E-mail upgrade spells relief for Mac users

General Article

Exchange 2003 upgrade offers Mac OS X connectivity, Web access improvements and increased mailbox size

One in five workers becomes instantly angry without e-mail access and one-third are irate after only five minutes of e-mail deprivation, according to a survey conducted in the United States and Europe and reported last year by ZDNet. By this measurement, pending e-mail improvements at Fred Hutchinson should result in widespread tranquility. In April, Information Technology (IT) will upgrade the center e-mail system to Exchange 2003. In the process, users will gain improvements in individual mailbox size, Outlook Web Access and Apple Macintosh connectivity.

Dr. John Potter, PHS division director and a devout Mac user, looks forward to the e-mail service upgrade. "I will be able to escape from the vagaries of using an elderly Outlook under a somewhat balky OS 9," he said. "The old setup occasionally decides to wage war on both OS X and Outlook. It is simply a matter of making one's software gentler on one's life."

E-mail improvements

An e-mail server is like a regional post office for the center. The center's four Exchange mail servers handle more than 80,000 pieces of mail each day. While the upgrade was necessary because Microsoft is suspending support for the old operating system, Exchange 2003 will also result in improvements to the way e-mail is accessed at the center.

These improvements include:

• Mac OS X Outlook
  The new Exchange servers will work with Mac Outlook in OS X. Prior to the upgrade, Mac OS X users relied on Outlook for OS 9, an operating system Apple phased out several years ago.



• Outlook Web access improvements
  Center employees and affiliates can use Outlook Web access to reach their center mailbox from any computer connected to the Internet. The upgrade has the same features and appearance as an Office 2003 desktop copy of Outlook. You can use spelling checker, auto signature and your task manager. It will be easier to open attachments and delete items. If you have an Exchange account, visit the IT Web site at: centernet.fhcrc.org/CN/depts/it and click on "E-mail via the Web," to check out the new upgrade.



• Mailbox size
  Mailbox size will increase from 50 MB to 250 MB. With this much space, you can send and receive large e-mail attachments. However, even with this much room, your data will be more secure if it is stored in an e-mail archive in your personal storage space on a network server rather than in your Exchange mailbox.

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Information Technology's tips to manage your mailbox

• Empty your deleted items regularly. Outlook may be set up to hold on to all of the mail you delete.
• Empty or move your sent items to an archive folder. Outlook may be set up to hold a copy of every message you send.
• Store important e-mail in an archive folder rather than in your mailbox. Store your archive in your personal network space. This space is backed up regularly and can be readily recovered.

For more information about managing your mailbox, refer to centernet.fhcrc.org/CN/depts/it/help/list_services/5email/.

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