This summer, Dartmouth students began the transition from the long-established BlitzMail email client to the new Microsoft Office 365 suite, a transition that will continue throughout the 2011-2012 academic year. Though the Class of 2015 will start fresh with the new system, the popular old Blitz program has left a lasting legacy on campus culture and technology.
BlitzMail, the College's email client for more than two decades, was developed in 1987 as one of the first ever email systems, according to the Dartmouth Computing Services website. The system was made available to students, faculty and staff during the summer of 1988.
After its introduction, the system quickly embedded itself in Dartmouth culture. Many public buildings including the Hopkins Center for the Arts, Collis student center and Baker-Berry Library have a number of computer terminals designated specifically for checking Blitz. Additionally, the word "blitz" has effectively replaced the verb "email" among Dartmouth students. Many students use BlitzMail more frequently than phones or any other form of communication.
BlitzMail was virtually exclusive to Dartmouth Reed College in Portland, Ore., which phased out BlitzMail in 2005, was the only other institution to adopt it. This uniqueness helped make the system popular among students, according to Susan Zaslaw, project manager for the Blitz-2-Blitz transition.
"From my perspective, Dartmouth has become a very email-centric culture," she said in an interview with The Dartmouth. "It quickly becomes a part of how you communicate on campus."
Despite the system's enduring popularity, more sophisticated email systems eventually outstripped BlitzMail, which prompted many complaints from incoming freshman classes due to BlitzMail's lack of features. The College began to consider a number of options for improving campus email, according to Zaslaw.
College officials soon determined that it would be too expensive to maintain or improve Blitz, particularly in light of the economic recession that brought about widespread budget cuts. In March 2009, administrators began to look for commercial programs to replace Blitz.
"From a fiscal perspective, it just made more sense," Zaslaw said. "It's very costly for us to develop a product that's very ubiquitous in the market."
Google and Microsoft were the chief contenders to replace BlitzMail, and Zaslaw said they opted for the Microsoft system because it could be better integrated with the Microsoft email programs in use at Dartmouth Medical School and Tuck Business School.
The transition to 365 was announced in August 2010, and the first wave of migrations to the new system mostly among Computing Services staff took place earlier this year. Members of the Class of 2013 migrated during the week of July 4.
The first round of migrations went relatively smoothly despite some minor difficulties, according to Computing Services employees. Issues largely stemmed from student confusion about the process and compatibility issues with older Macintosh and Blackberry operating systems. Students interviewed after the first transitions said they missed having a separate application for email, but appreciated the new system's expanded features, particularly the use of "threads" that group emails about the same subject, which had not been included in the old Blitz server.
Incoming freshmen have been automatically added to the new Microsoft system, and members of the Classes of 2012 and 2014 will transfer in early October, followed by academic departments.
Even though the old BlitzMail system is being phased out, the new system has retained the Blitz name, and Zaslaw said she did not think that campus culture would drastically change. Students might begin to utilize newer features like instant messaging and video chat, both included in the new system, she said.
The new system also preserved popular aspects of the old program, such as the use of nicknames now called aliases Blitz bulletins and the Dartmouth Name Directory.
Zaslaw added that, despite BlitzMail's popularity, she thought "most people are ready to move on," and the campus would eventually adjust to the new system.
"There are a lot of people who are excited about the new system and the capabilities it will bring," she said.
