What You Need to do Email

To do email, you need to own or have access to the following items.

If you are doing email at home, you most likely will own or lease them; but if you are doing email in your office (either via a workstation on your desk or one that you share with other staff), you will just have access to them.

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Internet access

To get access to the Internet, you need to have an Internet Service Provider [ISP] or be part of an organization that has its own Internet server.

An ISP acts as a gateway between your computer and the Internet. To access the Internet from your home or office, you connect to one of the ISP's computers using some means of telecommunication.

There are a number of "free" email services available. These services , such as Hotmail, provide email access but do not provide a means of connecting to the Internet. To search the web and visit sites, a user needs an ISP.

If a library offers Internet access, it can offer email services to its patrons through one of these free email services.

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Telecommunications (A means of connecting to the Internet)

• Telephone line and modem
• Ethernet
• Cable modem

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Hardware (A computer)

• Macintosh
• Personal Computer running Windows, OS/2, Linux, Unix

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Email software

Here is a list of some common, free email software that you can get from your ISP or download from the Internet.

• Eudora (Qualcomm)
• America Online
• Netscape
• Microsoft Outlook Express (follow links for Internet Explorer)

Why are they free?

Companies make free versions available for several reasons. Three major reasons are that these companies:

• Hope to convince you to buy the commercial version which offers many features not available in the free version
• Want the publicity their company receives by many people using the free software.
• Are getting paid for their software by advertisers instead of users

Some of the free versions are free only to non-commercial uses (home, non-profit organization, or educational institutions, such as schools and libraries). In the case of America Online, the software is provided as part of the service you purchase.

In addition to these programs, some larger ISPs offer some type of email program to their members. It might be one of the above or a "lite" version of some other commercial software package.

Useful features which are generally not part of many free programs include:

• spell checker
• grammar checker
• text formatting
• advanced filtering
• advanced attachment support
• ability to check multiple accounts
• tech support

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Tips for learning to use your free email software

Most free packages don't offer much documentation. The company might provide an electronic manual in text or PDF format. The company might host a listserv, newsgroup, or discussion board for people who have questions.

So how do you learn to use your email software?? Here some tips:

• After you install the email software, read any "readme" files and documentation included with it.
• Use the Help screens provided by the software.
• Point to each menu item to see what features are available.
• Pay special attention to any menu item called "Preferences", "Options", or "Settings".

Here is an example of a menu on EUDORA PRO. Point to it and see what features it contains:

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