Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!usc!orion.oac.uci.edu!uci-ics!gateway
From: mark@cblpf.att.COM (Mark R Horton)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.iso.x400
Subject: Re: x.400 for Internet?
Message-ID: <9003060728.aa29425@ICS.UCI.EDU>
Date: 6 Mar 90 16:26:54 GMT
Lines: 25
Approved: usenet@PARIS.ICS.UCI.EDU

> I am rather niave on the subject of mail protocols, but now that
> momentum is gathering for x.400 are there any *plans* to provide x.400
> in Unix and begin to transition the Net (mail/News) to X.400?

AT&T Mail currently offers an X.400 gateway, and a number of products
based on the UNIX and MS DOS systems to interface with it.  These
products, such as PMX and ACCESS PLUS, are not raw X.400, but tailored
to the UNIX way of doing things (e.g. text files you can use UNIX
editors and tools with instead of X.400 binary files.)

As I understand it, these products are positioned as enhancements
adding value to the basic UNIX system, so they won't be on the vanilla
System V distribution.  System V release 4 comes with an email system
based on UUCP and TCP/IP standards, supporting uux and SMTP.  (No, it
doesn't use sendmail, but a simpler SMTP back end to a simple,
powerful, and configurable switch in the rmail command.  It is much
easier to configure and much more secure than sendmail.  A very nice
system.)

As I understand it, X.400 Netnews is an oxymoron, indeed X.400 mailing
lists may also be an oxymoron.  Something about all responses,
including replies and nondelivery notifications, going to the same
address.  This is based on indirect information, is it correct?

	Mark