Comments on: DeathMatch: GMail vs. Thunderbird http://www.teach42.com/2005/05/26/deathmatch-gmail-vs-thunderbird/ Education and Technology by Steve Dembo Sat, 11 Oct 2008 05:53:10 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 By: Steve http://www.teach42.com/2005/05/26/deathmatch-gmail-vs-thunderbird/#comment-2645 Steve Fri, 27 May 2005 14:08:15 +0000 http://www.teach42.com/2005/05/26/deathmatch-gmail-vs-thunderbird/#comment-2645 It's an interesting point. I know there are issues with security, but I think mostly it's about control. For better or for worse, schools tend to want to be in control of tools that they endorse. However, you do bring up a very valid question. It would certainly take some of the pressure off of technology coordinators and would definitely decrease costs by a pretty decent amount. It’s an interesting point. I know there are issues with security, but I think mostly it’s about control. For better or for worse, schools tend to want to be in control of tools that they endorse. However, you do bring up a very valid question. It would certainly take some of the pressure off of technology coordinators and would definitely decrease costs by a pretty decent amount.

]]> By: John Pederson http://www.teach42.com/2005/05/26/deathmatch-gmail-vs-thunderbird/#comment-2641 John Pederson Thu, 26 May 2005 20:16:58 +0000 http://www.teach42.com/2005/05/26/deathmatch-gmail-vs-thunderbird/#comment-2641 I was skeptical of Gmail in the beginning...my first few experiences with it were a bit confusing. As soon as I relaxed and "unlearned" what my brain has been trained about email clients, I quickly discovered that Gmail is a killer app...and a web app at that. I switch between many machines and operating systems and find that it's just plain solid. Here's the "extending" question. Why do we (as school districts) continue to insist on doing it ourselves? Here's a free, web-based, completely managed application that does email better than we every can/will as a school district. It has a simple web interface for beginners and extends into pop clients for those who are looking for a little more of a challenge. No backup worries, no configuration worries, you could essentially "outsource" your email system to your users. (Ok, a bit of a stretch.) The day that gets really interesting is when Goolgle launches a calendaring app. I was skeptical of Gmail in the beginning…my first few experiences with it were a bit confusing. As soon as I relaxed and “unlearned” what my brain has been trained about email clients, I quickly discovered that Gmail is a killer app…and a web app at that. I switch between many machines and operating systems and find that it’s just plain solid.

Here’s the “extending” question. Why do we (as school districts) continue to insist on doing it ourselves? Here’s a free, web-based, completely managed application that does email better than we every can/will as a school district. It has a simple web interface for beginners and extends into pop clients for those who are looking for a little more of a challenge. No backup worries, no configuration worries, you could essentially “outsource” your email system to your users. (Ok, a bit of a stretch.)

The day that gets really interesting is when Goolgle launches a calendaring app.

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