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University Migrating Students to Windows Live Mail?

Posted by Cliff on from the does-this-sound-like-a-good-idea dept.

An anonymous reader wonders: "My University has begun a migration of student email services to Windows Live Mail. All students will be forced onto the system by the end of the semester, but it doesn't support POP or IMAP. Because of that limitation, the only freely available mail client it supports is Windows Live Desktop, which is only available on Windows and I'm worried its ads might be vulnerable to malware just like the ones in Live Messenger. I depend on my mail client and I am concerned about this, because we're not allowed to forward our mail but are responsible for information received there from the University and classes, I'm not on a Windows machine, and I don't have the time to regularly check for web-mail, during the day." What are the pros and cons of such a move for a mid-sized or large college? If you were in charge of the communications of a such a university, would you outsource [please note the vendor neutrality, here] your e-mail? Has anyone else's tech department migrated to Windows Live Mail? Why did they make that decision, and how did it work out for the students? For those of us who have already switched our accounts with no way to revert, what ways exist to get around the lack of POP and still use a client? Is there any hope we can get the University to change back or Microsoft to implement POP before the semester's end? How does your University manage their email?"

11 of 450 comments (clear)

  1. Contact them by Nightspirit · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The program is still in beta (why the university is going with a beta product I have no idea).
    Use this form to contact them and tell them what you want (pop, imap support, or whatever).
    http://feedback.msn.com/eform.aspx?productkey=mail beta&locale=en-us

    1. Re:Contact them by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Microsoft is fully aware that any modern email server should support POP and IMAP. But you have to be ignorant of Microsoft's business practices to not see what the facts show -- the program (meant in a general sense) here makes it so one's email is held captive in a Microsoft-only format. Not just your data is captive -- in order to view your data you also have to use a computer running Windows. This is also known as, why the fuck did the United States not complete its prosecution of Microsoft and prevent these illegal business practices. Notice the last: you cannot forward your email. You cannot forward your email. Microsoft does the exact same thing on their Exchange email server -- no email forwarding allowed. But then, you have to know that Microsoft makes its money by charging a tiered price for the amount of data in each account. You won't end up with a lot of data in your account if you forward your email. So, guess what, with Microsoft you do not get to.

      You also won't end up locked in.

      The correct answer to the student's questions is to go to a different school. Its institution's staff IT people are obviously incompetent or getting kickbacks if they are going with this "solution" that, like Windows Vista (makes XP look like a dream), gets in your way. Microsoft's products are become a severe hinderance to productivity.

  2. yes and no by oohshiny · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Outsourcing mail makes sense, but outsourcing to a service that doesn't support POP or IMAP doesn't.

    Your university might want to consider outsourcing to Google Mail...

    1. Re:yes and no by Rinisari · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Utilize the school's student newspaper. Write a letter to the editor, if not a guest editorial. Most editors are cool and will let you write the editorial, as long as you keep it constructive and cite specific examples and sources while keeping it professional and logical. Another option is flyering the campus, but that's a little more difficult at a university of 20,000+ than a college of ~1,500.

      --
      Colin Dean Go a year without DRM
  3. Uh, complain? by suso · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Don't waste your time asking about it on Slashdot. You should be writing to the president of your University and make him aware of your concerns. If they don't change, transfer to another college.

    1. Re:Uh, complain? by maynard · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Uhhh. Why should he bother changing university (and job) over IT email policy? Even if he doesn't like the email service, doesn't run Windows, and won't ever use it - why does that warrant transfer to a new school? Perhaps there are other compelling reasons why he might want to stay. For example, he has a girlfriend there; he has a good relationship with a certain professor who is willing to help his career path; he might lose transfer credits in the process; etc etc etc.

      Your suggestion seems a tad excessive, IMO.

    2. Re:Uh, complain? by gnud · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Guys, why is every Ask Slashdot item answered with "dont waste your time on slashdot, instead go bug $some_seemingly_appropriate_person". If that is you attitude, just dont read any "Ask Slashdot" threads. Perhaps he just wants ammunition for his blazing letter to the university board =)

  4. My experience as a student and campus IT admin. by jerbenn · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I work at a mid-size university and we outsource student email services to a state run provider. From my experience as both an IT admin and a student, I find that most student's don't use their campus provided email anyway......rather resorting to using their own personal accounts with hotmail, google, etc... The wise thing to do in my opinion is provide some sort of email service (outsourced is fine) for the small percent of students who actually use it, and allow student's to submit their own email addresses to the campus database.......which would then get loaded into the 'official' campus address book for use by faculty and other students.......

  5. What are the specific requirements? by khasim · · Score: 5, Insightful

    As with any project, you have to determine the specific requirements before you can even THINK of looking at vendors.

    #1. Must support pop3 - will test using clients X, Y & Z.

    #2. Must support imap - will test using clients X, Y & Z.

    #3. Must support 1 & 2 with encryption - will test using clients X, Y & Z.

    etc.

    It is the requirements that make or break projects. Determine the requirements and how you'll be testing to see if those requirements will be met and THEN you can start looking at which vendors can meet those requirements (and testing to see that they actually DO meet them).

  6. Re:No POP service? by wile_e8 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why can't they just offer POP service to those who want it?

    Because then you could use non-Microsoft products to access your mail.

  7. that's not outsourcing by oohshiny · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Google and Microsoft will advertise if you don't pay them, as well they should. Getting a free service from a company isn't "outsourcing".

    Outsourcing means you pay market rates for the service. Then, your students won't be subjected to advertising.

    (As an aside, the ads are easy to kill.)