I want to point out a blog series by Dean Lythgoe that you will be wanting to keep an eye on over the next few months.  His blog is found at http://www.novell.com/communities/blogs/dlythgoe.  Dean has started to unveil changes and new features that will be happening as GroupWise moves forward.

Some recent key points that Dean has made are very important, and I want to go over them here with you.  So let’s jump in:

64 bit agents

We had already thought that 64-bit only agents would come with GroupWise 2012, but this was pushed off to Windermere.  Now, I realize that most of you probably already have your 64 bit hardware in place.  It’s entirely possible though that you’ve not moved to 64 bit OSs yet.  If not, and you plan on doing any GroupWise server changes in the near future, make sure you get onto your 64 bit OS so that Windermere will be a simpler upgrade.

No SoftWare Distribution Directory

All I can say to this one is Hallelujah!  The SDD really has been a poorly understood and either unused or incorrectly used component in GroupWise since its very inception (sorry Novell).  I cannot even begin to count how many installations I’ve worked on where the SDD was just a mess.  Maybe I should instead try to count the times I’ve found the SDD to be correctly implemented, but I’m actually having trouble recalling any (well, I do know of a few, but they are the vast minority).  So let’s just not worry about this one and be happy!

One, Multi-language Download

There will no longer be a separate “English Only” download.  This is also not a big issue.  The multilingual download is slightly larger, but we now have better bandwidth and more storage, so this is okay.  It makes for fewer complications.  I have known of many instances where installation problems did not exist in one type of download, but cropped up in the other.  Having only one build will help avoid problems.

Right To Left Languages

So, the bad news here, if you are currently using Arabic or Hebrew languages, is that these are being dropped in Windermere.  I personally have no clients that I deal with daily who will be affected, but I know there are some of you out there.  I’d be interested to hear your thoughts here.

Document Properties Maintenance

Okay – so here’s one that should not surprise us I guess.  Document Mangement in GroupWise, while not being entirely dropped, has been on the “ignore” side of the chart for some time.  We already have the issue that we cannot modify Document Properties in ConsoleOne on Linux, and this will not be added to the new Web administration for Windermere.  If you continue to maintain GroupWise DMS, you will need to keep a copy of Windows ConsoleOne with appropriate snapins around to deal with your Document Properties.

Keep your eyes open for future additionals to Dean’s blog about Windermere, and I will continue to give you a heads up!

Check out our Great Silver Giveaway!

Our sister company is moving forward in the silver and gold business, and we’re having a lot of fun.  I was at a high level planning meeting in Dallas last weekend, and we unveiled a great silver promotion – check it out here!

Till next time.  Good GroupWising!

Danita