Image: 2012-09-19 21:30:00
Two years ago, a selection committee at Tech decided on Google Apps as a replacement email system for the entire school. That process is culminating next month as the entire school transfers to Gmail.
“(Former SGA president Bo Hart) was practically doing cartwheels,” said Ron Jarrell, manager of E-Communications at Tech.
Student excitement from then to now hasn't dimmed.
“Google is a lot more user-friendly, and I’m glad I made the transition,” said Lindsay Skolrood, a junior communication major.
Since July 15, Tech faculty, staff and students have been encouraged to transfer to an entirely new interface, Google Apps for Education. The Gmail-based system will soon be school-wide and mandatory. WebMail will be rendered obsolete in the coming weeks.
Google Apps for Education boasts many features not previously available on WebMail. Google's well-known calendar, contacts, docs and sites are all included in the package in addition to the frequently used email.
“The first thing I noticed was all the new features and how much more savvy Google is than the old interface,” said Matt Larramore, a sophomore life sciences major. “So far, I have already used the chat function with whole groups of people.”
When sending a mass email to others with the note, “See attached document,” Larramore had forgotten to upload his attachment. Google picked up on the written error, alerting him and helped avoid confusion.
According to Kevin Davis, Tech's help desk manager, roughly 20,000 people have already converted to Gmail.
Between 500 and 1,000 Webmail users are moving over daily out of a total 65,000 active accounts. These accounts belong to students, faculty, staff, retirees and last year's alumni. Alumni beyond graduates of 2012 have already been transferred to Gmail.
With the new system, mail no longer has an expiration date; previously, all information was deleted after 90 days. 25 GB of storage comes with every account, along with a 25 MB size limit on emails. The new spam management system replaces Junkmail Manager.
“With WebMail, I had a constant problem with emails randomly going missing,” Skolrood said.
Increased user-friendliness can be attributed partially to the IMAP communication technology used by Gmail. Much like Apple's “iCloud” technology, work done on mobile devices syncs to the computer, and vice-versa. The POP technology used by WebMail means that when you read an email on one device it won't be recognized as already read on another.
A version of this article appeared in the Sep 20 issue of the Collegiate Times.
Leave a comment 11 Comments Write a letter to the editor
All letters to the editor must include a name, e-mail, daytime phone number and affiliation to Virginia Tech. Affiliation includes: year and major for students; position and department for faculty and staff; current city for alumni and parents.
It's true that the Exchange servers will be unaffected, but as a reminder, Exchange users still need to transition their WebMail account over to VT Google Apps (and make sure they retain the forward to Exchange if they have one set up).
Also, the video of the town hall meeting was posted earlier than expected: http://youtu.be/2Uu8EDYXZ88
Reply to this Top
I wish VT had gone to MS Office 365 for Education instead of Google.
Reply to this Top
A nontrivial portion of faculty and students don't use Windows.
Reply to this Top
I was wondering if you ever considered changing the page layout of your blog? Its very well written; I love what youve got to say. But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could connect with it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having 1 or two images. Maybe you could space it out better?
discount north face http://qkttzmpaya.webs.com/apps/blog/show/19722110-north-face-realization-jackets-the-jazz-age-had-a-profound-impact-on-clothing
Reply to this Top
Good day! I know this is kinda off topic however I'd figured I'd ask. Would you be interested in exchanging links or maybe guest writing a blog article or vice-versa? My site discusses a lot of the same subjects as yours and I feel we could greatly benefit from each other. If you are interested feel free to shoot me an email. I look forward to hearing from you! Awesome blog by the way!
north face outlet http://cheapnorthfacefleecefdgfd.iwannayou.com/2013/01/09/nike-dunks-high/
Reply to this Top
Whoa! This blog looks just like my old one! It's on a entirely different subject but it has pretty much the same page layout and design. Superb choice of colors!
north face jackets sale http://authorcraftforum.co.uk/blog_entry.php?user=30wh1r3x&blogentry_id=2236882
Reply to this Top
Good – I should certainly pronounce, impressed with your site. I had no trouble navigating through all tabs as well as related information ended up being truly easy to do to access. I recently found what I hoped for before you know it in the least. Reasonably unusual. Is likely to appreciate it for those who add forums or something, site theme . a tones way for your customer to communicate. Excellent task.. Gertine http://monavista.ru/news/kuplennyj_v_duty_free_alkogol_predlagayut_vydavat_posle_poleta/
Reply to this Top
I would like to thnkx for the efforts you have put in writing this blog. I am hoping the same high-grade blog post from you in the upcoming as well. Lautner http://karinafef.skyrock.com/3135283444-So-Many-Ray-ban-Sunlight-Are-Made-Of-Top-rated-Components-That.html?action=SHOW_COMMENT
Reply to this Top
As a matter of fact, searching really good whereas carrying a clutch, tote or satchel is all a matter of choosing the ideal bag for you. jordan shoes http://cooleststylejordanshoes.yolasite.com/
Reply to this Top
I had been wondering if your hosting is OK? Not that I am complaining, but sluggish loading instances times will very frequently affect your placement in google and could damage your high quality score if ads and marketing with Adwords. Jones sabo now it's a nation's motorola milestone and where you can the virgin mobile island destina http://simnetconnect.org/activity/p/81300/
Reply to this Top
eclxsjn <a href="http://www.timberlandschuhede.eu/26-womens-timberland-sandalen-stiefel/" title="Frauen Timberland Sandalen Stiefel">Frauen Timberland Sandalen Stiefel</a>
Reply to this Top