JOSHUA SILLS /Arizona Summer Wildcat Cassidy Reis, a pre-education sophomore, accesses her e-mail account on the new version 2.0 WebMail.

It's been one week since UA's WebMail system got a facelift, and since the transition, the Center for Computing and Information Technology has seen a sharp rise in user complaints with over 200 phone calls and e-mails that have been flooding the help desk daily.

The majority of problems have come from the user-end, according to CCIT officials, who cited complaints about the process of importing address books as the most common problem.

Under the new version, WebMail Version 2.0, users receive e-mails containing the address books they saved in the old WebMail with instructions detailing how to import these addresses into the new interface. The import process takes about 30 seconds. But following the instructions can take a little longer, according to Mike Torregrossa, CCIT co-director.

Torregrossa said the original instructions were "a little tricky" and said that officials plan to send out a new set of instructions in the next few days.

CCIT officials also said students have complained about inconsistent accessibility to the WebMail server.

Fanuel Yemane, CCIT representative at the help desk, said the "server overload" responsible for these delays was inevitable and that this kind of feedback has been important in helping CCIT work out the kinks. He expects problems to go away soon.

"The first WebMail had the same problem. We had many calls about delays and we worked it out," Yemane said.

The new look to Version 2.0 is based on CCIT research of the most frequent problems users had with Version 1.0. Technical changes in the new version correct errors that caused the repeated crashes and delays that plagued Version 1.0.

Although the new version was not originally intended to save money, the change has reallocated CCIT funds to other services.

Under the contract for Version 1.0, the UA paid $1 for each e-mail account. Under the new version, WebMail runs on free Linux software and pays for only anti-virus and anti-SPAM support.

"The version change saves the University nearly $55,000," said Todd Merit, a consultant for CCIT.

This $55,000 helps the CCIT keep up with rapid growth in the number of e-mail accounts and the increasing size of those accounts.

"Under current budget constraints we have difficulty keeping up as e-mail use grows. This money will allow us to make much needed upgrades," Torregrossa said.

Those upgrades include a 20k increase in inbox size, among other things, Torregrossa said.

The change to Version 2.0 also includes the addition of software designed to filter SPAM. In a few weeks, when the software is activated, users will receive the words "SPAM" in the tagline of any e-mail that contains words commonly associated with junk mail. Torregrossa said the software is about 90 percent accurate and that users should not worry about losing any important e-mails.

"We'll include instructions on how to automatically send SPAM to a folder. No e-mails will be automatically deleted, unless they include viruses," said Torregrossa.

Anti-virus protection from Sophos comes with the upgrade to Version 2.0. Sophos, which Torregrossa identified as a particularly effective tool, uses "primary response identities" to identify virus and delete them before they entire a computer.

"(Sophos) works terrific. Their technicians are rigorous in detecting and fixing the new viruses," Torregrossa said.

While Version 2.0 has a different look, CCIT representatives said they do not expect users to spend much time learning to navigate the new interface.

"Users just need to get more familiar with the buttons. This version (2.0) is really more efficient. There are so many more options," Yemane said.