This section deals with changes in the UTORmail software to be distributed in September.
Windows
We currently distribute ECSMail 2.4. A minor upgrade is available to version 2.4.1 but we have decided not to go to it. ECSMail 2.4 is known not to work with Windows 95--however, see discussion in section dealing with Lan Workplace for DOS (LWP).
The vendor has been working on major changes to the look and feel of the product following recommendations primarily from UofT. ECSMail is now known as Simeon. Our review of Simeon 3.2.1 pointed out some show stoppers. These had to do with the fact we don't permit storage of folders other than inbox at the post office, as other places do, and the fact we have chosen to delay installing IMSP, unlike other sites. We also identified several features of ECSMail 2.4, not in Simeon 3.2.1, which we feel UofT users are reliant on. The vendor is giving priority to adding these features back in, and addressing our show stoppers. To show progress the vendor will ship us work in progress on Aug 18. We will then be able to access when it will be ready by. In the meantime, we have decided to go with ECSMail 2.4 for September distribution.
Macintosh
We currently distribute Eudora 1.4.1. Eudora 1.5.3 is available, but we have decided not to go to it. Note that Eudora requires at least MacOS 7.
MS-DOS
We currently distribute MS-DOS Pine 3.89. We have decided to go to MS-DOS Pine 3.9.1. This will be consistent with the version of Pine available through UTORlogin. Further comments are in the section on MS-DOS and LWP. We will be testing for upwards compatibility of local folders, and any documentation we distribute. Support staff will have to become familiar with the differences.
Checking Interval
For Windows ECSMail and Macintosh Eudora, we currently instruct individuals to set their software to check the post office for new mail every minute. (Pine is not configurable.) This high frequency was selected in order to guarantee fast delivery times. However, it turns out to be excessive, resulting in the following negative effects:
* annoying pause in foreground applications every minute, when ECSMail or Eudora accesses the post office.
* annoying flicker and update of the screen every minute, when ECSMail or Eudora is being used
* negative performance impact on post office
For these reasons, starting immediately, we will be recommending that users set the interval to 10 minutes. We will also document that some users may prefer not to have the software automatically check for new mail, preferring to force a check manually with a pulldown menu.