Your skins & webmail are killing you

[IT_Architect]

Here is where DA almost lost it for me.

Skins:
1. Your default skin is so ugly that it looks like a pre-schooler crayon job.

2. You power user skin is something that only a techie could love.

3. The enhanced skin is well done. You'd better believe it is the default skin for those who discovered it before they moved on to look at another product. Make sure this is the only skin people see.

Web Mail:
SquirrelMail and UebiMiau are a techies idea of cute, both in name and appearance. To the end user they are nonsense. They hate techies to begin with. They are looking for something like Outlook. It would be easy and inexpensive to package something like nutsmail BlueHive.

People selling services on their servers want to proud of what customers see. They know that people want to see attractive and user friendly. Because users don't understand the technical aspects, it's the user's only yardstick for measuring quality and value.

 

[Chrysalis]

I would agree with this, if it isnt already the enhanced skin would be best as default for new installations on all users.

 

[sullise]

I agree on item 1. Not thrilled on it. But also not thrilled with Ensim and Plesk default skins either. So it's a wash there. cPanel, well, cPanel has always been the PreppyBoy of CP's..problably why most non-techie uers like it, not so much for funtionality but because it's "pretty..oh so pretty..." lol.

As for the second, tough. Use Outlook or Thunderbird. Webmail is enough of a PITA then to have to worry about a pretty webmail interface. Besides there are SM skins availalbe to make it pretty. And Ubeimail is worthless and rarely used anyway. Not going to spend a ton of money to make webmail look pretty..lol..

Besides, one could install HordeMail, instructions in the How To forums.

Hell, you want to talk ugly, look at cPanel's filemanager..most stark ugly thing I've ever used...lol.

 

[IT_Architect]

Ubeimail is ..... rarely used anyway.

I haven't used it, but I haven't found anyone who likes it better than Squirrel Squirrel has some really nice templates and plugins at nutsmail.com. I don't use webmail, but customers do, and use it in all sorts of ways. One way is a to-do list of CAD files that need to be processed etc. when the customer doesn't want to ftp them, or a coordination point to keep current information in front of people across the organization.

 

[sullise]

For those purposes, they should be using a groupware script, not SM..lol.

 

[nobaloney]

Sure, sullise.

Tell your customers what to use .

You might as well be telling them where to go .

Jeff

 

[sullise]

Boy..you don't know how often I want the tell them where to go...LOL.

Like I have always said, hosting would be a breeze if it wasn't for the customers..

 

[nobaloney]

IT_Architect,

For several years now DA has been undergoing rapid change and development and adding of platforms.

Maybe if we stop asking for new platforms and new features, they'll have time to do some other things.

I thought that the enhanced skin is the current default; perhaps it's not.

I agree that it should be. Someone let me know if it's not, before I build my next system and check myself .

GXX, Can you tell us where you got that skin?

Jeff

 

[nobaloney]

It's a beautiful skin.

How long have you been using it?

Have you run into any of the issues posted on their fourm?

Jeff

 

[IT_Architect]

I must investigate to see if it works with PHP 5.1.2. Squirrel doesn't have a production 1.5.x release out to match PHP 5.1.2. Thus, Nutsmail won't do a skin for it. I'm currently running the 4.x template with PHP 5.1.2, but people cannot read their mail online while they can create and send it.