The campus is scheduled to implement a new email system for the start of the school day on Monday, September 24th. The package selected is from Mirapoint Corporation. It is well-suited for the campus environment and will provide the University with greater reliability, a more responsive and robust web mail interface, and better spam filtering. You can learn more about the Mirapoint product and how it has worked for other Universities at http://mirapoint.com/edu/portal/.

Dates and timing of the change: 

• New spam filtering is scheduled to be installed on September 12th.
• A Bytes 'n Bites session on the new email system will be held on Thursday, September 13, at noon in LH 10.
• No new email accounts will be issued in the old system after September 19th.  At the same time, changes to aliases or forwarding in the old system will be no longer be accommodated
• A preliminary conversion of mailboxes will begin on the evening of Friday, September 21st.  Mail delivery in the old system will continue during this period.
• The old email delivery system will be turned off at 5pm on Sunday, September 23rd, and any changes made since Friday will be added to the new system.
• The new, Mirapoint system will come up when ready, but should be in place by 8am, Monday September 24th.

What’s a “POD” password and how do I get it?  

The POD password is already used by much of the campus to access the Blackboard system and the Pods.  If you already know this password, you don’t have to do anything except use it starting on September 24th.

If you don’t yet have a POD password, or have forgotten it, here’s how to get one.

• Have your ID card handy.
• Go to the BUSI web page at <busi.binghamton.edu>.
• Under the heading “Email and UserID’s”, click on “Change POD Password”.
• Follow the instructions to set up or change your password.

• If you have trouble, call the Helpdesk at 7-6420.

Does my existing email client work with the new system?  

It should.  And the pointers in your email client will point to the new system once the upgrade happens.  You shouldn’t have to change any settings except your password.

Do I have to do any configuration changes?

No.

What happens to my old email, and old folders?

They’ll be converted and brought into the new system.

What happens to any aliases or forwarding that I have set up in the old system?

They’ll be converted and brought into the new system.

Are there any changes ITS recommends for me? 

No changes are needed. The new system enables many features, including authenticated SMTP and a much more robust web front-end than the old SquirrelMail.  We encourage you to try out the web-mail front-end for its convenience.   There are other features of the system that you might take advantage of, and we’ll announce them once the basic change has been made.

I’m on Exchange.  What changes for me?

Nothing!

Why are you upgrading during the semester instead of over a break? 

We are taking advantage of the short break provided by Yom Kippur to do the conversion work.  But, since this change involves using a different password, we are taking the unusual step of upgrading during a semester so that people will be on campus and able to access the helpdesk and other support services in case they run into any trouble.