Any chance of getting this working with the November 2009 CTP and the RTM VS2010? I downloaded your solution and it doesn’t have references to any of the Oslo assemblies and I think DynamicParser is no longer in the API.

Also, to clarify the point about “patched and locked down” – the point was about eliminating the workstation maintenance and support. That’s the hidden cost of going ‘cloud’ only – extra support needed for desktops.

It’s not possible to manage workstations using MOS or Google apps. However, with a SBS all the workstations would be managed (patched, locked down with group policies, antivirus enforced etc). You should need no workstation support if this is done correctly.

Using only MOS/cloud technology there is no way to manage workstations eventually resulting in no patches, slow PC’s with viruses and other nonsense – these are problems that you would not have had to deal with if they were under management. What do you think yourself q?

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think Outlook sees Google Apps as an Exchange server; since Google Apps uses a client side synchronization tool, whilst Outlook connects directly to Exchange using Microsoft proprietary protocols, which afaik Google Apps does not support.

I find it difficult to believe, but should the Google Apps server software do support the Exchange protocols, then please let me know.

I also do not agree with your assessment that if you have more than 5 pc’s, then to just get a Small Business Server. Here’s why.

I’m not entirely sure I see your point…

Keeping an SBS “patched and locked down”, requires qualified work effort. I wouldn’t trust just anyone to configure and maintain one of the most critical functions in any modern company; the e-mail server.
Never mind if your e-mail actually contains confidential or sensitive material like patient correspondence or such, which could have very damaging effects if it got lost or worse; exposed.
Here in Sweden, the minimum going wages of a person with such competencies equates to approximately 45 clients hosted in MOS, and that’s if you’re good at haggling when hiring. Any shortage on the recruitment market will bump that up to almost twice the amount. Currently, there is a shortage on the recruitment market.
A consultant would equate to about 75-300 MOS licenses depending on the level of support you would require (est. 2-8 hrs / week). That’s a single consultant and a fair estimation on the time it takes to review security patches, apply them, take backups at the very least once a week, review logs and so on.

In other words: As near as I can tell, for a complete computer noob, the TCO for SBS is approximately 10-60 times higher than MOS. That doesn’t even include the SBS license, the hardware to run it on and the bandwidth for the incoming e-mails.

If you need file hosting as well as email host, go with MOS (Exchange and Sharepoint). Email only, I would go with Google Apps Premium. Then again if you have more than say 5 pc’s, just get a SBS server to host everything and let it lock down and manage your workstations too.

Thumbs up, and keep it going!

Cheers
Christian

http://blogs.technet.com/msonline/archive/2009/10/20/send-and-receive-pop-e-mail-with-exchange-online.aspx

I hope your experience is better!

-Jeff
Online Services Technical Specialist

I think it’s important at this point to reiterate that since I use Outlook and have more than 3 GB of RAM in my computer, Google Apps is simply not an option for me. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not an option for others.

32 bit Windows supports a maximum of 3 GB RAM. If you have more, you should use the 64 bit edition.
Unlike most 32 bit applications, Google’s Synch Tool doesn’t work on 64 bit Windows.
If it had, this article *might* have looked less like a public flogging and more like a fair comparison

All I can say is “Don’t jump into Microsoft Online Services until you’ve made sure it fits with the way your team operates.”

I signed up with Google Aps and got a bunch of mailboxes for nothing. I’ve grown used to the simplicity of the Gmail user interface and have no problems syncing Gmail inbox and calendar with my Palm Pre.

So faced with the same decision, I decided to take the alternate path. Horses for courses…