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Monday, October 23, 2000
Lead Article

Illustration by Sandeep Joshi
By Vipul Verma

Web-based e-mail, popularly known as Web mail, has made life easy for a majority of persons. These have now become a standard mode of communication and are used almost by all computer users. With the passage of time and with the introduction of more and more services, Web mail has become a source of problems.

Normally, people have more than one Web mail address and that too with different service providers, like Hotmail, Yahoo or Excite, as they have separate accounts for professional and personal use. Though keeping separate accounts has its own convenience, yet the real problem lies in checking the mail in these accounts.

Normally checking multiple Web mail accounts is a problem, as one has to open the sites first and then the account. It involves a lot of online time and money. Some software have been launched in the market that could save a lot of Net time and the botherations of opening all Web sites.

 

A software called @nymail, can provide the answer to some of the problems. This software can configure up to 90 Web-based mail accounts. However, for any another Web mail, which is not covered by this software, there is @nyMail DIY, which helps in designing own Web-based e-mail support! If @nyMail does not support favourite Web-based e-mail, one can make it himself.

The software has a support for all POP mail accounts too, thereby meaning that all e-mail can now be viewed. This software also has the feature according to which one can set a time interval to check mail and also set different melodies for separate e-mail accounts. Whenever, a new mail arrives in the mailbox, it plays pre-selected music and one can know whether he has a personal mail or business mail depending upon the specific e-mail accounts.

No need to enter the user name and password for each and every Web mail account as this information is pre-stored in this software. As soon as there is a mail, Web browser opens automatically, which straightaway leads to the inbox.

Even outgoing mail can be composed to be sent, when one connects to the Net later. The best part is one can compose mail from any account and also send it without going to that site at all. You can also use Outlook Express or other MAPI client with the Web-based e-mail.

If a subscriber is away from his computer or is out on a holiday, she can get "E-mail via phone", a software utility that allows e-mail check on phone. By using any touch-tone phone, one can receive important correspondence anytime, anywhere. Keep the computer system and modem on. That is all what is needed.

This software automatically dials the Internet account and checks the mail at regular intervals set by the account holder. Whenever a new message arrives, it automatically calls at the specified number, while setting up this software and reads out the mail. It uses Microsoft's text-to-speech technology, which makes it possible to read e-mail.

This software reads the subject header and the body text from the e-mail message. Normally, majority of persons get unsolicited mail or spam. This mail is also termed as junk. One can apply message filters to this software to deal with these kinds of problems.

This will actually filter out unsolicited mail and call only for that mail which meet the subscribers' criteria. In order to save telephone bill, there are a lot of other features, called as unique rule system, which can be incorporated in the system. For example, if you just want to receive mail marked urgent, then only that mail will be notified on telephone. Similarly, if you wish to receive message only from a particular individual, then, you will be informed accordingly. It also has security measures like password and caller ID, which protects from any illegal access to the account.

Using this software, you'll also be able to call e-mail via phone at any time and browse through all messages. This process is actually similar to standard voice mail or a telephone answering machine, where one can skip, repeat and listen to messages,and then delete when finished.

All that is needed in this software is a voice modem and sound card, and once it is configured properly, it can be used optimally.

Even if one is away from the desktop, one will never miss a single important message. However, in this case, the solution comes with a regular recurring price in the form of telephone calls.

If looking for a cheaper alternative then use Internet e-mail forward. This software is feature-packed and can actually transfer all messages from various accounts to either your mobile phone or pager or to any particular e-mail account. Since SMS (short message service) is free on receiving end in case of most of mobile phone service providers, thus it does not cost anything and one can always read e-mail. If the software is set to transfer messages to the mobile phone, information is instantaneously given, whenever there is a message.

Like the other software mentioned in this article, even this software can also be configured to check mail accounts at regular intervals.

This software also has the protection from junk mail and one can use filters to block any unwanted mail to be transmitted. Moreover, one can also specify, which mail one would like to receive by applying filters. So, these software actually take care of all your requirements related to email.

The shareware versions of software mentioned in this article can be downloaded from the following sites. @nymail: http://www.tntsb.com/anymail, email via phone: http://www.evphone.com, Internet e-mail forward: http://www.devnetsoft.com. 

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