- by Marianne Van der Wel
When choosing a system for reading and sending email you should consider cost, where you access your email (at home or also away from home), privacy, backup of messages in case your computer fails, and exposure to advertising.
All email messages come to you, and are sent, via servers on the internet. To access your email from home, you first need to connect your computer to the internet using an internet service provider such as Bell Sympatico, Cogeco, Primus, Rogers, Shaw, etc.
Here are some pros and cons of different types of email services.
Internet Vendor or Social Media
Examples:
- Gmail (Google); Windows Live Hotmail (Microsoft); Yahoo!Mail (Yahoo)
- Facebook
Pros and cons:
- Messages remain on the Internet web server. This provides:
- - built in backup
- - email access from any Internet connection in the world
- No fees. These companies are primarily supported through advertising.
- Does not provide connection to the internet. You must contract with an internet service provider to access your email from home, or use an outside connection such as at a library.
- You never have to change your email address, even if you change your home internet service provider. Your email is somewhat less private than with the other types of service; ownership can be claimed by the people running the site.
- You are exposed to ads, some of which are not always tasteful and sometimes can be devious or misleading.
Web Host
Examples:
- Internet service providers such as Bell Sympatico, Cogeco, Primus, Rogers, Shaw, etc. also provide email hosting
- McMaster’s MacMail
- Host vendors such as HostPapa, or Canadian Web Hosting
Pros and cons:
- More ownership control of your email
- Email access through a web browser from anywhere in the world
- If the web host is not your internet service provider, you can readily change providers without having to change your email address
- A choice of leaving your email messages on your web host's server or downloading them to your computer (See the “How to Download and Backup” footnote).
Advantages of downloading:
- the best control over the ownership of your email
- no exposure to any web host advertising
Disadvantages of downloading:
- Messages that have been downloaded to your PC cannot be accessed from other locations unless you have software that lets you access your PC remotely. You can check your email from other locations, but only emails received by the host since your last download will be available.
- You become responsible for backing up your emails.
- Checking your email from other locations may be harder because you will not be familiar with the interface your email web host uses.
Costs:
- If using an internet service provider email service is included with your internet service connection fee.
- If using McMaster MacMail there is no charge for McMaster retirees, but you must contract for a connection to the internet with an internet service provider.
- If using a host vendor there is a monthly fee, and you must also contract for a connection to the internet with an internet service provider.
How to Download and Back Up
To download your email messages to your computer, you will need to connect to your web email host with an email application such as Outlook Express or Mozilla’s Thunderbird for PCs, or Apple Mail for Apple computers. My personal favourites are Thunderbird and Mozbackup, a utility to backup Thunderbird's email.
Both packages are open source. See Saving Money With Open Source Software, MURAnews, Spring 2010 for more on open source.
While Microsoft Outlook Express provides the same service as Mozilla's Thunderbird, I have discovered that backing up email through Outlook Express is less than desirable. For Apple users, Apple mail provides the ability to download your messages. Please do back up your messages once downloaded!
