OIT launches webmail beta
Sept. 3, 2008
Ready to try out a new look and feel for your Duke e-mail? You’re in luck – OIT has launched a beta of four new webmail interfaces.
All Duke students, faculty and staff who use webmail can visit http://webmail.duke.edu/beta to try out one of four new beta interfaces:
- Advanced Interface, designed for Firefox and Internet Explorer, provides additional functionality with a new look and feel;
- Simple Interface offers similar functionality with a clean look and feel and the ability to drag and drop messages;
- Basic Interface, which works with any Internet browser, looks similar to the simple interface; and
- Phone Interface, which works on most smartphones and mobile devices.
For many popular browsers, such as Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer, the interface best suited to the browser in use will be automatically selected. Users can easily override this decision or try a different browser to sample a different interface.
“This beta stems from a dialog with students last spring,” explained Klara Jelinkova, senior director of Shared Services and Infrastructure. “We held several focus groups with students and listened to their concerns about e-mail, many of which centered on the webmail client.
“As a result, we’re testing multiple iterations of webmail based on these students’ preferences. We encourage people across campus to try them out and give feedback about which they prefer. Based on what we hear from Duke’s students, faculty and staff, we’ll make plans to roll out a new Web interface.”
During the beta period, the standard webmail client will still be available. The beta interface features and looks may change and evolve throughout the beta period in response to functionality changes and user feedback.