Evolution or Novell Evolution (formerly Ximian Evolution) is the official personal information manager and workgroup information management tool for GNOME. It combines e-mail, calendar, address book, and task list management functions. It has been an official part of GNOME since version 2.8. Evolution development is sponsored primarily by Novell.

Its user interface and functionality are similar to Microsoft Outlook. It has some distinguishing features: full-text indexing of all incoming mail, and a "Virtual Folders" feature. ("Virtual Folders" are saved searches that look like normal mail folders).

Evolution can be connected to a Microsoft Exchange Server using its web interface and an Evolution add-on called Connector . Using gnome-pilot, it may be synchronized with Palm Pilot devices, and Multisync enables it to be synchronized with mobile telephones and other PDAs.

Evolution 2

In 2004, Ximian was acquired by Novell, inc. All products, including Evolution, are now under the Novell banner.

Evolution 2, which has been available since September 2004, delivers important new features:

• integrated connectivity to Novell GroupWise
• integrated connectivity to Microsoft Exchange
• improved offline support for IMAP accounts
• numerous calendar improvements,
• support for S/MIME, enhanced contact management
• Gaim instant messaging integration
• improved desktop integration.
• improved compliance with GNOME's Human Interface Guidelines

Evolution for Windows

In January 2005, Novell's Nat Friedman announced in his blog that the company had hired Tor "tml" Lillqvist, the Finnish programmer who ported GIMP to Microsoft Windows, to do the same with Evolution. However, there is no projected release date or even timeline at the moment.

Before this announcement, several projects with the same goal had been started before (Evolution for Windows being the most notable), but none of them had even reached alpha status.

See also

• List of email clients
• List of personal information managers
• Comparison of email clients
• Comparison of personal information managers

External links

• Official Evolution Project page
• Novell Evolution page
• Connector