2008 Woodie Awards
Tech Talk: E-mail: anytime, anywhere
Zachary Leahan '09
Issue date: 3/19/08 Section: Features
This is for the student who wants to access e-mail on any computer and wants to use any type of client.
There are two popular protocols for e-mail access, POP3 and IMAP. IMAP is better for students.
By default, Saint Joseph's e-mail can be accessed via MySJU, Squirrelmail, or any mail client with the POP3 protocol. I can configure Microsoft Outlook to download mail from Saint Joseph's servers. POP3 doesn't synchronize, it downloads. So when I hit Send/Receive within Outlook, it downloads the new e-mails while deleting the copies on the server. This means that when I check mail on MySJU from another computer, the e-mails that I viewed within Outlook don't come up in the MySJU inbox. Additionally, within Outlook, I can't send outgoing mail when I am not on the Saint Joseph's network. This is not a viable setup.
There's a better way. Last September, I wrote about the Gmail adoption, "Gmail takes on MySJU," where students set up forwarding within the Saint Joseph's mail system so that they can manage e-mails within Gmail (see tutorial at zacharyleahan.googlepages.com). This free service has gotten better since then-The storage space is now up to 6.5 GBs.
But the most substantial improvement is IMAP access. IMAP is an e-mail access protocol that is different from POP3. As noted earlier, POP3 simply downloads the messages (usually, the client is set up to check for new messages every 5 minutes). IMAP allows the user to connect with a mailbox, and it keeps the mail on the server. The drawback here is that you have to be connected to the internet to read any mail. IMAP is popular in corporate environments since the user can access mail seamlessly through a desktop client or through a webmail interface.
If you set up forwarding within SJU's Squirrelmail, enable IMAP access within Gmail, and put the IMAP settings within Outlook, you would have a functional Outlook setup, handling both SJU mail and Gmail. Gmail stars show up as Outlook flags. Gmail labels show up as Outlook folders. When I send an e-mail within Outlook, that e-mail will be in the sent mail folder within Gmail.
Outlook is just an example of an e-mail client with IMAP support. You can use many different clients without worrying about replication issues. Other e-mail client options include Apple Mail, Thunderbird, iPhone, Blackberry, and Windows Mobile. Google "Gmail IMAP client list" for setup instructions.
You might be thinking, why is this worth the hassle? Some students are coming off of internships and are accustomed to Outlook's advanced features. Maybe the student with the shiny new iPhone wants to get more use out of it. Also, some students have internships or full time offers with companies that use a particular e-mail client. Becoming familiar with the client beforehand makes sense.
There are two popular protocols for e-mail access, POP3 and IMAP. IMAP is better for students.
By default, Saint Joseph's e-mail can be accessed via MySJU, Squirrelmail, or any mail client with the POP3 protocol. I can configure Microsoft Outlook to download mail from Saint Joseph's servers. POP3 doesn't synchronize, it downloads. So when I hit Send/Receive within Outlook, it downloads the new e-mails while deleting the copies on the server. This means that when I check mail on MySJU from another computer, the e-mails that I viewed within Outlook don't come up in the MySJU inbox. Additionally, within Outlook, I can't send outgoing mail when I am not on the Saint Joseph's network. This is not a viable setup.
There's a better way. Last September, I wrote about the Gmail adoption, "Gmail takes on MySJU," where students set up forwarding within the Saint Joseph's mail system so that they can manage e-mails within Gmail (see tutorial at zacharyleahan.googlepages.com). This free service has gotten better since then-The storage space is now up to 6.5 GBs.
But the most substantial improvement is IMAP access. IMAP is an e-mail access protocol that is different from POP3. As noted earlier, POP3 simply downloads the messages (usually, the client is set up to check for new messages every 5 minutes). IMAP allows the user to connect with a mailbox, and it keeps the mail on the server. The drawback here is that you have to be connected to the internet to read any mail. IMAP is popular in corporate environments since the user can access mail seamlessly through a desktop client or through a webmail interface.
If you set up forwarding within SJU's Squirrelmail, enable IMAP access within Gmail, and put the IMAP settings within Outlook, you would have a functional Outlook setup, handling both SJU mail and Gmail. Gmail stars show up as Outlook flags. Gmail labels show up as Outlook folders. When I send an e-mail within Outlook, that e-mail will be in the sent mail folder within Gmail.
Outlook is just an example of an e-mail client with IMAP support. You can use many different clients without worrying about replication issues. Other e-mail client options include Apple Mail, Thunderbird, iPhone, Blackberry, and Windows Mobile. Google "Gmail IMAP client list" for setup instructions.
You might be thinking, why is this worth the hassle? Some students are coming off of internships and are accustomed to Outlook's advanced features. Maybe the student with the shiny new iPhone wants to get more use out of it. Also, some students have internships or full time offers with companies that use a particular e-mail client. Becoming familiar with the client beforehand makes sense.
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