Some nice interface changes within GroupWise

Novell has certainly had its problems with GroupWise in terms of losing market share to rivals like Microsoft and IBM. Whatever has caused those problems, however, is due far less to the company's technology than to other factors. The company has developed some very interesting technology, has an impressive track record in terms of the efficiency of administration for the system, and is working on some interesting new user interface developments in the new Bonsai release of GroupWise schedule for general availability later this year.

One of the more compelling features of Bonsai is the use of panels that can display different data (Home) views, effectively turning GroupWise into a sort of personal portal. While GroupWise 7+ has allowed users to create up to two columns with multiple panels in each column, showing things like e-mail, an e-mail preview panel, a contact list, etc., the new version allows much more versatility. For example, panels can show different parts of the e-mail client as in previous versions. However, Bonsai now supports more columns and more panels, and can display Web pages in panels, plus it supports multiple monitors. For example, you can have a panel displaying a contact list, another panel with a news-oriented Web site, another panel with e-mail from your boss, another panel with e-mail from everyone else, another panel for your Gmail, etc. While Bonsai will not support the provisioning of standard panel views by administrators, it does allow individuals to send their personal Home views to others in a single file that a user can click on to open.

Another very nice feature of Bonsai is that it will be available for Windows, Mac and Linux platforms, albeit in various stages of development – the Windows version will be the most advanced.

To continue reading, register here and become an Insider. You'll get free access to premium content from CIO, Computerworld, CSO, InfoWorld, and Network World. See more Insider content or sign in.

Novell has certainly had its problems with GroupWise in terms of losing market share to rivals like Microsoft and IBM. Whatever has caused those problems, however, is due far less to the company's technology than to other factors. The company has developed some very interesting technology, has an impressive track record in terms of the efficiency of administration for the system, and is working on some interesting new user interface developments in the new Bonsai release of GroupWise schedule for general availability later this year.

One of the more compelling features of Bonsai is the use of panels that can display different data (Home) views, effectively turning GroupWise into a sort of personal portal. While GroupWise 7+ has allowed users to create up to two columns with multiple panels in each column, showing things like e-mail, an e-mail preview panel, a contact list, etc., the new version allows much more versatility. For example, panels can show different parts of the e-mail client as in previous versions. However, Bonsai now supports more columns and more panels, and can display Web pages in panels, plus it supports multiple monitors. For example, you can have a panel displaying a contact list, another panel with a news-oriented Web site, another panel with e-mail from your boss, another panel with e-mail from everyone else, another panel for your Gmail, etc. While Bonsai will not support the provisioning of standard panel views by administrators, it does allow individuals to send their personal Home views to others in a single file that a user can click on to open.

Another very nice feature of Bonsai is that it will be available for Windows, Mac and Linux platforms, albeit in various stages of development – the Windows version will be the most advanced.

Bonsai deserves a serious look for its Home view features, its multi-platform support and a host of other new features that are planned for incorporation into the offering. (Compare Unified Communications products)

Read more about software in Network World's Software section.