bookmark_borderHorde 5 is coming / Horde 3 support ends

The spring 2012 release of the Horde Application Suite and Framework will probably be called Horde 5. In a recent discussion the majority of developers agreed on a new major revision for some changes that some view as minor backward compatibility break. Currently planned features include:

  • New standard UI for “traditional view”
  • Move of Ajax code from specific apps to a common framework
  • Release of a small inventory management app (sesha)
  • complete configuration via UI (likely)
  • Webmail: Write support for smartphone view
  • Calendar: Resource calendar support for ajax view

At the same time, Horde 3 will no longer receive any support. Horde 3 has been around since 2005 and really has reached its end of life.

Since the Horde 4 release, The Horde 3 family of applications has only received critical bugfixes and security updates, the last being released this february. You should really consider updating to Horde 4 – the transition from Horde 3 to Horde 4 has been tested and done by numerous people and the transition from Horde 4 to Horde 5 should run smoothly as both releases are PEAR based.

I have already removed all things horde3 from OpenSUSE-Factory. OpenSUSE 12.2 will not ship Horde 3 any longer. Depending on packaging progress, openSUSE 12.2 will very likely ship Horde 5 or the most recent Horde 4 release. Horde 4 maintainence will continue.

Horde 3 Packages in the server:php:applications repository (see here) will be available at least until openSUSE 12.1 runs out of maintainence. I won’t give these much attention though. Please also note Eleusis Password Manager will be dropped with currently no planned replacement.

bookmark_borderHorde 4 Preview – Calendar Kronolith now supports resources

Horde 4 is due for April 05 2011 – and sports a new release of the major groupware applications. Among them, the time-tracking app hermes sees its 2.0 release. DIMP (ajax webmailer) and MIMP (mobile devices webmailer) have been integrated into IMP, the webmailer. The task tracker nag has been integrated into the new (optional) ajax frontend of the kronolith calendar app. By the way, Kronolith now allows assigning resources like rooms or beamers to events and provides resource scheduling just as if they were persons. The classic non-ajax interface is still available as a user preference though. Horde 4 won’t be compatible with the generic inventory app sesha anymore. The horde team has decided to abandon some other applications, too Currently, the Horde 4 git repository houses more than 20 applications, ranging from enhanced versions of long-running mainstream apps like the file manager gollem or the VCS chora to Horde Folks, the bleeding edge Facebook-like personal dashboard. Horde 4 will sport the ActiveSync protocol, opening synchronisation options for iPhone 4, Windows Phones and Android smartphones like the Motorola Milestone (Euro Brand) / Droid (US Brand) .

I will be dropping maintainence of Andre Pawlowski’s password safe eleusis in favor of a complete Horde4 rewrite, Hort.

bookmark_borderEleusis Password App for Horde3 now in OpenSUSE

The Eleusis Password App by Andre Pawlowski allows keeping passwords and login credentials in a secure way. Encrypted storage and enforced HTTPS transfer provide a secure environment for you to store all those passwords you cannot remember but would never dare to write down. Other than your laptop’s password safe, Eleusis is always there for you anywhere you can get a secure web access, be it your phone, PDA or guest login on a public terminal.

Eleusis password decrypting screen

Eleusis is based on the Horde 3 Framework and can easily be integrated into your existing Horde Webmail or Horde Groupware. To make installation even more convenient, I packaged Eleusis for SLES and OpenSUSE in the Build Service repository server:php:applications. Click here for download