<s>
cc:Mail	B-Application
is	O
a	O
discontinued	O
store-and-forward	O
LAN-based	O
email	O
system	O
originally	O
developed	O
on	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
platform	O
by	O
Concentric	O
Systems	O
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
in	O
the	O
1980s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
,	O
founded	O
by	O
Robert	O
Plummer	O
,	O
Hubert	O
Lipinski	O
,	O
and	O
Michael	O
Palmer	O
,	O
later	O
changed	O
its	O
name	O
to	O
PCC	O
Systems	O
,	O
Inc.	O
,	O
and	O
then	O
to	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
At	O
the	O
height	O
of	O
its	O
popularity	O
,	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
had	O
about	O
14	O
million	O
users	O
,	O
and	O
won	O
various	O
awards	O
for	O
being	O
the	O
top	O
email	O
software	O
package	O
of	O
the	O
mid-1990s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
1980s	O
and	O
1990s	O
,	O
it	O
became	O
common	O
in	O
office	O
environments	O
to	O
have	O
a	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
on	O
every	O
desk	O
,	O
all	O
connected	O
via	O
a	O
local	B-General_Concept
area	I-General_Concept
network	I-General_Concept
(	O
LAN	B-General_Concept
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Typically	O
,	O
(	O
at	O
least	O
)	O
one	O
computer	O
is	O
set	O
up	O
as	O
a	O
file	B-Application
server	I-Application
,	O
so	O
that	O
any	O
computer	O
on	O
the	O
LAN	B-General_Concept
can	O
store	B-General_Concept
and	I-General_Concept
access	I-General_Concept
files	I-General_Concept
on	I-General_Concept
the	I-General_Concept
server	I-General_Concept
as	O
if	O
they	O
were	O
local	O
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
cc:Mail	B-Application
was	O
designed	O
to	O
operate	O
in	O
that	O
environment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
central	O
point	O
of	O
focus	O
in	O
the	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
architecture	O
is	O
the	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
"	O
post	O
office	O
,	O
"	O
which	O
is	O
a	O
collection	O
of	O
files	O
located	O
on	O
the	O
file	B-Application
server	I-Application
and	O
consisting	O
of	O
the	O
message	O
store	O
and	O
related	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
no	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
software	O
needs	O
to	O
be	O
installed	O
or	O
run	O
on	O
the	O
file	B-Application
server	I-Application
itself	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
application	B-Application
is	O
installed	O
on	O
the	O
user	B-Device
desktops	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
provides	O
a	O
user	B-Application
interface	I-Application
,	O
and	O
reads	O
and	O
writes	O
to	O
the	O
post	O
office	O
files	O
directly	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
send	O
,	O
access	O
,	O
and	O
manage	O
email	O
messages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
arrangement	O
is	O
called	O
a	O
"	O
shared-file	O
mail	O
system	O
"	O
(	O
which	O
was	O
also	O
implemented	O
later	O
in	O
competing	O
products	O
such	O
as	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Mail	I-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
in	O
contrast	O
to	O
a	O
"	O
client/server	B-Operating_System
mail	O
system	O
"	O
which	O
involves	O
a	O
mail	O
client	B-Protocol
application	I-Protocol
interacting	O
with	O
a	O
mail	O
server	B-Application
application	I-Application
(	O
the	O
latter	O
then	O
being	O
the	O
focal	O
point	O
of	O
message	O
handling	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Client/server	B-Operating_System
mail	O
was	O
added	O
later	O
to	O
the	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
product	O
architecture	O
(	O
see	O
below	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
also	O
became	O
available	O
in	O
competing	O
offerings	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
Microsoft	B-Operating_System
Exchange	I-Operating_System
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
than	O
the	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
desktop	B-Application
application	I-Application
,	O
key	O
software	O
elements	O
of	O
the	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
architecture	O
include	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
Router	B-Protocol
(	O
for	O
transferring	O
messages	O
between	O
post	O
offices	O
,	O
possibly	O
in	O
distant	O
locations	O
,	O
and	O
for	O
providing	O
a	O
dial-in	O
access	O
point	O
for	O
users	O
using	O
the	O
mobile	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
desktop	B-Application
application	I-Application
)	O
,	O
gateways	O
(	O
providing	O
links	O
to	O
other	O
mail	O
system	O
types	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
various	O
administrative	O
tools	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
the	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
desktop	B-Application
application	I-Application
,	O
all	O
of	O
these	O
can	O
access	O
the	O
post	O
office	O
via	O
the	O
file-sharing	O
facility	O
of	O
the	O
local	B-General_Concept
area	I-General_Concept
network	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
message	O
store	O
is	O
based	O
on	O
a	O
related	O
set	O
of	O
files	O
including	O
a	O
message	O
store	O
file	O
,	O
a	O
directory	O
and	O
index	B-Data_Structure
file	I-Data_Structure
,	O
and	O
user	O
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
system	O
provided	O
native	O
email	O
clients	O
for	O
DOS	B-Device
,	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
,	O
OS/2	B-Application
,	O
Macintosh	B-Device
,	O
and	O
Unix	B-Application
(	O
the	O
MIT	O
X	B-Operating_System
Window	I-Operating_System
System	I-Operating_System
under	O
HP-UX	B-Application
and	O
Solaris	B-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
cc:Mail	B-Application
allowed	O
client	O
access	O
via	O
native	O
clients	O
,	O
web	B-Application
browsers	I-Application
,	O
POP3	B-Protocol
and	O
IMAP4	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
cc:Mail	B-Application
provided	O
the	O
first	O
commercial	O
web-based	B-Protocol
email	I-Protocol
product	O
in	O
1995	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
MTA	O
or	O
Router	B-Protocol
,	O
which	O
ran	O
on	O
DOS	B-Device
,	O
16-bit	B-Device
Windows	O
,	O
Windows	B-Device
NT	I-Device
,	O
and	O
OS/2	B-Application
,	O
supported	O
file	O
access	O
,	O
asynchronous	O
communications	O
,	O
and	O
various	O
network	O
protocols	O
including	O
Novell	O
SPX	B-Protocol
and	O
TCP/IP	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
Router	B-Protocol
also	O
provided	O
remote	O
access	O
to	O
end	O
users	O
via	O
dial-up	O
and	O
network	O
protocols	O
such	O
as	O
TCP/IP	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
"	O
remote	O
call	O
through	O
"	O
feature	O
of	O
the	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
Router	B-Protocol
made	O
it	O
possible	O
for	O
a	O
mobile	O
user	O
to	O
connect	O
through	O
a	O
single	O
point	O
to	O
access	O
any	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
database	O
within	O
a	O
given	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Various	O
connection	O
types	O
and	O
schedules	O
could	O
be	O
configured	O
along	O
with	O
conditions	O
related	O
to	O
message	O
attributes	O
such	O
as	O
priority	O
or	O
message	O
size	O
to	O
create	O
complex	O
message	O
routing	O
topologies	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
system	O
offered	O
a	O
wide	O
range	O
of	O
email	O
gateways	O
,	O
connectors	O
,	O
and	O
add-on	O
products	O
including	O
links	O
to	O
SMTP	B-Protocol
,	O
UUCP	B-Protocol
,	O
IBM	B-Application
PROFS	I-Application
,	O
pager	B-Application
networks	O
,	O
fax	O
,	O
commercial	O
email	O
services	O
such	O
as	O
MCI	O
and	O
more	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
cc:Mail	B-Application
provided	O
directory	O
synchronization	O
throughout	O
a	O
system	O
via	O
an	O
Automatic	O
Directory	O
Exchange	O
(	O
ADE	O
)	O
feature	O
which	O
supported	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
'	O
propagation	O
types	O
 '	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
peer	O
,	O
superior	O
,	O
and	O
subordinate	O
,	O
from	O
which	O
sophisticated	O
topologies	B-Architecture
could	O
be	O
constructed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
cc:Mail	B-Application
also	O
provided	O
an	O
email-based	O
newsgroup	B-Application
or	O
discussion-like	O
feature	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
Bulletin	O
Boards	O
which	O
were	O
propagated	O
and	O
synchronized	O
using	O
similar	O
mechanisms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Related	O
features	O
included	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
synchronize	O
the	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
directory	O
with	O
other	O
directories	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
that	O
of	O
Novell	B-Operating_System
NetWare	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
core	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
technology	O
relied	O
on	O
OSI	O
model	O
network	O
operating	O
systems	O
such	O
as	O
Novell	B-Operating_System
NetWare	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
network	O
operating	O
systems	O
provided	O
redirection	O
of	O
native	O
operating	O
system	O
file	O
I/O	B-General_Concept
allowing	O
network	O
nodes	B-Data_Structure
to	O
access	O
server-based	O
files	O
transparently	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
concurrently	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Delivery	O
of	O
messages	O
in	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
is	O
time	O
invariant	O
meaning	O
that	O
many	O
database	O
changes	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
message	O
deliveries	O
and	O
deletions	O
,	O
can	O
be	O
under	O
way	O
at	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
without	O
conflicting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
shared	B-General_Concept
file	I-General_Concept
access	I-General_Concept
architecture	O
of	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
offered	O
significant	O
performance	O
benefits	O
and	O
made	O
it	O
possible	O
for	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
to	O
implement	O
a	O
single	O
instance	O
message	O
store	O
years	O
in	O
advance	O
of	O
other	O
products	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
architectural	O
approach	O
of	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
had	O
drawbacks	O
both	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
scalability	O
and	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
vulnerability	O
of	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
databases	O
to	O
data	O
corruption	O
due	O
to	O
network	O
errors	O
or	O
network	O
operating	O
system	O
software	O
defects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
system	O
became	O
notorious	O
for	O
its	O
tendency	O
to	O
suffer	O
database	O
corruptions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additionally	O
,	O
the	O
technology	O
was	O
originally	O
developed	O
in	O
a	O
1980s	O
environment	O
comprising	O
disconnected	O
LANs	B-General_Concept
linked	O
by	O
dial-up	O
connections	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
the	O
technology	O
adapted	O
well	O
to	O
WAN	O
environments	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
robust	O
nature	O
of	O
the	O
Router	B-Protocol
,	O
the	O
system	O
was	O
best	O
suited	O
to	O
a	O
highly	O
distributed	O
deployment	O
model	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Client	O
access	O
over	O
a	O
WAN	O
was	O
not	O
recommended	O
because	O
of	O
poor	O
performance	O
related	O
to	O
the	O
network	O
traffic	O
overhead	O
of	O
file	O
I/O	B-General_Concept
redirection	O
and	O
because	O
of	O
increased	O
risk	O
of	O
database	O
corruption	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
automation	O
was	O
possible	O
,	O
maintenance	O
of	O
large	O
numbers	O
of	O
databases	O
,	O
each	O
with	O
relatively	O
few	O
users	O
,	O
was	O
undesirable	O
compared	O
to	O
highly	O
centralized	O
client/server	B-Operating_System
systems	O
where	O
client	O
access	O
could	O
be	O
reliably	O
provided	O
over	O
a	O
WAN	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
cc:Mail	B-Application
developed	O
a	O
native	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
server	O
,	O
cc:Guardian	O
,	O
which	O
would	O
allow	O
superior	O
scalability	O
,	O
reliable	O
client	O
access	O
over	O
a	O
WAN	O
,	O
and	O
virtually	O
eliminate	O
database	O
corruptions	O
by	O
removing	O
file	O
I/O	B-General_Concept
access	O
to	O
the	O
database	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
POP3	B-Protocol
and	O
IMAP4	B-Protocol
servers	O
provided	O
integration	O
with	O
Internet	O
standards-based	O
client/server	B-Operating_System
technologies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
cc:Guardian	O
and	O
with	O
support	O
for	O
POP3	B-Protocol
and	O
IMAP4	B-Protocol
,	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
evolved	O
into	O
a	O
true	O
client/server	B-Operating_System
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
customers	O
never	O
deployed	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
as	O
a	O
client/server	B-Operating_System
solution	O
in	O
large	O
numbers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lotus	O
Development	O
acquired	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
(	O
formerly	O
PCC	O
Systems	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
a	O
Silicon	O
Valley	O
startup	O
,	O
in	O
1991	O
and	O
used	O
the	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
technology	O
to	O
enhance	O
Lotus	B-Operating_System
Notes	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lotus	B-Operating_System
Notes	I-Operating_System
features	O
derived	O
from	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
included	O
Shared	O
Mail	O
,	O
client	O
type-ahead	O
addressing	O
,	O
enhancements	O
to	O
the	O
Notes	O
MTA	O
(	O
also	O
called	O
Router	B-Protocol
)	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
Notes	O
Passthru	O
feature	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lotus	O
developed	O
a	O
version	O
of	O
cc:MailRemote	O
for	O
the	O
HP	B-Device
95LX	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
cc:MailRemote	O
was	O
also	O
included	O
in	O
the	O
built-in	O
software	O
of	O
the	O
HP	B-Device
100LX	I-Device
,	O
HP	B-Device
200LX	I-Device
and	O
HP	B-Device
OmniGo	I-Device
700LX	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lotus	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
acquired	O
by	O
IBM	O
in	O
1995	O
,	O
attempted	O
to	O
move	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
customers	O
to	O
Lotus	B-Operating_System
Notes	I-Operating_System
,	O
which	O
was	O
a	O
superior	O
client/server	B-Operating_System
platform	O
,	O
but	O
their	O
efforts	O
met	O
with	O
limited	O
success	O
,	O
because	O
of	O
early	O
challenges	O
in	O
the	O
area	O
of	O
coexistence	O
and	O
migration	O
between	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
and	O
Notes	O
and	O
because	O
Lotus	O
was	O
focused	O
on	O
groupware	B-Application
rather	O
than	O
simple	O
email	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
,	O
which	O
provided	O
a	O
simpler	O
migration	O
path	O
and	O
a	O
more	O
focused	O
solution	O
(	O
email	O
)	O
,	O
succeeded	O
in	O
winning	O
the	O
majority	O
of	O
the	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
installed	O
base	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
LAN-based	O
email	O
technology	O
was	O
rendered	O
obsolete	O
by	O
client/server	B-Operating_System
email	O
systems	O
such	O
as	O
Lotus	B-Operating_System
Notes	I-Operating_System
and	O
Microsoft	B-Operating_System
Exchange	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
final	O
version	O
of	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
was	O
8.5	O
and	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
2000	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
October	O
31	O
,	O
2000	O
:	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
withdrawn	O
from	O
the	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
January	O
31	O
,	O
2001	O
:	O
All	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
development	O
ceased	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
October	O
31	O
,	O
2001	O
:	O
cc:Mail	B-Application
telephone	O
support	O
ceased	O
.	O
</s>
