OStatic

Smartphone owners love their push email and easy syncing options. Let's face it, without those handy features, handheld mobile devices are little more than really clunky cell phones. Now Open-Xchange customers can use the newly released OXtender for Business Mobility to receive push email and sync their calendars and contacts right over the air on an iPhone, BlackBerry, myTouch and most other smartphones on the market today.

Open-Xchange is a popular alternative to Microsoft Exchange that also syncs and supports Macs and Apple Mobile devices. It's used to manage email, tasks, calendars, documents, contacts, and even social networking communication.

Want to hear an odd little theory (or perhaps more of a personal hang up) of mine? I don't own a Mac, and have never owned a Mac -- and I can say without reservation that many Macs I've worked with have been great, robust little machines. I also have never owned any Apple device (iPod, iPhone, or even a Newton). There are a few reasons on that front, one being that I don't have a Mac, and historically I've seen that these devices just don't play as well on other platforms as they do on Macs.

Here's the rub: Macs are nice, contained sorts of bio-domes, technological terrariums of sorts. The hardware and software all work together by design (which makes computing pleasant when all goes to plan and frustrating when it doesn't). When you need (or want) to use an outside service, problems ranging from aesthetic annoyances to complete non-communication arise.

Open-Xchange is an open source groupware and email alternative to Microsoft's Exchange Server. Though Open-Xchange previously supported Mac systems to some degree, it wasn't truly a cohesive, native experience.

If you're running OS X and use Open-Xchange, syncing your calendar, email, tasks and appointments between desktop, server, and mobile device just got a lot more functional, and much easier.