You've Got Mail!

Well, a few weeks ago I taught a class of enthusiastic E-Mailers covering different ways to 'Do Mail'. With E-Mail now the number one use of computers and by FAR the largest communication vehicle on the planet (Bigger than TV, radio, phone or postal mail), it seemed to make sense to teach to the needs.

People wanted to know things like:

• How do I access and make changes in my electronic address book?
• How do I permanently delete mail, or move it to a new 'folder'?
• What's the fastest way to add a contact to my address book who JUST sent me an E-Mail?
• I see a calendar here...how can I use it to help me remember appointments and important dates?
• Do I need to pay for Hi-Speed AND AOL? (No, by the way...you sure don't!)
• How do I move my mail and address book from one E-Mail program to another?
• How do I sign up for an additional FREE E-Mail account(s)?
• How do I deal with attachments? Add a picture or file to my E-Mail
• Send one E-mail to many people at once.
• What is an E-Mail address book GROUP?
  

I can't tell you how fun it is to answer questions like these and have people leave happy. I can't tell you that is, unless you e-mail me or call me. Maybe there is something you've wanted to do with E-Mail, or that digital camera or.... We can help with that. Call or write us.

"You never call...You never write..."

So which is the absolute BEST e-mail program/service out there? There are volumes written on this subject without a definitive answer offered. Seems there is room for personal preference, (isn't there always). Having said that, there are reasons so many business & home users alike choose Microsoft Outlook (or Outlook Express) as their e-mail 'client', regardless of whether they have e-mail through their business, or use Comcast, Hotmail, Yahoo or G-Mail as their e-mail service provider.

Outlook Express is a fine e-mail program and comes free with virtually all PC's these days, but its' big brother, Microsoft OUTLOOK, is MY personal pick. In addition to the ability to handle incoming, outgoing and mail history flawlessly, Outlook has the ability to save an e-mail to it's built-in calendar, which pops them back up at a date of your choosing ... 'set it and forget it'.

Appointments, to-do tasks all can be scheduled and if you so desire invitations to meeting attendees are easily e-mailed as a reminder to them as well. I also really like the way the OUTLOOK address book works and that it can important and export addresses as needed.

Amongst the free e-mail providers, I personally use Yahoo Mail, more from habit than anything else. I've set others up with Hotmail and Google G-Mail accounts just as often. They all are good and for home use any limitations are negligible. I say listen to what your friends tell you about what they are using, and why. Word of mouth is always the best endorsement, unless it's from someone you hates you; in that case, never mind.