Using MS Exchange Server
Go to David Brown's Tutorial
on setting up Exchange Server ... http://www.omen.net.au/~dpbrown/mse55/mse.htm
(including a link to where you can download a FREE 6 months trial version of MS
Exchange Server 5.5.)
Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5 provides internal email (and the Internet, if you are so inclined). The WA Government school price is approximately $590 - contact Algar Burns for details. User licenses are free under the MS 'leasing' contract.
It is preferable to use MS Outlook Express Version 5.0 as the client mailer. If you don't already have it installed you will need to get hold of the Internet Explorer installation disk and install IE5 at the same time. (There is no short cut allowing you to install only Outlook Express.) Exchange Server can work with "aliases' which allow very flexible email names. You can, for example, use just the first name of users.
My particular interest is in providing email capabilities across
the school to use with NetLessons.
(See: http://www.southwest.com.au/~jfuller/netlessons/netlessons.htm
) When using Outlook Express to return the form generated by the 'quiz' in the NetLesson
(ie using HTML 'forms') you need to use a full site name, rather than an 'alias' eg jfuller@mandurahshs.wa.edu.au It doesn't
appear to matter whether it is a valid domain name.
Setting up Outlook Express:
Set up a 'user' on the NT4 system (we used "student") and then create a new Mailbox in Exchange Server for "student". On the client machines set the 'student' account as the 'default' user in Outlook Express V 5.0 When the user completes a NetLesson quiz the resulting email 'form' will be sent to the address nominated in the script.
We are still experimenting with the software. More will be posted as we learn more...