OIT releases trial run of revamped Webmail

The switch is a result of a collaboration among the USG, the Graduate Student Government (GSG) and OIT that started last spring as a response to student surveys and discussions about the current system.

The new mail client retains the same storage capacity and file-size limits for attachments, but there are upgrades to the search and organization functions.

Along with a new layout and design, @Mail provides users with an e-mail preview pane, click-and-drag options and the ability to mark messages as unread.

There are two interfaces for the client, dubbed “simple” and “advanced,” which offer different user experiences. The simple version “asynchronously loads data from the server,” which allows for greater compatibility with different browsers and operating systems and increases speed, according to @Mail documentation. This interface more closely resembles the Sun Java client compared to the advanced version, which has the look and feel of non-Webmail e-mail clients like Microsoft Outlook and Mozilla Thunderbird.

Genesis of the switch

The USG’s IT committee discussed with OIT the implementation of a new e-mail client after receiving numerous student complaints about the Sun Java platform, ranging from general difficulty of use to a problem in which the client claimed that users’ inboxes were empty, USG president Josh Weinstein ’09 said in an e-mail.

Focus groups representing students with diverse interests and habits met to discuss potential Webmail improvements, OIT customer services manager Leila Shahbender said.

The diversity of discussion at those meetings emphasized how “different groups have different communication needs,” she explained.

OIT then “worked diligently” with the USG and GSG to address students’ concerns, Weinstein said.

There are no additional costs to switching clients because “what we are doing is ultimately replacing the old system with the new one,” OIT information officer Steven Sather said in an e-mail.

Student reactions

“I love the new Webmail; it’s so cool,” Maya Reid ’12 said. “It works more like Gmail or Yahoo or a regular e-mail account.”

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Though Reid said she “didn’t have a problem” with the old client, she said she liked the new aspects of @Mail, especially the preview-pane feature.

“There was nothing wrong with the old one, the new one is just easier,” she said.

Though both versions of the new client are fully available to users, the new system is still in a test period to iron out programming bugs and other problems.

“As with any computer software there are issues you have to work through when installing and configuring it,” Sather said. “We believe we have all of the outstanding problems corrected, but the current ‘test drive’ period will be an additional good test.”

Users can provide feedback about the new Webmail by contacting the OIT help desk and will be able to access the old system until spring 2009.

“So far I have only heard positive comments,” Sather said.

There are, however, some students who say they have experienced minor problems with @Mail over the past few days.

“It’s a definite improvement over the old system, but it still has some glitches,” Jenny Lah GS said. “I lost an e-mail because the spell-check didn’t work.”