When this article was originally written in 1995,
the two most popular methods of sending, receiving and managing e-mail
were Eudora and Netscape. These "shareware" software packages allow
you to
read and write your
e-mail without being
connected on a phone line. You need only to connect for the actual
retrieving and sending of your queued messages.
Netscape mail is a program found within the Netscape browser. You
simply click on the little envelope in the bottom right hand corner
to activate it. Eudora is an individual software package.
Both need to be pre-configured with your e-mail address and your
Internet provider's e-mail information. Once they are configured,
both feel very much like
regular word processing programs.
A couple of pointers:
- Start organizing and sorting your email into separate
"mailboxes" with your first letter. It doesn't take long to
fill up your in-box. Start by creating some well titled mailboxes
(like friends, business, follow-up, etc.) and transferring or
trashing any incoming mail.
- Try to write your e-mail off-line.
- Create a signature file that includes your name, e-mail address,
and web address. The signature file can be automatically attached
to the bottom of every letter you send.
- Remember that word processing documents and other files
can be sent as an attachment, but the person receiving the file
may not be able to read it. As a rule, you should copy and paste
all text to the body of an e-mail message instead of sending it
as an attachment.
- In general, an E-mail message should not exceed 64k (including
any attachments).
This is, and
always has been, an industry standard.
Many Internet providers
are adhering to this standard more than ever.
Though much has changed with the world wide web and Internet since 1995,
much has stayed the same. Email privacy and security is still of great
concern. Though an older program like Eudora is no longer supported
by the creator, quite often these types of programs are safer to use.
Not only is the software less exploitable by default, there are also
few hackers writing exploits. Email programs by Microsoft and similar
companies are prone to viruses and attacks.
One of the big changes to email are web-based email programs, such as,
Hotmail and GMail. This type of program offers the flexibility of
checking your email from any computer with a web browser; however,
a user is limited in their ability to download, backup, store and
customize email messages.