NFIB

Web-based Email Gives True Universal Connectivity
04/ 15/ 2002


Have you ever been on the road, either for business or vacation, and had to check your E-mail by calling your Internet Service Provider's access number long distance? This can be a hassle and will ring up long-distance charges. There's an easier way that allows you to connect directly to your E-mail from wherever you are. In today's Workshop, Jeff Moses discusses this E-mail option.

An E-mail address and access telephone number are customarily provided by a user's Internet Service Provider (ISP), usually as part of the package of Internet access. A user can usually connect with such an E-mail address without incurring phone charges, because most of the time a user chooses an ISP that offers local, non-toll numbers.

Problems can arise, however, when a person is traveling. When a user's regular access number is a long-distance or even international call away, long-distance charges must be paid even to connect for the few minutes it takes to quickly access and send E-mail messages.

One universal option to surmount this difficulty is to use web-based E-mail. "Web-based" means that the E-mail address is accessed not through a special phone number provided by an ISP, but through a Web site, which can be reached from anywhere in the world free of charges imply by connecting with the Internet. All that's required is a computer that can connect with the Internet.

Many of the large search engines offer such web-based E-mail at no charge. Yahoo, Lycos, Hotbot, and many others allow a user to sign up for a free E-mail account, then log onto the account from anywhere in the world.

In addition to the search engines, other types of Web sites offer Web-based E-mail. Many local newspapers, for instance, are now offering the service, as are many larger ISP's.

Use of web-based E-mail couldn't be easier. A user simply logs onto the Internet, punches in the Web site's URL, clicks on the site's E-mail button, types in the pre-designated password, and is granted access to the E-mail account -- all completely free of charge. This makes things a lot easier when using a hotel's computer, or when using a friend's or business associate's computer.

There are no downsides to web-based E-mail, with the possible exception that sometimes it is a bit slower than normal E-mail provided by an ISP. There is one benefit, however: because your web-based E-mail address may contain the name of a widely known search engine(yourname@yahoo.com, yourname@hotbot.com, etc.), it may be easier for people to remember.

workshop.technology.thu
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