InternetZimbra Desktop Takes Web Mail Offline (PC World)

PC World - The latest beta of Yahoo's hybrid e-mail client enables offline access to Web-based and traditional messaging systems.

Web-based e-mail has come a long way since the early days. At first it was just a convenient way for home users to check their mail through a familiar, Web-based interface. Today, Webmail providers have evolved into full-service messaging centers, offering gigabytes of storage and a host of integrated features, such as calendaring, spam blocking, and malware filters. No wonder Webmail is the preferred e-mail tool for a growing number of business users, too. There's just one problem: To access the Web, you need to be online. When you're not connected, your entire inbox goes missing-- even the messages you received last week. Fortunately, a number of vendors are working on solutions to this very problem. One of the most interesting, Yahoo's Zimbra Desktop, released its third beta test release today. Zimbra Desktop attempts to combine the familiarity and power of Webmail with the convenience of conventional desktop e-mail clients, such as Outlook Express or Mozilla Thunderbird. It installs as two major components. The first is a desktop application that provides a UI similar to the standard Zimbra Web-based e-mail client. The second is a server that runs in the background, silently caching messages from your e-mail providers to the local disk. When your PC has access to the Internet, Zimbra Desktop works pretty much just like an ordinary Webmail service. You can access messages from your AOL, GMail... [ Read more on www.yahoo.com ]

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