The UB WebMail system, which was state-of-the-art when it was introduced 12 years ago, will no longer be available beginning Jan. 30. UBmail, which has been available since the summer of 2007, will replace it.
"The old WebMail was hard to use," said Richard Lesniak, director of Computing and Information Technology (CIT). "It hadn't been updated in a long time."
The server that supported the old E-mail system has gone out of business, meaning that it would no longer upgrade or modify the features, according to Saira Hasnain, interim director of Enterprise Infrastructure Services. It also means that there was no supporting host to ensure the security of the site, and third parties could potentially read E-mails.
"This change is in the best interest of customers because of the support issue," Hasnain said.
The switchover from old to new had been scheduled for last year, but the CIT office felt that there were still too many people relying on the old system at that time.
"I didn't think enough people had migrated yet," Lesniak said. "They weren't given enough notice."
Some students have yet to make the switch, sticking with what is familiar rather than trying to learn a new system.
"I'm used to it," said Tammam Alomari, a senior accounting major, referring to the old WebMail. "It's more user-friendly. I tried the new one once and switched back because I didn't know how to navigate it."
Alomari said he will probably forward his e-mail to one of his other accounts once the transition is finalized next week.
While the WebMail of years past may have more simplistic features that make it easy to work with, CIT assures students that it cannot compare to the new system. With more modern-looking interfaces, applications for specific browsers like Firefox, and the ability to handle large, multimedia attachments, the UBmail has a leg up on its predecessor. E-mail can also be checked on a cell phone with its mobile version.
"The new system is much better," said Michelle Salopek, a graduate student in social work. "I don't have to create a sent box...that was my favorite addition."
Salopek said she found UBmail to be user-friendly but wishes it had Gmail qualities like more free space.
According to Lesniak, the hope is to have UB's E-mail up to par with Gmail in the future. The CIT members are testing out new software that will be the utmost in spam blocking, similar to a Gmail or Yahoo filter.
In the meantime, UBmail users are dealing with a "modern, secure" system, Lesniak said. However, students still have the option of transferring their mail to another account.
Brian Seguin, a sophomore economics major, said he used to have his E-mail transferred from the old system, but he is staying with the new UBmail.
"I didn't like (the old one), it was aggravating. I didn't like how it organized things," he said.
With the primitive aspects of WebMail a thing of the past, UB will strive to keep its E-mail in tune with the modern age.
"We're trying to catch up," Lesniak said.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
