E-Mail

 E-Mail

                              

The transmission of messages and files via a computer network is known as Electronic mail (e-mail).
One of the original services on the Internet, it enabled scientists and researchers working on
government-sponsored projects to communicate with colleagues at other locations. Today, e-mail is
rapidly climbing the popularity charts as a primary communications method for both personal and
businesS use.
Using an e-mail program, like Outlook Express, Hotmail or Gmail, you can create, send, receive,
forward, store, print, and delete messages. The message can be simple text or can include an
attachment such as a word processing document, a graphical image, or an audio or video clip.
Even if you are working in another application, most e-mail programs have a mail notification alert
that informs you via a message or sound when you receive new mail. As you receive e-mail messages,
they are placed in your mailbox. A storage location usually residing on the computer that connects
you to the Internet, such as the server operated by your ISP is a mailbox. The server often is called a
mail server that contains the mailbOxes. Most ISPs provide an lnternet e-mail program and a mailbox
on a mail server as a standard part of their Internet access services.
You connect to the Website and set up an e-mail account, which typically includes an e-mail addroe ess
and a password to use free Web-based e-mail programs offered by some Websites.
.
When you send an e-mail message, a program on the mail server determines how to
message through the Internet and then sends the message. When the message arrive
at
the
recipient's mail server, the message transfers to a POP or POPS Server. POP (Post Office Protoc
communications technology for retrieving e-mail from a mail server. The POP server holds Otocol) the message is and
until the recipient retrieves it with his or her e-mail software.

Advantages of E-mail

Speed:- 

To send, exchange, and receive messages immediately, you cannot find a better medium
than e-mail. An e-mail message can travel around the world in minutes.

Cost:-

 For sending and receiving e-mail, there is no fee. Once you pay for the Internet connection to
your ISP, it is taken care of. You don't have to pay a single paise for sending a very long message or
the message that has to travel a long distance.

Convenience:-

 

An e-mail message can be sent any time from anywhere. The e-mail messages do
not require the person receiving the message to be at his computer, unlike the telephone calls. In the
same way, we need not be at our computer all the time to receive a message. The message is stored
by our service provider. It will deliver the message to us when we ask for it.

HOW DO COMPUTERS EXCHANGE INFORMATION?

Computers need to have a set of rules which determine how the information is sent. A set of rules
like this is called a protocol. The most important protocol used on the Net is Internet Protocol (IP). It
specifies that the information sent between computers, servers, and routers must be broken down into
"packets" of data.
An e-mail message is sent from one computer to another via the Net broken
into small chunks called packets. Each packet contains the address of the
destination computer. The messages are put back together to form the e-mail
the message, when this message reaches the computer it is intended to.