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What Is It?

Webmail, or Web-based email, is a term that applies to an email service that users access via a Web browser as opposed to an email client such as Microsoft Outlook, Mozilla Thunderbird, or Apple Mail. One of the first Web-based email services was Hotmail (officially Windows Live Hotmail) , which was launched in 1996 and acquired by Microsoft in 1997. Other Webmail services include Yahoo! Mail, Google’s Gmail, and AOL. If a user maintains a Web site on a hosting service, that hosting service may provide a Web-based email system as well.

Who Is it For?

Webmail fans like to use a Web-based email system because the user can gain access to the Web-based email box from almost any computer. However, that computer must have Internet access for the user to reach his or her inbox. Anyone who sends and receives messages via email can use a Webmail capability.

Features

Outside email clients and Web-based options, the user can choose among software packages that allow a business or organization to offer email through the Web for its associates, employees, and even for customers or clients. Some solutions are commercial, and others are open source, and yet others offer free online services.

Features within Webmail depend upon the service offered. The ability to store old emails will depend upon the Web-based email server’s storage offerings. While most Webmail services provide plenty of storage for the average user, the user may face the need to store emails in files on a hard drive separate from the Webmail service once the storage capacity is reached. Another option provided by some Webmail services is to allow users to pay for extra storage.

The ability to deliver and receive attached files such as documents, photos, multimedia, and other materials will depend upon the Webmail service as well as the bandwidth supplied by the user’s Internet connection. Although Webmail services provide sufficient bandwidth to deliver attached materials, the user may find that the Webmail service cannot retrieve those materials from the user’s computer because the user doesn’t maintain a proficient connection to the Internet.

Finally, each Webmail service will offer a different interface and rendering capabilities. Browser incompatibilities have forced most Webmail services to rely on older Web development techniques to send cross-platform compatible mail. The use of tables and inline stylesheets within the Webmail client makes this capability possible.

Compatibility

The only compatibility issue concerns the user’s ability to gain access to the Internet. In some instances, the user may need to alter the MX record at the server base to gain access to some Webmail software packages. The MX record, or Mail Exchanger record, defines how Internet email should be routed to and from a specific DNS (Domain Name System).

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