LISTSERV for Mac OS X released.

LISTSERV, the product that launched the email list management industry in 1986, is being released today for Mac OS X. In a market segment currently dominated by Linux, LISTSERV for Mac OS X offers an alternative for organizations that want to use UNIX, but do not have the level of expertise required by traditional UNIX systems. The Mac version of LISTSERV is fully featured and provides all the power and functionality available on Linux and other UNIX systems. The Mac OS X release also includes a Free Edition of LISTSERV for hobby users.

"Today, 48% of UNIX LISTSERV installations are based on Linux, and there is a real opportunity for the Mac in that market, especially once the Intel servers are released," said Eric Thomas, L-Soft's CEO and founder. "Linux and LISTSERV work great together, as long as the system administrator has a solid knowledge of Linux and can manage the mail system, the DNS, and of course Linux itself. When that is not the case, everyone loses - Linux included. But, ultimately, Apple's success in that market will depend on the availability of affordable entry-level Mac servers."

With more than 110 million subscriptions worldwide, LISTSERV is the reference in the email list management market. Available for BSD UNIX since 1994, it is a time-tested product with a proven track record for reliability and scalability.

"I don't think any other company developing list management software has L-Soft's kind of experience, and it shows in the software. The support and the features make LISTSERV well worthwhile. You can't beat 19 years of experience working on the same kind of software for getting a very reliable program with a very comprehensive set of features. This release brings all of that experience to the Macintosh," Peter DiCamillo, a Lead Systems Programmer at Brown University, stated. "The Mac OS X, which is very close to BSD UNIX, is a fine server to run LISTSERV on," added DiCamillo, a Macintosh developer with two decades of experience who has managed LISTSERV for the university through its transition from BITNET to IBM VM to UNIX (Solaris).

LISTSERV scales seamlessly from small organizations or workgroups to the most demanding enterprise workloads. U.S. prices range from $450 to $12,000, depending on capacity, edition and level of support. Consumers are generally better served by a professionally managed hosting service, such as L-Soft's EASESM Home service.

"It's exciting to know that I can specify an industrial strength email solution to departments and clients who use the Macintosh platform. There's also an economy here: the additional expense of running other servers or operating systems is avoided because LISTSERV is available for people's preferred and already existing platforms," said Bill Gruber, Email Administrator with the City University of New York and 25-year server administration professional who has overseen the university's LISTSERV lists, with hundreds of thousands of subscriptions, since 1986. "If you have a Mac environment, why not make the most of it by running a world-class product if you need to do so?" Gruber added.