Zend has announce the public beta release of Zend Server, our next generation PHP Web Application Server designed from the ground up to be the best possible stack for production PHP applications. Zend Server combines new functionality with capabilities found in Zend Core and Zend Platform into a single reliable PHP stack for developing and managing PHP applications.

Zend Server includes:

* Fully supported and certified distribution of PHP 5.2
* Fully supported Zend Framework 1.7 release
* Integrated native installers (RPM/DEB/MSI)
* Web-based administration Interface
* Comprehensive out-of-the-box database connectivity
* Powerful PHP monitoring capabilities to identify problems and help fix them quickly
* URL-based output caching required by today’s modern web applications
* Zend Optimizer+ - byte code cache to boost application performance
* New “Guard Loader” to enable processing of Zend Guard encoded files

To join the beta program, simply download Zend Server from: http://www.zend.com/en/products/server/downloads. For installation questions, support and feedback, visit the new Zend forum at: http://forums.zend.com/ and login using your Zend ID.

For detailed Zend Server information visit: http://www.zend.com/en/products/server/, contact us, or register for the “Unveiling of Zend Server” webinar next week.

Sugar version 5.0/5.1 is a platform release with significant advancements in the product’s core architecture and infrastructure. The new architecture provides enhanced performance, scalability, extensibility and overall product quality. As we continue to build new features for the 5.0 platform, SugarCRM will no longer be producing maintenance patches for earlier versions of our products.

Effective November 30, 2008, SugarCRM will no longer provide maintenance patches for versions prior to and including Sugar v.4.2.1. Effective February 28, 2009, SugarCRM will no longer provide maintenance patches for versions prior to and including Sugar v.4.5.0. If you are on an earlier version, we strongly encourage you to upgrade to the latest supported version. For those who remain on an unsupported version, only very critical security issues will be considered after the above dates. 

The following sections outline SugarCRM’s end-of-versioning (EOV) plan. Additionally we’ve included a short FAQ that provides answers to some common questions in this context.

What is the EOV plan?

We will be retiring Sugar product lines in a phased manner as shown below:

Sugar 4.2.1 - End of version effective from November 30 , 2008
Sugar 4.5.0 - End of version effective from February 28, 2009

Why should I upgrade to 5.0/5.1?

We have added many platform and functional improvements on the 5.0 platform. A few are listed below.
• Improved performance and scalability provide by the new metadata-driven model
• Advanced customization capabilities using Module Builder and Studio
• New AJAX based email client
• New customizable Homepage and Dashboards
• New Flash chart engine with Gauge and Funnel charts
• Scalable importing engine

What does End-of-Version mean?

End of Version means that SugarCRM will not be producing any further maintenance patches or bug fixes for an affected version, after the effective dates. SugarCRM’s Customer Support can assist you with upgrading to the current version of Sugar.

What will happen to the add-on products and plug-ins?

All add-on’s and plug-in’s will also be impacted by this plan. 

How does it impact me?

Community members who are using the affected versions will no longer be able to get fixes for the bugs that are reported. It is advised that user move to SugarCRM’s most current version.

Source: http://www.sugarcrm.com

Features of Zend Framework1.7 release.

While 1.7PR is not a feature complete release in the 1.7 series, it nevertheless contains some very important features scheduled for the 1.7 production release:

• New Zend_AMF component
• Dojo Toolkit 1.2.0
• New ZendX_JQuery component
• Support for dijit editor
• Metadata API in Zend_Cache
• Google book search API
• Performance enhancements
• Application-wide locale with other i18n enhancements
• File upload form element enhancements