Free Email |
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Which type? |
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Rather confusingly there are 3 main types of free email service each with advantages and disadvantages. POP mailPOP Email is stored on a host computer until you download it using the email software package provided by your Internet Service Provider (I.S.P.). In my case this would be using the software called Turnpike provided by my I.S.P. which is Demon UK. These messages can be examined at leisure since once downloaded I can disconnect from the Internet until I am ready to send my replies. Two 5 minute sessions a day on-line is usually enough. One problem of this option was that I can only access my material from the single machine where I had placed my Internet software. If I am away from home there is no way of obtaining access. Web-based EmailUnder this system you can obtain access to your EMail simply by visiting the site where you signed up for the service. Since this can be done from any web browser access is really simple. The problem with this option is that you are on-line all the time you are reading your EMail and while you are composing your replies. This is not a problem for people who are not paying the phone bill themselves, for example students at university, but can prove very expensive for the domestic customer. Mail Forwarding ServicesAs the name implies this type of operation passes mail on to an existing account. The only major advantage is that your new account can have a far more personalised address than that usually offered by your I.S.P. It is hard to see why most people would bother with this type of account with a double chance of transmission problems and with the intrusive addition of adverts placed on your mail by the forwarding service. Mail forwarding is frequently used by people sending vast quantities of unsolicited EMail (spamming) since they can use the system to hide the true destination of any replies or complaints. |