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sapphoq reviews a few free e-mail boxes and more:
E-MAIL PROGRAMS
Google now offers free POP3 and forwarding. Storage is adequate. One can access groups from the mail page. Google has added some whistles which increase the attractiveness of its e-accounts. E-mail accounts are only available if one is invited by a friend or if one is willing to furnish Google with the phone number of one's mobile device. The ability to archive messages and i.m. conversations has been added; though that may not be the best idea due to personal privacy issues.
Blue Bottle is a company out of Australia that offers both free and paid accounts. One can configure to eliminate all spam, requiring senders to know either the name of the recipient or a special combination of numbers. Interface is plain but functionable. Server sometimes goes down. Blue Bottle recently had to replace its server so hopefully that problem will not happen as often.
MSN hotmail also has paid and free accounts. In order to get official POP3 access and decent storage capacity, one has to pay. Hotmail will also automatically lock any free e-mail user out who does not sign in at least once in a thirty day period.
Yahoo only grants free POP3 and forwarding to accounts outside of the Untied States which sign up to receive Yahoo ads. In the states, one must pay for legit POP3 service. One can have two mailbox addys dumped into a single yahoo box. On the minus side, Yahoo is offering the ability to guarantee senders [read: spammers] delivery of their unwanted e-mails to recipient accounts if they agree to pay a nominal fee per e-mail. The paid e-mail does not get picked up by the Yahoo spam blocker. Due to lax standards regarding on-line identities, Yahoo has now evolved its own form of internet troll.
My Way is free and one can decorate one's e-box with pretty scenery. Settings for things like mail filter are very user-friendly. On the downside is the way e-mails sent from My Way accounts appear. The system seems to disregard paragraphing, making e-mails originating from My Way difficult to read.
Medscape is available to physicians and has free e-mail accounts. The accounts are not POP3 accessible. It is easy to use, has recently begun offering simple stationary, and includes no outgoing ads. Physicians everywhere who mourn the merging/passing of physicians-on-line at least have the option of Medscape. POL used to check that physicians who signed on really were qualified medical personnel. Medscape does not.
BLOGS
Hands down the winner is Blogger/Blogspot. It is easy to use and offers versatility. Free templates are available on-site and elsewhere. Blogspot includes use of a free FTP for those who which to host elsewhere. A very attractive offering. Blogger makes most of its' money off of Google AdSense-- so those of us who are fans will sign up for simple text ads as a way of saying "Thank you".
Yahoo 360 blogs come equipped with a wide range of templates, employs an aggragate system so bloggers are assured an audience and can develop on-line buddies, and has many many options that can be customized by the individual user. Unfortunately, 360's rep is being marred by a noted tendency of Yahoo to censor pics and pull accounts of [mainly women] those who dare to write about anything other than god, church, and heterosexual families.
MSN spaces has some options which are real nice. Amazon associates can create lists of books and Amazon dot com will automatically furnish the book cover at the push of a button. MSN support staff are somewhat friendly and will look for signs of trouble. Recently, a b0ok came out with good simple instructions. It is reported that the staff do comment on a few blogs from time to time. The space itself is ugly and has limited functionality.
DOMAINS
GoDaddy is a fairly decent company and reportedly offers friendly customer service. I know a web designer who directs her clientele to GoDaddy for domain hosting.
sapphoq.com hosts her web domain with NetEasy. NetEasy is not that easy for the neophyte. Customer service is only available through e-mail. Aside from that small glitch, sapphoq does heartily recommend NetEasy to the aspirant who desires a home on the internet.
Til' next time, keep reading. Your brain cells will be tickled if you do.
~sapphoq
