brad@cayman.com (Brad Parker) (12/19/89)
CAYMAN SYSTEMS ANNOUNCES GATEWAY FROM QUICKMAIL TO TCP/IP MAIL STANDARD GatorMail-Q lets QuickMail users exchange mail easily with a wide variety of UNIX computers. November 13, 1989 -- Cayman Systems, Inc., announced shipment of GatorMail-Q(tm), a software gateway between QuickMail(tm) and Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), the electronic mail protocol used on most UNIX computers and TCP/IP networks. The gateway lets QuickMail users exchange mail with electronic mail users of minicomputers and workstations on Ethernet. GatorMail-Q connects QuickMail to electronic mail systems in the TCP/IP environment. Macintosh and PC users can now exchange mail with Sun and VAX users the same way that they exchange mail with each other. The software features a transparent user interface that lets users send messages using their familiar mail systems. To send mail to SMTP users, QuickMail users choose recipients from a list of users across the network. GatorMail-Q translates the QuickMail messages into the SMTP mail format and delivers them to Sun workstations, VAXs, and other Ethernet-based workstations and minicomputers that support TCP/IP. When users of SMTP mail send messages to a Macintosh user, the messages are delivered to the QuickMail administrator running GatorMail-Q. Then GatorMail-Q translates the SMTP mail to QuickMail format and hands it off to QuickMail for delivery to Macintosh and PC users. In networks that include Macintoshes on LocalTalk and computers on Ethernet, GatorMail-Q takes advantage of the AppleTalk-to-TCP/IP routing built into the GatorBox. The software is also compatible with other gateways that perform TCP/IP routing. Typically a UNIX mail address is several words long. GatorMail-Q fully supports QuickMail's ability to create aliases for long UNIX addresses. To address mail, the user simply clicks on the alias in the QuickMail address window. This frees the Macintosh user from learning UNIX mail conventions. Similarly, the UNIX user can substitute aliases for QuickMail addresses. Mail systems based on SMTP extend worldwide, and their connections number in the thousands. Using GatorMail-Q with a modem, Macintosh users can communicate with this global network, sending electronic mail to users of the Internet (including ARPANet and USENET). Over the SMTP backbone, GatorMail-Q users can con- nect with mail networks like IBM PROFS; Digital Equipment Corporation's VMSmail and VAX All-in-1; Data General's AOS/VS mail; and Hewlett Packard's DeskMate. GatorMail-Q supports enclosures of binary data over UNIX mail. Using this feature, a QuickMail user can attach a binary file to a message and send it to an address in the same building or across the country. Previously, Macintosh mail users had to take several steps to do this: run a utility to "hide" the binary file from UNIX mail, transfer the file to the UNIX computer, then mail the file. GatorMail-Q runs on only one Macintosh in the network. That Macintosh typically the QuickMail server located either on LocalTalk or Ethernet acts as a gateway to the TCP/IP network. MacTCP, which is included with GatorMail-Q, provides the TCP/IP protocols for the Macintosh acting as a gateway. No additional software is needed on the other Macintoshes or the computers that support SMTP. This eliminates the need to install and maintain special gateway software or additional protocols on each computer. MACINTOSH-UNIX NETWORK SERVICES FOR THE GATORBOX Cayman Systems has also announced a Microsoft Mail-to-SMTP software gateway. Called GatorMail-M, the software lets Microsoft Mail 2.0 users exchange mail with mail users on TCP/IP networks. It also uses the GatorBox to relay messages across networks. The GatorBox is a LocalTalk-to-Ethernet gateway that translates AppleTalk protocols into TCP/IP protocols. Unlike other gateways, it also translates service-level protocols. Cayman provides these services as "GatorBox applications" that run on the GatorBox itself. GatorShare, the first GatorBox application offered by Cayman, translates AppleShare into NFS, the standard file-sharing protocol in Unix and VMS environments. With the addition of GatorMail-Q and GatorMail-M, network users with the GatorBox can take advantage of two important network services: file sharing and electronic mail. To complete the suite of Macintosh-to-UNIX services, Cayman Systems plans to ship a third application, GatorPrint, in early 1990. GatorPrint will run on the GatorBox and support printing from workstations running Berkeley UNIX to Apple LaserWriters. A subsequent release will support printing from Macintosh computers to printers on Ethernet. GatorMail-Q is based on software developed by StarNine Technologies, Inc. of Berkeley, CA. Pricing has not yet been announced. Founded in 1987, Cayman Systems develops and markets intelligent network gateways. The company is based in Cambridge, MA. Cayman, the Cayman logo, GatorShare and GatorBox are trademarks of Cayman Systems, Inc. Microsoft and the Microsoft logo are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. StarNine is a trademark of StarNine Technologies, Inc. VAX, VMS, All-in-1 and VAXmail are registered trademarks of Digital Equipment Corp. UNIX is a registered trademark of AT & T Information Systems. IBM and PROFS are registered trademarks of Hewlett Packard Co. Ethernet is a registered trademark of Xerox Corporation. ARPAnet is a registered trademark of the Department of Defense. Network File System (NFS) is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc.