During Spring Break and continuing through the end of March, Microsoft has been rolling out changes to the Syracuse University email account, leaving some students wondering whether ongoing upgrades will solve its previous problems.

Students and professors can now share their calendar with other users through the site, import contacts from other accounts into their SUmail account and download multiple email attachments with one click.

Chris Finkle, communications manager of the Information Technology and Services department, confirmed Microsoft upgraded some of SUmail’s features.

‘Students will have more functionality,’ Finkle said.

Faith Zaki, a sophomore advertising major who checks her SUmail at least once every hour, said she was surprised when she noticed the change in the layout of the website. She said the change makes the site look cluttered and confusing.

‘I’m not a fan of the new layout,’ she said. ‘I haven’t gotten used to it, and I feel like I should have gotten used to it by now.’

But the changes to the calendar could be beneficial, Zaki said. The ability to share a calendar with other users will benefit professors more than students, as some professors use the calendar to post their office hours, Zaki said.

In the past, SUmail and Microsoft Outlook had experienced various technical difficulties, some of which still have not been completely fixed.

In February 2010, ITS reported problems with emails created from Blackboard and listservs failing to be redirected from SUmail to other email accounts, according to an article published in The Daily Orange on Sept. 22, 2010. Problems with Microsoft Outlook also delayed emails sent by or to SUmail accounts last February, according to the article.

ITS has previously investigated other email options, including Gmail and Yahoo, but after noticing a change in Microsoft Outlook’s response to problems, it decided to make no immediate change, according to the article.

Finkle said he believes competition with other services, such as Google’s Gmail, is what probably prompted the upgrades.

‘Like any software company, they’re always looking to improve their product,’ he said.

Chloé Font, a freshman public relations major, said she hopes the upgrade will help emails and documents go from sender to receiver with more ease.

‘Just the other day I sent a paper to my professor and she didn’t get it,’ Font said.

Finkle said ITS has not heard of any recent issues with SUmail, but users should always be prepared for system errors.

‘Microsoft issues are always out there. They will always exist,’ he said. ‘Whenever you’re working with a system that’s that large or complex, there’s always that possibility.’

That possibility may be frightening to many students, however, who depend on SUmail for important or professional information.

Jessica Ente, a sophomore public relations major, said she uses her SUmail account for everything, and she checks it all day, including for emails.

‘They get sent to my phone,’ she said. ‘And all of my friends get it sent to their phones.’

Finkle said he is unaware of any future changes that will be made. There have been some discussions, but nothing definitive, he said.

One change Finkle said he would like to see is the integration of SUmail with social media, such as Facebook or Twitter. He said he would like to see users have the ability to update or use their social media through SUmail somehow.

Finkle said he expects Microsoft to continue to make major changes to its system and to SUmail to keep up with competition. He said he wouldn’t be surprised if he saw bigger changes happening this summer.

When it comes to the number of changes that could be made to SUmail, Finkle said the possibilities are limitless.

‘As long as it’s easy to use,’ he said, ‘I think we’re on the right track.’

snbouvia@syr.edu

 

Published on March 21, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Stephanie: snbouvia@syr.edu | @snbouvia