E-Mail Software
E-Mail Software | The Operating System | The Email program that comes with it free |
|---|---|
| Windows XP | Outlook Express |
| Macintosh OS X |
There are two kinds of electronic mail (e-mail). One kind is Web-based. With this, you use a Web browser (like Internet Explorer) to read and write e-mail. Two examples of this kind of e-mail are: Yahoo! Mail, and Hotmail.They are both free, once you have Internet access (see below.)
The other kind of e-mail is called POP mail. This kind of electronic mail box, or e-mail account, usually comes free when you buy Internet access from an Internet Service Provider (ISP). The ISP usually charges a monthly fee. You can connect to the Internet from home through either a telephone line or through a cable TV connection. Examples of different Internet Service Providers in the greater Boston area include: Verizon, Comcast, RCN, Earthlink, and AOL. And there are many, many more. (For a list of these in the 617 area code, click here.) If you have Comcast service your email address might be something like yourname@comcast.net. If The World is your ISP, your email address would be yourname@theworld.com
Whether you use a Web-based e-mail account or a POP mail account, or both, you will need to have Internet access. An ISP can provide you with telephone dial-up access for as little as a under $10 a month or you could get high speed DSL or cable modem access for $40 or $50 a month, or more.
In some neighborhoods of Boston, Roslindale for example, wireless Internet access may be possible. All Boston Public Library branches offer free wireless access to those with (free) library cards. The Boston subway may soon have wireless access. The Mayor of Boston has said that by 2009 every neighborhood will have free or low-cost wireless access. You may have wireless access available in restaurants in your neighborhood now. To find out, click here.
If you use an Internet-based e-mail account (mail box) then you can use Internet Explorer or Safari (web browsers) which come free with your PC or Macintosh computer. For more information on web Browsers, click here.
If you have a POP Mail account then Outlook Express and Mail (Macintosh)
are free and work very well too.