[CTS] Fw: EE #3.03 - Why bother with web based email?
- From: "Eric C. Vogel" <ECVogel@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <computertalkshop@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2005 12:54:57 -0500
Woody's Email Essentials
EMAIL Essentials
Make electronic mail work better for you - just one of the Woody's Watch
newsletters.
Check out "The Desktop Search Handbook" - click here.
18 February 2005 - Vol. 3 No. 3
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@ Web Based Email
We get a lot of questions from readers about web based email - services like
Hotmail, Yahoo Mail, Gmail and Walla among many. In this issue we'll help you
make an informed choice about whether web based email is the way to go.
What is it?
Web based email is where your email (and sometimes calendar and contact
information) is stored on a large server on the Internet (where the server is
doesn't matter). You access your email, send messages, read incoming email
from a web browser. Almost any web browser will do and you can access it from
anywhere in the world.
I suspect most of you are familiar with one or more of these services:
a.. Hotmail www.hotmail.com
b.. Yahoo Mail mail.yahoo.com
c.. Gmail www.gmail.com still in beta and not available publicly.
d.. Walla www.walla.com
e.. FastMail http://www.fastmail.fm/
All of these have free account options.
The amount of storage varies from 250MB to 1GB on the free accounts.
Sounds great, so great you might wonder why people use any other type of email?
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Share Microsoft Outlook calendars easily without Exchange Server. Free trial
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@ Desktop Search Handbook - an Office Watch Guide
Searching through your emails has got a lot easier with the arrival of a range
of desktop searching tools. Most of these are limited to searching Outlook and
Outlook Express mail folders but do it much faster than the in-built tools in
Windows or Office.
If you're still searching for emails the slow way have a look at the fantastic
new and free tools for all email users; Google, MSN, Yahoo, Copernic and
Microsoft. They all have their pros and cons - choosing one isn't easy - so
we've written:
The Desktop Search Handbook
an Office Watch guide
http://shop.woodyswatch.com/dsh/
For email users there's the question of which email programs are supported,
what folders are searched and if email attachments are indexed -- all this
varies from product to product.
This is the Woody's Watch teams first ebook - over 65 pages of in-depth and
original info and how to's on the major desktop search products. Searchable
text and color images throughout - naturally.
a.. All new and expanded content
b.. Over 65 pages of original content
c.. NO advertising
d.. In depth reviews and how to for the major Desktop Search products
a.. Copernic Desktop
b.. Google Desktop Search
c.. Lookout for Outlook
d.. MSN Toolbar Suite
e.. Yahoo Desktop
a.. Simple guide to making desktop searching work even better for you.
a.. Effective indexing
b.. Simple searching and beyond.
c.. Tips on how to effectively index audio, video, OneNote, web caches and
PDF's.
d.. Search Command Reference
NEW - quicker delivery. Thanks to some programming smarts from Claudia and
Claude we now send the link to your personal copy of the e-book fast - usually
within minutes of your paid order.
Even if you have a Desktop Search program The Desktop Search Handbook has tips
on how to get the most from these new tools and details on any add-ons that are
available.
Not only do you get the ebook but you also get FREE updates / new editions as
they are released during 2005. We'll update the book as new and revised
Desktop Search programs are released.
Value for only US$14.95 but great value for Woody's Watch subscribers who pay
just US$9.95 - our gift to those of you who have supported us over the years.
We have options to pay in Canadian dollars, Sterling, Euro, Yen and Aussie
dollars too.
Check it out at http://shop.woodyswatch.com/dsh/ not only do we think you'll
get a lot from the book and free updates -- but buying The Desktop Search
Handbook is a practical way to support Woody's Watch as a free and independent
newsletters.
NEW! There's now a special diskette edition available via Amazon USA - so you
can add a copy of the Desktop Search Handbook to your regular Amazon shopping
cart.
http://shop.woodyswatch.com/dsh/AmazonUS.asp
@ Why use web based email?
So why not use one of these services? There's many concerns and we're going to
play devils advocate here.
a.. Free accounts are subject to any change in terms at any time - something
that is less likely with an account you pay for - even if as part of your
Internet access fees.
b.. Most free accounts have a time limit. If you don't access your account
in that time then the account is closed and all your emails and information is
deleted. While the time limits are usually generous - they are worth keeping
in mind if you go into hospital for a long time or are otherwise offline.
c.. Storage. 1GB might sound like a lot but with sharing of pictures
becoming more common, that can fill up real fast.
d.. Email size. Always be aware of the size limit on individual messages. A
larger digital photo or music file can easily go other that limit. With
digital cameras going into the 4-5 mega pixel range and beyond large images are
more common than even a year ago.
e.. You need Internet access. There's an arrogant presumption in many
quarters that you can get Internet access anywhere. But that's not always the
case, or its expensive, inconvenient or incompatible. There are plenty of
cases were you'd prefer to read and write emails for later sending.
f.. Browser compatibility. Some web based services use Java or sophisticated
web coding which isn't compatible with older web browsers or the security
settings won't permit access. This is worryingly common in Internet café's or
terminals when you're traveling.
g.. Can't search quickly. With the new desktop search tools (ahem, reminder
about our great new ebook http://shop.woodyswatch.com/dsh/ ) you can find
messages stored on your computer much faster than anything online.
h.. You can lose a long message when you're part way through typing or if the
browser crashes when you hit send. It happens a lot more often than you'd
think. For longer messages it's better to type offline (in Notepad or WordPad)
and paste.into the outgoing message.
i.. Non trusted domains. The ease of obtaining some free mail accounts means
they are heavily used by spammers and scammers. That's why some companies
won't accept some free email addresses if you try to logon or buy. Hotmail.com
and Yahoo.com addresses are the most commonly blocked.
j.. Privacy. It's unlikely, but possible, that someone at the host company
could peek into your email. More likely is that someone gets or guesses your
name and password to login to your account from anywhere.
k.. Backup. There's usually no way to make a copy of your emails offline.
If the host loses data or stops your account, you're sunk.
l.. Accessibility - if you die or are infirm. This is no small matter -
Yahoo had a difficult case recently where the email of deceased US soldier was
wanted by his relatives. Yahoo was caught between their privacy rules and
doing the right thing by the family. The lesson for everyone here is to make
sure your login names / passwords are stored somewhere for your next-of-kin
executor to use.
Here's a list of Outlook add-ins that can save time and improve your
productivity:
* Attachment Save - automatically saves attachments to a Windows folder
* Contact Duplicates Eliminator - easily remove duplicate contacts
* Add Email Address - automatically add people you reply to as contacts
* Plus 27 other Outlook add-ins
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Spam and Viruses
We've been concerned that some readers seem to think that web based email is
the perfect solution especially when it comes to spam and viruses. This
worries us because it seems web-based email gives users a false sense of
security.
Web based email is not spam free nor virus free. Some accounts have spam or
virus filters but neither are necessarily optimal.
As we've mentioned in Email Essentials host-based spam filters can be heavy
handed in deleting what they consider spam. It is better if you can see the
messages marked as spam (perhaps in a Junk Mail folder) rather them being
deleted without a trace.
Some web based email also has some form of virus protection that checks
attachments. As with spam there's a real possibility that an attachment is
wrongly marked as infected (a 'false positive'). That possibility rises in
proportion with the importance and urgency of the email (yet another example of
Murphy's Law).
Using web based email does NOT make you immune to viruses. An infected
attachment can just as easily be downloaded from a web email account and infect
your computer. There are some nasties that are specific to a particular email
program (most likely Outlook or Outlook Express) but these days the worms
usually only require Windows.
The broad issue with web-based email is one of control. With email stored on
your own computer you get much more control over what happens to your data.
You may be prepared to sacrifice some of that control for the benefits of a
free web-based account.
Web based accounts are probably best for light email users only beyond that
it's probably best to consider your own email storage or a hybrid option.
@ Hybrid email
Don't bother looking up this term - we've just made it up. We'll use it to
describe email options were you store your email on a computer (using one of
the many email clients out there Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora and many,
many more) but you also have the option of checking your email (at least recent
messages) on a web browser.
This is much more common than most people think. Almost any email account
provided by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) or company can be accessed via a
web browser either directly or indirectly.
ISP's should have a web page you can go to, enter your account and password
then view your email account online. There's options to read and send emails
just like any of the better known services - but it's your regular email
address. Outgoing message will look the same as if you wrote them on your
computer (there's technical differences in the header but only us geeks worry
about that).
Most likely the Inbox on these web-based displays will only show recent
messages that you have not grabbed using your email software. But this is
usually enough when you're away from home/office to see what's new.
Corporate email users almost certainly have a better option where all their
email is stored on the company server and their email program has a copy of the
email storage. This means that if you access your email via a web browser
you'll see almost exactly the same folders and contents as on your computer.
Outlook Web Access is the Exchange Server version of web-based email and the
browser setup looks very much like normal Outlook - it doesn't have all the
power of Outlook but it's pretty good.
@ What if your ISP doesn't have a web based option?
That's easily solved. Check out our issue on Mail2Web
http://www.woodyswatch.com/email/archtemplate.asp?2-07 , a free service that
will let you see the contents of an existing POP mail account. Almost anyone
with a email account can have a web based version using Mail2Web.
@ Editing Outlook Emails
There's an interesting discussion continuing in Office for Mere Mortals and
Office Watch about the ability to edit incoming emails in Outlook.
See Office for Mere Mortals for the basics.
http://www.woodyswatch.com/wowmm/archtemplate.asp?v6-n05
It's a useful trick in some situations - but in companies and governments it
can be a real worry since emails are often used as evidence in court. If you
can edit a message someone else wrote to you then it's easy to re-write history.
In Office Watch we've kicked off an investigation of the less than pleasant
possibilities in this Outlook features.
http://www.woodyswatch.com/office/archtemplate.asp?v10-n06
Keep an eye on future e OW issues for further news, anyone who uses email for
work needs to know what is possible and what could get you into trouble. You
can subscribe here - for free
OFFICE 2003 TIMESAVING TECHNIQUES FOR DUMMIES
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Talk Email
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experiences, questions, gripes and loves about all things email. Send mail to
talkemail@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx - All messages are kept confidential. We regret that
the volume of mail and the limit of 24 hours in each day mean that we cannot
reply to individual messages.
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Email Essentials
Editor: Rose Vines Editor-in-Chief: Peter Deegan
Copyright (c) 2005 Peter Deegan and Rose Vines. All rights reserved. ISSN
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