Earlier this week the Macintosh Business Unit (MacBU) at Microsoft announced Entourage for Exchange Web Services (EWS). MacBU expects to release a "public beta" for this new version of Entourage later this month. This version of Entourage will finally deliver some of the most highly requested features for Exchange users--specifically synchronization of tasks, notes and categories.
What does this new version mean for you?
Two versions of Entourage
The MacBU will essentially be supporting two versions of Entourage 2008 at the same time.
Entourage for EWS is targeted first and foremost at companies and institutions using Exchange Server 2007. This is the first version of Exchange Server that included Web Services. Exchange Server 2003 and earlier do not includes Web Services. Organizations using Exchange Server 2003 and earlier will need to continue using Entourage 2008 (12.1.5), which is the currently released version, or use Entourage 2004.
What's the difference between WebDAV and EWS?
Today, Entourage 2008 uses WebDAV to communicate with an Exchange Server. WebDAV and EWS are "protocols", which is just a fancy name for "language". The old Entourage with WebDAV is akin to someone with a limited vocabulary while Entourage with EWS is akin to someone who can speak a language fluently. EWS is a stronger and more robust protocol than WebDAV.
Entourage for EWS will primarily include just a handful of new features:
- Synchronization of Tasks
- Synchronization of Notes
- Synchronization of Categories
- Support for attachments in Exchange Server calendar events
- Logging for troubleshooting
- More simplified Autodiscovery of Exchange Servers
- Global Address List searches when connected via Outlook Web Access (OWA)
This list may grow to include other features before the beta is released and tested.
Keep in mind that nothing has been released yet about how these new features will work. "Performance improvements" does not necessarily mean that you can send Tasks to a co-worker who uses Outlook for Windows. It also doesn't mean that categories will necessarily sync between Entourage and Outlook. None of this information has been released publicly. We simply won't know what to expect until the beta is in our hands.
What is a public beta?
A beta is software released for testing. It most likely has bugs and problems that need to be fixed. Those bugs and problems may very well include loss of information.
A public beta means that the software will be released for testing to anyone who wants to participate.
What do I do in a public beta?
- Be willing to experience problems -- Betas are not perfect. The software may crash or users may lose information. Those who participate in the public beta should know how to backup their Entourage Database and be able to help themselves when something goes wrong. Software developers will not assume responsibility if you lose information during a beta.
- Be willing to report problems -- Betas are opportunities for you to tell the software developer about problems you are experiencing so they can fix those problems. A beta without feedback is useless. Microsoft will most likely use Connect for you to report bugs. Connect is their official feedback website. You will need to complete the forms specific to the Entourage for EWS beta to report your bugs.
- Take good notes -- Microsoft will want to know exactly what you do that causes a bug to surface. Are you double-clicking a Task or are you clicking once on the Task and selecting Open from the File menu? Those are two different ways to "open a Task" but only one of these methods may actually show the bug.
- Be willing to test -- The best bugs are those that you can produce over and over again. If you can report the exact steps to produce the bug then you will have helped Microsoft fix 90% of the problem.
What does a public beta not mean?
- A beta is not an opportunity for you to ask for new features. Microsoft will release a specific list of new features and you will be asked to test only those new features or existing features.
- A beta is not an opportunity for you to complain. By beta testing software you are assuming the risk that the software will cause problems.
- Beta software is not "free" software. Microsoft may choose to limit the amount of time the software will work. Once beta testing is done then beta testers are expected to either uninstall the software or update to the fully released version.
How do I participate in the public beta?
If you are worried about losing information, experiencing problems, crashing software or are unwilling to report problems with the beta then do not download and use the Entourage EWS public beta. Wait for the final release, which Microsoft will support.
Details for participation have not yet been released. The Mac Mojo blog and Mactopia IT Pros area on Microsoft's website are sure to be the first places where MacBU will post the latest information.