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To send e-mail, you need a connection to the Internet and access to
a mail server that forwards your mail. The standard protocol used for
sending Internet e-mail is called SMTP, short for Simple Mail
Transfer Protocol. It works in conjunction with POP--Post Office Protocol--servers. Almost all Internet
service providers and all major online services offer at least one e-mail
address with every account.
When you send an e-mail message, your computer routes it to an SMTP
server. The server looks at the e-mail address (similar to the address
on an envelope), then forwards it to the recipient's mail server, where it's stored until the addressee retrieves it. You can send e-mail anywhere in the
world to anyone who has an e-mail address.
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TRY THIS...
Send
yourself a message. Click on this
link. When the e-mail window appears, type your address in the
TO: field, then fill in the Subject field and write
a note. Now click the Send button. In a few minutes, your
message should appear in your Inbox.
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At one time, you could only send text messages without attachments via the Internet. With the advent
of MIME, which stands for Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension,
and other types of encoding schemes, such as UUencode,
you can also send formatted
documents, photos, audio and video files. Just make sure that the person
to whom you send the attachment has the software capable of opening it.
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Queen Elizabeth II sent the first royal e-mail on March 26, 1976.
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If you're new to e-mail, refer to the Beginner's
Guide to Effective E-Mail for tips on style.
WATCH THIS...
Here's a humorous look at one alternative to e-mail.
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Last update: Jan 4, 2008
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