exchange 2k3 & windows server 2k3, download pop3 mail

[michael5wong]

Hey. I have a Windows Server 2003 box, running Exchange 2003. This is what I am trying to fool around with and accomplish. I have a bunch of people I'm working with, and it would be really nice to collaborate with the things Exchange offers. So we're using exchange. Additionally, we all have pda's, laptops, and desktops, and it would be very nice to have one central server to sync this all to. Now, just hooking it up with the e-mail is the issue. Here are my questions.

Firstly, I know back in the 2k days one one need a POP3 connector to be able to download e-mail and put it in our exchange folders (we all have external e-mail addresses). Is this still the case? How can I get the e-mail off an external server and put it into exchange with 2003? I read somewhere you don't need third party apps, but I wasn't really sure how.

Next, I'm not really familiar with a lot of the server stuff. Do I need to register a domain, or can i just set up DNS and make up a fake domain on my computer? Will my Exchange users be able to send mail externally? (Can I modify their reply-to addresses to represent that third party e-mail address?)

Thanks for your help!....

Michael