out-of-the-box equivalent to the forums, which I find myself pining for - it
certainly nurtures a collaborative environment. Mailing lists just aren't
the same.
Also, I know it's propriety is sometimes a pain, but the easy setup of the
FirstClass Client saves a lot of troubleshooting - not to mention internal
documentation. I don't think I could ever say the same for Outlook. Ever.
On the other hand, IMAP or POP in FirstClass leaves something to be desired
- although that is a solution to the PDA question if you can do SMTP
securely. I also wasn't terribly thrilled with Calendering in FC. Never
used Voice or Fax functionalities.
On the Administration side, once I got used to FirstClass, I liked it much
better than Exchange. Although I wasn't using FirstClass in an AD
environment. I might go to Exchange simply for the AD tie-ins if I was
using MS servers. Folks hate a lot of passwords.
On Fri, Feb 22, 2008 at 11:20 AM, Fred Bartels <fred_bartels@rcds.rye.ny.us>
wrote:
> I would just add to this that choosing an email system based upon the
> inability of a very few administrators to imagine life without
> Blackberries is not exactly a pedagogically sound decision.
>
>
> A forum for independent school educators <ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU> writes:
> >I've managed both FirstClass and Exchange and have found things to love
> >anvd
> >hate about both. If you're interested in unified messaging (Fax, voice
> >matil,
> >and e-mail all in one place), the FirstClass solution is pretty slick and
> >integrates nicely with the FC server. FC also has some nice collaboration
> >features (like chat) that may or may not be great in your particular
> >environment. That said, calendaring, remote access, and Blackberry
> >integration are strong suits for Exchange, and our administrators, at
> >leasgt,
> >can't imagine life without Blackberries. Educational pricing for
> >Exchangea is
> >pretty competitive, and in my experience is no easier or harder to manage
> >than FirstClass. (shrug) I really think the "best" solution for a given
> >school depends on the institution's communications culture and how it
> >hopeos
> >to direct that culture in the future
> >
> >Good luck with the decision!
> >
> >David
> >
> >David Rossell
> >Administrator of Network Services and Planning
> >Norwood School
> >8821 River Rd.
> >Bethesda, MD 20817
> >(301) 841-2178
> >drossell@norwoodschool.org
> >
> >
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From: A forum for independent school educators
> >[mailto:ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On Behalf Of Peter Hoopes
> >Sent: Friday, February 22, 2008 10:41 AM
> >To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
> >Subject: Re: FirstClass to Exchange 2007
> >
> >A forum for independent school educators <ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU> on
> >February 22, 2008 at 10:37 AM -0500 wrote:
> >>Most organizations that considering do so because they feel they have to
> >>be M$ products from head to toe.
> >
> >Pardon my terrible English here - typos abound. What I meant to say was:
> >
> >Most organization that are considering moving from FC to Exchange do so
> >because they feel that top-to-bottom M$ integration is beneficial.
> >However, many schools have found that not to be the case.
> >>
> >And yes, we are a FirstClass school that has had a lot of success with
> >FirstClass. Its not perfect, but its a ton easier to manage than
> >Exchange...
> >
> >Peter Hoopes
> >Director of Technology
> >St. Andrew's School
> >phoopes@standrews-de.org
> >=====================
> >
> >[ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
> >Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons, attribution,
> >non-commercial, share-alike license.
> >RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=ISED-L
> >
> >[ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
> >Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons, attribution,
> >Snon-commercial, share-alike license.
> >RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=ISED-L
> >
>
> [ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
> Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons, attribution,
> non-commercial, share-alike license.
> RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=ISED-L
>
--
Jennifer Davenport
Director of Technology
Saddle River Day School
http://www.saddleriverday.org
[ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons, attribution, non-commercial, share-alike license.
RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=ISED-L
