A few weeks ago, a reader wanted to know which free e-mail service was the best.
It was a question I had never considered, primarily because it seemed absurd.
After all, how could you receive e-mail - free or otherwise - without an online account? And doesn't every online account include e-mail?
But I was missing the point. Free e-mail is a wonderful innovation for those who have access to the Internet through schools or libraries, at the workplace or even at home but don't have a personal e-mail address.
Here's how it works:
A growing number of Web sites allow visitors to create a free e-mail account. The user can then send and receive e-mail from the Web site, using a name and password to log into his e-mail account.
One company, Juno, offers free e-mail accounts through a dial-up connection. The user needs a modem and a phone line but doesn't need an account with an online service. The software, available only for PCs, can be downloaded from the Web site http://www.juno.com. Locally, there are access numbers in Cincinnati and Lexington.
I recently set up accounts and tested some of the Web-based services and found them quick and reliable - at least for the couple of messages I sent and received. Some are pretty basic - type in a message and hit ''Send'' - while others offer bells and whistles such as spell checking, e-mail filtering and sorting and attaching files to e-mails.
A quick roundup:
- Hotmail http://www.hotmail.com - Creating an account is easy, although you're asked about your interests and family income. Once registered, you can sign up for e-mail from companies offering news, sports, entertainment, finance or other information. The interface is easy to use and offers attachments, a spell checker and the ability to search stored messages.
- RocketMail http://www.rocketmail.com - This service from directory service Four11 http://www.four11.com is similar to Hotmail. Registration asks for marketing information (interests, income), and the interface offers a spell checker, attachments and the ability to put HTML links in messages (so readers can just click to link to a Web site). Incoming messages can be automatically sorted or filtered, based on return address or content. (For example, you could filter out solicitations to ''make money fast.'')
- My Own Email http://myownemail.com - This service is simpler than the previous two but says it will offer ''vanity'' e-mail accounts from more than 200 domain names (such as ''cowboysfan.com'').
- SuperNews http://www.supernews.com - This service offers free e-mail as well as the ability to post to newsgroups. The interface is basic - no spell checker or attachments - and occasionally slow.
- MailExcite http://www.mailexcite.com - A new service from the Excite Internet search page http://www.excite.com. Registration requires name, address, income and interests. The interface has no spell checker but allows attachments.
- USA.Net http://www.use.net - This company promotes its free Net@ddress service as a ''permanent e-mail address,'' with automatic forwarding to your other e-mail accounts. Or you can send and receive e-mail from the site.
- Traveltales http://www.traveltales.com - Yet another free e-mail service from a site ''dedicated to providing communication services to the budget travel community.''
So why is everyone getting into the free e-mail business? Advertising. Visitors to the sites are treated to banner ads, and the marketing information collected at registration is valuable to advertisers. In my quick test of most of these sites, I never received any junk e-mail, but we can assume that e-mail advertising is in the deal.
Even so, these services are useful to anyone with access to the Web who needs a personal e-mail account. And these e-mail addresses can be permanent, since they don't rely on your maintaining an account with a particular Internet service provider or online service.
And the price is right.
E-mail Charles Brewer with questions, comments and suggestions at CBrewer@enquirer.com Charles Brewer's columns can be found at http://enquirer.com/columns/brewer
