Many of us like to check e-mail on the road, but few of us want to lug our PCs. Webmail supplies the solution: The interface runs in a browser, messages reside on Internet-accessible servers, and you need no special client software. Any Internet-connected machine running something like Internet Explorer or Firefox will do. Unfortunately, webmail has always had weaker features and slower response times than systems that use local clients. But in the last year or so, we’ve seen a dramatic change.
Cleaning house Web development has gotten an enormous boost from a set of tools known collectively as AJAX. We’re not talking about the laundry detergent or scouring powder here—although just as the cleanser can make grungy countertops shine, this AJAX can turn dingy Web sites into sparkling showpieces. The term actually stands for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, which reveals a bit about what you’ll fi nd under the hood— though not much. In a nutshell, AJAX refers not to a particular technology, protocol, or specifi cation, but to a way of combining and using certain Web technologies, such as XHTML and client-side scripting, to make pages far more interactive and responsive. AJAX-based webmail services give users close to the same features, speed, and experience they get when using current versions of standard e-mail clients, such as Microsoft Outlook. To pull that off, a lot has to happen behind the scenes. With traditional webmail, if even a tiny part of the information on the page needs updating, the browser has to request and display the whole thing again. You can perform only a few limited tasks—if they require no server communication—without triggering the lengthy refresh process. You’ll probably be able to scroll around, for example, and possibly change the order in which items display. On the other hand, the AJAX-based interfaces and services I look at in this guide open a connection to a webmail server and just request bits of info here or there when needed—as you click a button, drag and drop a folder, or interact with the page in some other fashion. The application updates just those parts of the page that correspond to your immediate actions. When it’s programmed well, you get an application that nicely approximates the appearance and responsiveness of locally running e-mail software.
No money down So what do these services give you for your money? Well, that’s not actually the right question. The proprietors seek your eyeballs, not your dollars. Rather than charge you, they push advertisements—which vary in their intrusiveness— at you. AOL’s AIM Mail has some of the bigger, more noticeable ones. I can’t say I’m a fan of ads, but I’m willing to glance at them or expend the effort to ignore them in exchange for free e-mail.
The services share many other features. Each bestows on you a signifi cant amount of storage. Most major players have upped the ante to at least 2GB (Yahoo! gives 1GB) and will give you more for a small yearly fee. To some extent, they all attempt to replicate the features, look, and feel of Microsoft Outlook. They also let you upload and store your contacts to an address book and keep an online calendar as well as a task list, notes, or both. As you’d expect, each service offers either homegrown or third- party spam blocking, and the filters work much better than in the past. The Windows Live Mail and Google Gmail betas let you use POP3 to have messages from multiple accounts forwarded to your inbox, so you can keep tabs on your various outside mailboxes more easily. Since none of the services cost anything (for their basic plans), I encourage everyone to have multiple accounts—perhaps different ones for each of your hobbies or groups of friends.
Opera web mail I’m a big fan of Opera, but I was disappointed in its webmail offering. Compared with the Editors’ Choice winners here, I found the product short on features and the interface counterintuitive. For now, I’d suggest going with one of the other solutions in this guide.
Aim mail AOL offers an attractive, much more AJAXsonian service than it did last year. The company has added calendaring and has improved integration with other of its properties, such as AOL Pictures, which gives you free and unlimited photo storage. A “Blog this” feature lets you simply copy text directly from e-mails and paste it into your AOL Journals blog. Overall, I found this to be a perfectly serviceable webmail system that should fi nd plenty of traction with AOL and AIM subscribers—but the developers do seem to be playing catch-up with Yahoo! and Live Mail.
Google gmail (beta) You won’t find the dragand- droppiness or the AJAXity here that you will with Windows Live Mail or Yahoo! Mail, but I like the integration that lets me easily access all the other Google tools I use. And being able to forward up to fi ve POP3 e-mail accounts to my Gmail inbox makes life easier. I also like the exclusivity that Google maintains: You need to have a cell phone or get an invite from a registered user to score your own account, and that restricts the ability of spammers to sleaze their way in. One little thing: This operation launched on April Fool’s Day 2004— fer cryin’ out loud, kiddies, I know the beta blankie feels all soft and safe, but it’s time to roll it up and join the rest of the class for milk and cookies.
Windows live mail (beta) With fi ve plans currently (three free, two premium) and another premium one coming sometime in 2007, Microsoft has the most variety—and the most confusing branding. I’ll zoom in on my favorite free offering, Windows Live Mail (beta). Of all the no-cost Web products in this guide, it manages the closest approximation of Outlook. In addition, from within the browser e-mail interface, you can (or will soon be able to) reach all the parts of the Live ecosystem, such as Live.com, Live Search, and Live Spaces, among many others. These qualities earn Windows Live Mail the right to share an Editors’ Choice.
Yahoo! mail (beta) I’m storing this contender on my favorites shelf, too. The Yahoo! Mail developers continue blazing the trail they cut last year. I’m impressed with the responsiveness of this appli—sorry, webmail interface (I get a bit confused, because at times it feels like a locally running application). The integration of RSS right into the mail interface folder tree tops the list of things I like. I just click and open up a folder tab right on the screen to see all my latest feeds without having to leave the page for another separate RSS page (as I must with Google Gmail). Along with the Windows Live Mail beta, Yahoo! Mail (beta) snags an Editors’ Choice.
Cleaning house Web development has gotten an enormous boost from a set of tools known collectively as AJAX. We’re not talking about the laundry detergent or scouring powder here—although just as the cleanser can make grungy countertops shine, this AJAX can turn dingy Web sites into sparkling showpieces. The term actually stands for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, which reveals a bit about what you’ll fi nd under the hood— though not much. In a nutshell, AJAX refers not to a particular technology, protocol, or specifi cation, but to a way of combining and using certain Web technologies, such as XHTML and client-side scripting, to make pages far more interactive and responsive. AJAX-based webmail services give users close to the same features, speed, and experience they get when using current versions of standard e-mail clients, such as Microsoft Outlook. To pull that off, a lot has to happen behind the scenes. With traditional webmail, if even a tiny part of the information on the page needs updating, the browser has to request and display the whole thing again. You can perform only a few limited tasks—if they require no server communication—without triggering the lengthy refresh process. You’ll probably be able to scroll around, for example, and possibly change the order in which items display. On the other hand, the AJAX-based interfaces and services I look at in this guide open a connection to a webmail server and just request bits of info here or there when needed—as you click a button, drag and drop a folder, or interact with the page in some other fashion. The application updates just those parts of the page that correspond to your immediate actions. When it’s programmed well, you get an application that nicely approximates the appearance and responsiveness of locally running e-mail software.
No money down So what do these services give you for your money? Well, that’s not actually the right question. The proprietors seek your eyeballs, not your dollars. Rather than charge you, they push advertisements—which vary in their intrusiveness— at you. AOL’s AIM Mail has some of the bigger, more noticeable ones. I can’t say I’m a fan of ads, but I’m willing to glance at them or expend the effort to ignore them in exchange for free e-mail.
The services share many other features. Each bestows on you a signifi cant amount of storage. Most major players have upped the ante to at least 2GB (Yahoo! gives 1GB) and will give you more for a small yearly fee. To some extent, they all attempt to replicate the features, look, and feel of Microsoft Outlook. They also let you upload and store your contacts to an address book and keep an online calendar as well as a task list, notes, or both. As you’d expect, each service offers either homegrown or third- party spam blocking, and the filters work much better than in the past. The Windows Live Mail and Google Gmail betas let you use POP3 to have messages from multiple accounts forwarded to your inbox, so you can keep tabs on your various outside mailboxes more easily. Since none of the services cost anything (for their basic plans), I encourage everyone to have multiple accounts—perhaps different ones for each of your hobbies or groups of friends.
Opera web mail I’m a big fan of Opera, but I was disappointed in its webmail offering. Compared with the Editors’ Choice winners here, I found the product short on features and the interface counterintuitive. For now, I’d suggest going with one of the other solutions in this guide.
Aim mail AOL offers an attractive, much more AJAXsonian service than it did last year. The company has added calendaring and has improved integration with other of its properties, such as AOL Pictures, which gives you free and unlimited photo storage. A “Blog this” feature lets you simply copy text directly from e-mails and paste it into your AOL Journals blog. Overall, I found this to be a perfectly serviceable webmail system that should fi nd plenty of traction with AOL and AIM subscribers—but the developers do seem to be playing catch-up with Yahoo! and Live Mail.
Google gmail (beta) You won’t find the dragand- droppiness or the AJAXity here that you will with Windows Live Mail or Yahoo! Mail, but I like the integration that lets me easily access all the other Google tools I use. And being able to forward up to fi ve POP3 e-mail accounts to my Gmail inbox makes life easier. I also like the exclusivity that Google maintains: You need to have a cell phone or get an invite from a registered user to score your own account, and that restricts the ability of spammers to sleaze their way in. One little thing: This operation launched on April Fool’s Day 2004— fer cryin’ out loud, kiddies, I know the beta blankie feels all soft and safe, but it’s time to roll it up and join the rest of the class for milk and cookies.
Windows live mail (beta) With fi ve plans currently (three free, two premium) and another premium one coming sometime in 2007, Microsoft has the most variety—and the most confusing branding. I’ll zoom in on my favorite free offering, Windows Live Mail (beta). Of all the no-cost Web products in this guide, it manages the closest approximation of Outlook. In addition, from within the browser e-mail interface, you can (or will soon be able to) reach all the parts of the Live ecosystem, such as Live.com, Live Search, and Live Spaces, among many others. These qualities earn Windows Live Mail the right to share an Editors’ Choice.
Yahoo! mail (beta) I’m storing this contender on my favorites shelf, too. The Yahoo! Mail developers continue blazing the trail they cut last year. I’m impressed with the responsiveness of this appli—sorry, webmail interface (I get a bit confused, because at times it feels like a locally running application). The integration of RSS right into the mail interface folder tree tops the list of things I like. I just click and open up a folder tab right on the screen to see all my latest feeds without having to leave the page for another separate RSS page (as I must with Google Gmail). Along with the Windows Live Mail beta, Yahoo! Mail (beta) snags an Editors’ Choice.
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