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Do you spend most of your access time logging in and out of email accounts, trying to manage mails that queue up faster than traffic on a rain clogged road? What you need is a good mail program like Outlook or Eudora. A mail program lets you access multiple email accounts from a single point, store all your mails on your PC for quick retrieval and helps save on access time by enabling offline composing. All this for nothing more than the price of a free download.
POP-ing is easy
From a distance, setting up a mail program seems to require feeding in all sorts of magic numbers and understanding scary terms like POP3 and SMTP. But when you get down to it, the only special thing you need to know is your Incoming and Outgoing Mail Server. This information is easily available from the email account you have and your ISP's manual (if you're working on a LAN, contact your network administrator). Sites like Yahoo give detailed instructions for configuring commonly used clients like Outlook Express and Netscape Messenger. And setting up a client is easy, with most software featuring Wizards that make the whole process just a matter of a few clicks.
A manager for your mail
Tempted to start off? It's time to get a program. And you don't have to look too far. If you use Internet Explorer or Netscape, you probably have one sitting right on your desktop.
For IE users, this is Outlook Express, a toned down but free version of Microsoft Outlook, the mail program that comes with the MS Office suite. Netscape, the world's second most popular browser, comes with its own email program. This is Netscape messenger and it's part of the free Netscape Communicator browsing package (the Netscape Navigator is a messenger-less version). While both Netscape and Outlook Express are good enough for a beginner, those who like their technology heavy on options can opt for Eudora, the first real feature packed client and the one against which all other email programs have come to be measured. Eudora retails for around US $50 but you can get an ad-supported version for free. Together these four are the most popular clients around. All of these have basic features like mail filters, multiple accounts, formatting options, address book etc. But they do have some features all their own (like Eudora's
Moodwatcher).
Which client should you go for?
Between the top four mail programs, it's difficult to zone into one as the best one. Over the years, most of these software have ironed out the bugs they were infamous for (Netscape's inability to get multiple accounts, Eudora's unfriendly slow pace, Outlook's difficult install) and are very competitive in terms of features. Choosing an email program then is more of a personal decision. Netscape Communicator users can enjoy the ease of being able to use all features (mail, browser, newsgroups) from one window on their browser. For those who do a lot of collaborative work over email, Eudora should be the right fit. And Outlook may be your choice if you need to manage a lot of contacts.
| Microsoft Outlook
Outlook first appeared as part of the Office 97 suite. Its latest Upside
Downside Priced ($109) client in a free world. Favorite target of virus makers Outlook Express Outlook Express is a low-end, free version of Outlook (comes with Upside
Downside Lacks Personal Information Management and other high-end features of Eudora Originally developed as a freeware product by Steve Dorner in 1988, Upside
Downside New users may find the interface slightly more unfamiliar than Netscape Messenger A free e-mail program that comes as part of Netscape Communicator. If Upside
Downside No filters, slow at certain tasks http://home.netscape.com/computing/download/index.html If you're an absolute beginner however, all the options on a high-end |
Shagun Lal
Source: Computers@Home