configure mac 10.5.8 mail 3.6 on windows 2007 exchange server

This is my first post on the mac forums so I apologize if my etiquette is not correct. I have tried searching for an answer to my problem but have found nothing that applies directly to my issue. I am the single mac user on a new microsoft exchange server 2007 here at my place of work, the server technician is a PC purist, he had no issues with enabling my colleagues PCs through outlook but has no idea how to configure my mac mail. I do not want to use Entourage because I prefer mail 3.6.

I have a few preliminary questions for the forum,

1. Is mac mail 3.6 (run on OS 10.5.8) compatible with a windows 2007 exchange server?

2. I have been told that our server has capability for using only the exchange protocol, therefore IMAP is not an option. Is this likely to be true?

3. Is there anything I have to get enabled on the server's side that would allow my account to connect? The technician has spent considerable time trying to establish my mail account but to no avail.

My knowledge in this area is quite limited, I would really appreciate it if someone with expertise could advise me.

Thanks.

Mail on Leopard requires an IMAP account. Your Exchange Server admin should be able to turn on IMAP, but he may not be willing to do so just for you. Even so, IMAP will only deliver your mail; you would not be able to use your Exchange calendar or other features.

The only other option for you would be Entourage, which would support mail in addition to calendaring and other features.

If you had an Intel Mac, you could upgrade to Snow Leopard. Mail in Snow Leopard supports Exchange without IMAP, as well as calendaring through iCal. But that's not an option for a G5 or an iBook.

Thank you Technologist, I appreciate your reply, your comments have been useful.

Is there a lot of work involved in switching on IMAP on the server's side? Will it cause disruption for the PCs using the exchange server? My big problem is that the exchange server admin has no experience of using macs at all. He also has no experience of using IMAP to retrieve email.

At the minute I'm happy with keeping my calendar separate from my mail and syncing it with my i phone, as is the case with my contacts. I understand what you are saying about entourage but I just prefer using the native apple mail package on my mac and would like to exhaust all possibilities of getting it working before I resort to using Entourage. If only I had an intel mac.