Students now have a new way to access their UR e-mail account through the Internet. The Web interface, which was released for general use this week, allows students to sign into their mail accounts using a Web browser.
Information Technology Services was planning to release the Web Mail concept next fall, but found a product they felt was ready for release before students and faculty leave this spring.
?We?re ready to go,? Joe Pasqu-arelli, assistant to the director of ITS said. ?We only had a few things to fix and we were working as hard as possible to get something out as fast as possible that was 100 percent.?
The new site will allow students and faculty to access their e-mail accounts from any place in the world with a Web browser.
?The mail server will be accessible anytime, anywhere,? Pasquarelli said. ?We hope to make [the server] more useful.?
While the mail server will still be accessible through Telnet, the Web site will offer increased security, a spell check feature and an easier way to get attached files through e-mail.
It will provide another way for students used to e-mail services like Hotmail, Netscape and Yahoo to access their accounts.
?It really depends on what you?re used to,? he said. ?It is a just a matter of convenience.?
ITS began formal Web Mail testing in the middle of January. Employees of ITS/ATS accessed the interface, looking for bugs in the software and giving input on the feature?s usability.
The new site can be found at https://mail.rochester.edu.
