Hi, we currently have 6 users.
The mail element works very smoothly.
I accept that having 30 peoples diaries flying around would be a bit
horrific, however, if you think about it, how many people's diaries do you
ever need to access? - my guess is two or three at the most. We've set it up
and none of us has more than two diaries to look at. The way it works is
quite clever, as if you share your diary with more than one person, it only
sends one hidden e-mail out from you to all the recipients to update , so in
fact the impact is not that serious.
We also use the meeting request function in Outlook, which is very smart as
it allows you to send an e-mail inviting someone to a meeting, when you open
it, it checks to see if you have free time and gives you the option to
accept/decline/make tentative, as well as automatically booking it in your
diary and responding to the originator. So you see, we can get a lot of the
functionality of Exchange without too much pain!
The mail-link into the ISP is not that much of a bind, I've used e-mail
since 1984 (in various forms) and to be honest the most painful experience
was Compuserve. Our ISP also has a service allowing access to your e-mail
from any web-browser. Handy if stuck out in the sticks.
Just to make matters more complicated, I also have a PDA which synchronises
mails with my Outlook, however, I have to say that for once Microsoft have
got it right as it all seems to work.
Regards
Chris Meaney (AIMC)
Managing Director
========================================================================
Harvard Consultancy Services Ltd, Bexin House, 2/3 St. Andrews Place
Southover Road, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 1UP
Tel: 01273 897517, Fax: 01273 471929, E-Mail: [log in to unmask]
Registered in England & Wales no. 3766540
Registered Office: 50 Harvard Close, Malling, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 2EJ.
-----Original Message-----
From: Museums Computer Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of
Peter Cheer
Sent: Friday, January 26, 2001 02:57
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Running Exchange Server
-----Original Message-----
From: Library PC
Sent: Friday, January 26, 2001 2:35 PM
To: Peter Cheer
Subject: FW: Running Exchange Server
Neat idea Chris.
I am sure that it will work fine for some people, how many users do you
have? I would guess that for each new user the increase in folder sharing
messages and admin complexity would make this solution less attractive.
Being mildly paranoid I am not sure that I would like to tie my mail system
in so tightly to an ISP either.
[Peter Cheer]
----------
From: "Chris Meaney"<[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, January 26, 2001 02:03
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Running Exchange Server
We considered using Exchange but decided not to for the reasons that you
outline.
There is another alternative; our ISP Netlink offer a POP mailbox service
(I'm sure there are others that do the same) as part of our hosting package.
Essentially this gives us up to 25 POP mailboxes which can be accessed over
any Internet connection and linked to using a software package, such as
Outlook.
The mailname will be based around a domain name which you have registered,
but as well as allowing 25 mailboxes, you can also set up aliases which
allow you for example, to have [log in to unmask], [log in to unmask]
pointing to a different e-mail address. This is also useful for setting up
mailing lists, we have several for our internal and external use, where you
can attach multiple e-mail addresses to a single e-mail name, like
[log in to unmask]
Administration is all conducted through password-controlled forms on the
web.
Finally, we use the shared folders facility within Outlook 2000 that allows
you to share any folder on your mail program, apart from your inbox. This is
all handled by "invisible" e-mails, that once set-up will automatically
forward any changes in your diary to the nominated recipients, who can
add/amend/browse you diary on their Outlook system. This works anywhere in
the world, as long as they have an internet e-mail address and Outlook.
The downside to this approach is that all out e-mail is via the Internet,
but considering we were quoted about 5,000 pounds to deploy an Exchange
server, and this has cost us about 250 pounds, you can see why I'm happy
with my choice!
Chris Meaney (AIMC)
Managing Director
========================================================================
Harvard Consultancy Services Ltd, Bexin House, 2/3 St. Andrews Place
Southover Road, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 1UP
Tel: 01273 897517, Fax: 01273 471929, E-Mail: [log in to unmask]
Registered in England & Wales no. 3766540
Registered Office: 50 Harvard Close, Malling, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 2EJ.
-----Original Message-----
From: Museums Computer Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of
Peter Cheer
Sent: Friday, January 26, 2001 12:39
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Running Exchange Server
Sue
We have been running MS Exchange Server at the Scottish Museums Council
since last May and it has both good and bad points.
The program looks very complex because it is loaded with features that are
designed for large corporate users with more than one site to manage. If you
do not have to cope with hundreds of users spread over multiple sites the
admin tasks are quite easy to manage.
If you are using MS Outlook as a mail / calendar / diary solution running
Exchange will enable a range of work group features that can be useful.
However, MS Exchange is happiest running on its' own dedicated machine,
sharing with other applications can cause problems. Also to link up with an
external e-mail provider you need an SMTP feed, there are plenty of software
solutions that offer a hook up between Exchange and a POP 3 account but they
do not enjoy a very good reputation.
On balance we have had Exchange for a while now and it has not given any
problems.
Hope this helps.
Peter Cheer
Peter Cheer
Information Technology Officer
tel 0131 476 8462
[log in to unmask]
Scottish Museums Council
20-22 Torphichen St, Edinburgh EH3 8JB.
Tel +131 229 7462. Fax +131 229 2728.
E-mail [log in to unmask]
Web http://www.scottishmuseums.org.uk
This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and
intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they
are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify
the system manager.
cy9 5
Peter Cheer
Information Technology Officer
tel 0131 476 8462
[log in to unmask]
Scottish Museums Council
20-22 Torphichen St, Edinburgh EH3 8JB.
Tel +131 229 7462. Fax +131 229 2728.
E-mail [log in to unmask]
Web http://www.scottishmuseums.org.uk
This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and
intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they
are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify
the system manager.
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