guess I'll just go to 4.5.8. Always like to read the release notes prior to upgrading.
What about pm.zimbra.com? Is that going to continue to be updated? The main page still shows 4.5.6 as the current 4.5 patch level, and there is nothing at all there about 4.5.8
Thanks,

John (soxfan)

jholder · Post by **jholder** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 10:02 am

Yeah, pm should be updated. I'll let the team know.
As far as 4.5.8, upgrading directly to 4.5.8 is just fine. like I said, no major new changes.
john

hlribeiro · Post by **hlribeiro** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 11:47 am

[quote user="jholder"]

We did move from Sourceforge. The biggest reason isn't for some secret in house killing operation

but because we really really need to get the open source version's source code out there, and Sourceforge just isn't working. So, we've invested a lot of time and money in a open source perforce cache.
It doesn't make sense to have SF source management, Perforce management, and tar balls floating around.[/QUOTE]
What about zimbra-xtras and translation teams?

aabreu2005 · Post by **aabreu2005** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 12:15 pm

I know notÃ‚â€¦
I find that this is only the beginning of the changes, other more will comeÃ‚â€¦

14319KevinH · Post by **14319KevinH** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 12:27 pm

[quote user="hlribeiro"]What about zimbra-xtras and translation teams?[/QUOTE]
They will stay the same. If/when they do change we'll keep the functionality the same or better. We are very greatful for the contributions of our contributors especially those who work on the translations. It is an important part of bringing Zimbra to users around the world.

Russianspi · Post by **Russianspi** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 4:24 pm

Well, I came to the forum looking for a place to discuss changes and caveats in regards to the new license, but after looking at the new license and EULA, there really doesn't seem to be much to discuss. Sure changes are happening, but they don't seem bad. I was quite concerned when I saw the news of the Yahoo! buyout, but so far, the changes have been slight and neutral (at least in my estimation). What I mean is: when I saw the new license, I thought, "Oh no, here it comes". But really, when you look at it, its the same license, for all intents and purposes. And Zimbra employees are as helpful and responsive as they have ever been (which is saying a lot - you guys are great!) So far, so good, Yahoo! Keep it up.

mdeneen · Post by **mdeneen** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 8:55 am

With Yahoo! at the helm, at least we are certain to see a top-notch DomainKeys implementation.

As it stands now, I'm pretty sure all of my outgoing mail ends up in the Yahoo! Mail Bulk Mail folder because the message is not signed.

gmsmith · Post by **gmsmith** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 5:38 pm

[quote user="aabreu2005"]I know not…
I find that this is only the beginning of the changes, other more will come…[/quote]
I think it is important to remember that change is not always bad. Keep in mind that moving to Zimbra was a change from what we all were use to (remember the days of Kerio, First Class, and oh god, Netscape Mail Server). Zimbra was a welcome change to those piles of "stuff."
I too was very concerned the day of the leak/announcement of the Yahoo deal. But over the past weeks have spoken directly with folks at Zimbra, spoke with other folks in the "biz" and done some thinking about this. I have come to the conclusion that this is a very good change for all of us. In the coming weeks we will no doubt see some minor changes (like the YBL) to the product we have devoted a lot of our time to over the last year and half or so. But more importantly we will see upgrades like 5.0, BES integration, and all that fun undisclosed stuff.

We have seen a significant increase in our Zimbra related business since the announcement, so "normal" folks are receiving these changes well.
I am excited to see what the future holds. Zimbra's technology with Yahoo's bank account...bye bye Exchange!