i don't profess to answer these questions authoritatively, but my take:
- Can I set permissions to view, access and edit documents flexibly for different users?
yes
- Can I hide sensitive info (my contacts, my calendar, certain documents) from freelancers but still give them access to certain parts of zimbra?
yes
- Is the collaborative writing "in real time"?
no
- Can freelancers upload their work?
yes
- But, can I prevent freelancers/collaborators to use my domain as a backup server, document or video vault, or centralized calendar/address book?
uh.. er.. uh.. possibly
- how secure is zimbra?
now THERE's a question!!! security is always as good as the weakest link. given the relative newness, size and dynamic nature of the core java codebase, and the many opensource products used as components (some of which are somewhat old versions), i wouldn't trust nuclear secrets to it. but i'd guess it's as least as secure as any existing alternatives. (how's that for an ambiguous answer)
- can I admin the authentication/login from "within" zimbra, or do I need to access files or configs on my server?
yes. all from a nice sparkly ajax gui.  |