News Brief: Wharton changes e-mail server

Wharton Computing performed a major upgrade to the school's e-mail server last month by switching to Microsoft Exchange 2007, which offers more space, advanced security and other new features to Wharton students.

The upgrade is a response to "student requests for more e-mail storage space," according to the Wharton Computing Web site. Student e-mail accounts will now offer 500 megabytes of storage instead of the former 150 megabytes.

The new server will also have more advanced features, like improvements to the scheduling assistant tool. Now when trying to schedule an appointment, students will be able to see when attendees are busy or free and plan their meetings accordingly.

Visually, the new server will look and operate more like Outlook. It can be synchronized with Webmail or other e-mail programs like Thunderbird.

Instructions for reconfiguring e-mail accounts are available in detail at the Wharton Computing Web site.

The new server can also be easily synchronized with handheld devices and cell phones, like Palm devices, Blackberries or iPhones.

Changes were implemented during the week of June 22-25.

Comments (1)

The problem is, it's a pain in the ass! The Webmail interface is less user-friendly because the toolbars at the top takes up more room, making the messages list and preview pane smaller. You can't customize the interface to make the toolbar icons fit on one line. It's also not compatible with Outlook versions earlier than 2003, meaning those who have 2000 or XP or older need to upgrade. Unfortunately, Microsoft doesn't sell Outlook by itself; you have to buy it as part of the Office package. But Penn's certainly not the only one guilty of software "upgrades" that aren't improvements on the old versions and in many ways are inferior.

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