[JA] Juno vs Internet mail
- From: James E Henderson <jim.henderson@xxxxxxxx>
- To: johnjon@xxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 12 Oct 2002 16:53:40 -0400
JJ> I can switch to Linux at any time, and will once this
> creaky Classic Pentium gives up the ghost.
I know people who are well served by Linux. They are the kind who enjoy
learning how operating systems work and how to make the OS work with
their hardware. For the rest of us, such studying is a cost, not a
benefit, so Windoze comes out cheaper. For Ms Mouse, me, and a few
million other users, Linux would also force us to pay a monthly fee to a
mail provider rather than use Juno's free service. Windows is a lot
cheaper.
JJ> Jim tends to get multiple copies because he often sends out mail
> with himself on the copy to list. So when folks hit "reply to all"
> he gets a copy as a sender, and another copy because he was
> already on the list of addressees. Most mail applications would
> behave this way, I believe.
I am writing this message with Juno version 4, which behaves that way.
Dorothy uses version 1.49, which also does. Sometimes I use version 5,
which automatically checks the addresses of a message and deletes
duplicates. Usually that's what I want it to do. Once or twice in the
past few years I have overridden this feature to send duplicates
deliberately, and often to send myself a copy. Software without this
feature makes me check for duplicates myself after a "reply to all" but
I'm accustomed to it and only occasionally forget.
JJ> Generally, mail senders who wish to retain a copy of their
> outgoing messages should do so by setting the options on
> their mail application so that the maill app retains a copy of
> outgoing messages, not by sending a copy to themselves.
> Any Internet mail app worth its salt has such a feature.
I always set this option in Juno, and it is often useful for reference.
However, my next Juno mail run is seldom from the same computer, and
having a copy in the other one is even more convenient. So, I send to
myself. Being sure of a new message is also a handy way to assure myself
that the service is still working even if nobody else sends me anything.
Juno has never failed this test in thousands of runs, but verification
adds comfort.
This message, being full of Juno technical details which I hope will be
checked by people who more about them than I do, is also going to the
Juno_accmail Project's mailing list.
JJ> I don't know how Juno works; those who use it may not be
> sending Internet mail at all (they're asking Juno to do it for
> them, like AOL), and if so have to live with the consequences.
You're probably right. Many Juno users say they do not have Internet,
which, in a restricted sense, is sort of true. They don't have Web.
A few minutes from now when I click on "Get Mail" Juno's version 4 mail
client software will check to see whether any Internet connection is
currently active. If so, that connection would be used to transfer the
mail. Usually no such connection is active, so the mail client calls on
Windoze to set up a TCP/IP dial-up connection to transfer my mail.
Juno's servers restrict this temporary connection so it will not be used
for purposes the company doesn't want to pay for. The connection
transfers mail both ways, and advertisements and new access phone numbers
to me. Usually it finishes its job in less than a minute, disconnects
automatically, and shows me my first message, which is usually from me.
Mail is in POP3 standard format, but version 4 of the mailer lacks ways
to interact with standard POP3 utilities such as virus killers. My
address list is in a simple text format, also unknown by standard address
list utilities. As a bonus, this format is also unknown by the usual
mail viruses that want to send themselves to everyone I know.
Until recently POP3 access was restricted at the servers so we could not
use other mail client programs with Juno's service. Last month this
policy was relaxed and the company started distributing on a limited
basis a new version 6 installation package that contains no mail client.
It automatically sets up MSOE or other standard mail clients that may be
present. Juno's version 5 client is more versatile than version 4 in its
use of POP3 features, but I am less familiar with versions after 4 and
don't know how to use those features anyway.
So, the question of whether I am "sending Internet mail at all" is a
complicated one. It depends on definitions that are not clear to me, and
perhaps it also depends on whether I'm browsing the Web at the same time
I'm getting or sending my mail. As for why this question is important,
that one is also unclear to me, but I am confident it matters to someone.
Ms Mouse is using Juno's version 1.49 client, which uses a proprietary
protocol instead of TCP/IP and a proprietary mail format instead of POP3.
Occasionally I also use this version. Probably only a few tens of
thousands of users still do. In this case I feel more confident that
"they're asking Juno to do it for them, like AOL" but again the question
depends on definitions which are not entirely clear to me.
JJ> Light rain here at 9 am.
Rain all afternoon in Manhattan with only a few interruptions. I
installed a reflector and balancer on my front wheel, acquired several
long scratches and a few small punctures while clipping the cat's claws,
and did some computer work. Maybe I'll go bicycling tomorrow or Monday.
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~*~
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